PDA Mounts Major Show of Force to Convict Mark Nolt of Selling Raw Milk without a Permit
The big surprise today wasn't that Mark Nolt was found guilty on four citations of selling raw milk without a permit, and fined $1,051 on each citation. That was nearly a foregone conclusion, since Mark refused to engage a lawyer.
No, the big surprise was the seriousness with which the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture took the case against Mark, and the resulting show of force it put together.
The PDA had an attorney, Brook Deur, who brought with him three PDA employees as witnesses to testify against Mark. Two testified in detail how they purchased raw milk and other dairy products undercover from Mark on three occasions at farmer's markets in the central Pennsylvania area about 30 miles west of Harrisburg. A third witness, the head of the lab, testified both that Mark had refused to renew his raw milk permit as of September 1, 2006, and that the milk the other two witnesses had purchased from Mark at the farmers markets was, indeed, raw.
Mark told me afterwards that there were at least two U.S. Food and Drug Administration agents in the audience of about 30 who crammed into the tiny courtroom in a nondescript single-story building in Mt. Holly Springs that houses the district court, along with a couple of businesses.
In addition, there were at least half a dozen Pennsylvania state troopers present, and likely other plain-clothese agents. The troopers handcuffed and arrested one of the approximately 150 protesters who gathered outside the court, Phil Beachy, a local farmer, for refusing to stand far enough off the highway that runs in front of the courtroom to suit their tastes.
The event also attracted probably eight or ten news media representatives--both newspaper and television reporters--mostly from the Harrisburg area, but at least one from Philadelphia.
When Judge Susan Day pronounced Mark guilty after a 90-minute session, she told him he has thirty days to appeal. He said he plans to, and in that case, will likely have a lawyer. More to come. (Thanks to Dwayne Haus, a local naturopath, who let me use his computer and its cell hookup, to file this report.)
The Complete Patient
in Food, Government policy
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Reader Comments (14)
I am curious as to whether Chirdon returned the items he stole from Mark during his raid...the book, the cream separator parts, and other items that were not within the scope of his search warrant?
Were those items returned, and was it pointed out to the magistrate that they were indeed stolen by the PDA?
Bob Hayles
The 4 police cars arrived early and they meant business scared me a bit. The building parking lot could only accomodate no more than 30 cars thats how small the place was.
The arrest was caught on camers by the press and camera phone so it should already be on the innernet.
What can we do to wake up the nation and our fellow raw dairy farmers and consumers before its to late? I dont want to live in a police state do you? The police did not give one a comforting feeling.
WGAL channel 8 and the CBS affilate channel 21 both of York were the TV crews their plus a Harrisburg paper Patriot News.
He grew up drinking raw milk? LOL!
Here's the link for the rest of the article
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08126/879185-34.stm
I would suggest that you start writing your state congressmen, senators and governor, submit letters to your newspapers, issue press releases and generally make as much noise as you can. We went through a similar exercise here in Ohio a few years ago and used some of those tactics to get a farmer's license restored and to ultimately win legal recognition for herdshare contracts. It would be even more effective if you could convince CARE to marshall its members to start writing letters to their elected officials. Large numbers of requests tend to prompt lawmakers to start asking questions, and regulators don't like it when the people that control their purse-strings start looking over their shoulders.
If a family farmer with 10 children can be crushed and destroyed, a la $50000 and one book and not to mention all their mental pain what shall the historians say about us? They were not the land of the free after all it was just an ILLUSION?
I don't know how many folk were inside the court building, but I'd guess there were 40 of us in the parking lot between 9:30-10:30.
After we departed, we drove to Newville, and bought 2 1/2 gallons of raw milk on the way home :–)
The rule-makers and rule-enforcers, who are of course many, and specialized, and working for the public good, were getting paid to do their thing, as they do every day from 8 to 5. The citizenry, even with the help of an eager and devoted press (a´ la Mr. Gumpert) will have their hands full overcoming that.
(We can only hope that these regulators do not believe their own rhetoric, for if they do, they may be unstoppable. CS Lewis put it best: “Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.”)
It isn't the beginning of codex, it's been coming on for quite some time.
According to PDA's Guidance Document (3/20/08, "Permits Allowing the Sale of Raw Milk for Human Consumption"), the department can seize raw milk, "Whenever, in the opinion of the Secretary of the Department, a given supply of raw milk or illegally produced raw milk products is considered unsafe or a menace to public health, the secretary may seize, condemn, denature, or destroy the milk or milk products, without compensation to the owner of the milk or milk products."
"In the opinion of the secretary of the department"???
What ever happened to "the Rule of Law"?Now we have rulers that can sieze our property and destroy it based only on their opinion.
What kind of a society would we live in if everyone enjoyed the same rights that the secretary enjoys?I guess it would be a society of pirates.It certainly wouldn't be a peaceful society.
no matter whether the regulators believe their rhetoric or not, they are stoppable. we are fighting the good fight and we are on the right side of this issue. we will ultimately prevail.