I like the Amish. I like them as a people, I like that they stick to their ideals and tenets of their faith, I like how they love museums and zoos and amusement parks. I like how they farm and harvest and create things according to a way of life that began a long time ago. So I was a little amazed that someone thought it would be appropriate to sting an Amish farmer on a raw milk charge.
Ok, I grant that raw milk is probably not awesome for me, but in this age of organic and all-natural foods, I'm amazed that there aren't people out there clamoring for raw milk. Oh, wait, there are! Otherwise, why would Amish farmer Arlie Stutzman be openly selling it? As was pointed out, he wasn't advertising it as pasteurized and hiding the fact, he was openly selling raw milk when people asked for it. So when he was approached by an undercover Ohio Dept. of Agriculture agent who wanted some raw milk, Stutzman sold it to him. Wow, what a cover up! What a secretive operation! Stutzman wasn't sneaking raw milk into an pasteurized milk - he wasn't doing anything other than having raw milk and selling it when people who wanted it asked for it. So the ODA is enforcing their law against the selling of raw milk, and frankly, I think that's a little mean-spirited.
The ODA is claiming that you cannot sell raw milk to anyone, that raw milk is only for personal consumption. Stutzman is claiming that their regulation is holding him back from sharing his food with whomever wants it, a part of the Amish valuation of community and community wants. I am claiming that as long as people ask for it, and Stutzman has it available and isn't deceptively claiming it as pasteurized milk, why is this upstanding farmer being prosecuted?
1. > I like the Amish. I like them as a people, I like that
> they stick to their ideals and tenets of their faith, I
> like how they love museums and zoos and amusement parks.
... and hate dogs. Ideals? Katherine, I have to let you in on a lesser known trade of _some_ Amish people. The Amish people that you like and I dislike. A large number of the Amish are known for owning and operating puppy mills.
Don't buy Amish goods and if you buy a dog from a pet store, you are only supporting puppy mills.
Posted at 5:34PM on Jun 28th 2006 by Matt Sidesinger