Having solved all the other problems in the world state and federal authorities have been waging a war on the scourge that is unpasteurized milk. The theory behind this seems to be that people are too stupid to choose their own food and it’s the job of bureaucrats with no knowledge of food production or agriculture to keep us from being poisoned from a food staple that has sustained mankind since civilization began.
Luckily these cases are getting thrown out of court and common sense seems to be prevailing:
A soft-spoken Minnesota farmer was cleared of violating state laws for distributing raw milk Thursday, a verdict advocates for such foods called their first major legal victory.
After a three-day trial and more than four hours of deliberation, a Hennepin County jury found Alvin Schlangen not guilty of three misdemeanor counts of selling unpasteurized milk, operating without a food license and handling adulterated or misbranded food.
The trial highlighted a deep national divide between raw milk advocates who contend unpasteurized dairy products can relieve allergies and prevent illness and public health officials who warn that raw milk can cause serious and sometimes fatal diseases, such as E. coli, salmonella and listeria.
“It’s a big step in the right direction,” Schlangen, 54, said Thursday, flanked by celebrating supporters. “I have a hard time understanding how this basic freedom has been so hard to maintain.”
I’d explain it to him but this isn’t a political blog.
However this verdict actually does little to challenge the law. Prosecutors overstepped the law because the farmer was running a co-op not a business so he technically hadn’t done anything illegal. But that didn’t stop these idiots from taking him to trial.
I’ll just point out that local elections matter just as much as national ones and leave it at that. Also understanding which candidates actually believe you have the freedom to make your own decisions is important. Next local election here I’m forcing every candidate I meet to tell me where he or she stands on food freedom.