Page 98 - Summer2008

and renders it allergenic and fewer consumers can tolerate.

difcult to digest. In response In summary, I urge the joint
to this attitude I quote Sinclair committee to work towards

Lewis: “It is very difcult to get overturning AB 1735 and do-
a man to understand something ing everything in its power to
when his salary depends on not support raw milk in California.
understanding it.” Opposition to raw milk is il-
A final argument against logical, it is unscientic, it is

raw milk goes like this: If raw expensive, it is heartless and
milk results in an outbreak, cruel. The child who benets

this would cause people to stop from raw milk—perhaps even
drinking milk altogether and whose life is saved by raw
adversely affect the whole milk milk—may be your own child,
industry. I hope your intelli- or your own grandchild, or
gence is not insulted with such Amish farmers gather outside the May 6 hearing for raw milk even a child or grandchild of
an argument today. The indus- dairy farmer Glen Wise, who ably defended himself. our opponents—our efforts are
try does its best to publicize any dedicated to all children. We
possible problem caused by raw milk in an effort have the knowledge and technology today to get safe raw milk to every
to staunch the declining sales of pasteurized and child who needs it and we ask that you work with us, not against us, to
ultrapasteurized milk, a product that fewer and achieve this important goal.

THE GLEN WISE CASE IN PENNSYLVANIA

Pennsylvania dairy farmer Glen Wise has also been charged with selling raw milk without a permit. Unlike Mark
Nolt, Elizabethtown dairy farmer Glen Wise is a member of the private milk club CARE (Community Alliance for Re-
sponsible Eco-farming). Glen sells raw dairy products to CARE members only. Since last fall, there appeared to be a truce
between CARE and PDA. Last October PDA suspended an action attempting to convict Bird-In-Hand dairy farmer Levi
Miller on the charge of offering to sell raw milk without a permit. Since that time, the agency had not taken any other
action against CARE farmers until April of this year when Glen received three citations for selling raw milk without a
permit.
Glen’s hearing was held on May 6. Glen acted as his own attorney and did an excellent job, getting two of the
three citations dropped and the fine on the third citation reduced to from $300 to $50.
PDA’s main witness at the hearing was Joe Goetz, an employee of the department’s Bureau of Food Safety and
Laboratory Services. Goetz testified that he purchased raw dairy products from Glen on three occasions (November 14,
January 8 and March 8). On cross-examination Glen elicited testimony from Goetz that the PDA employee was a CARE
member and that he had signed the CARE contract. Clause 7 of the CARE member contract reads as follows: “P.C.M
(private CARE member) certifies under penalty of perjury that he/she is not a government agent, informant, contractor
or other party that is trying to entrap or hurt P.F. (private farmer) or his farm in any way. P.CM. shall hold P.F. harmless
and shall indemnify him from any and all losses, costs, claims, damages, actions, causes of action, demands or liabilities
including reasonable attorney’s fees, arising in any way whatsoever out of this Agreement.”
Since taking over as chief of the Bureau of Food Safety and Laboratory Services, Chirdon has frequently resorted
to the tactic of having undercover agents purchase raw dairy products from unlicensed farmers. PDA agents have pur-
chased products from Mark Nolt on at least ten different occasions and from Glen at least four times as well. Contrast
this with Chirdon’s predecessor Bobby McLean who regarded the CARE farmers as not being under PDA’s jurisdiction,
leaving them alone.
Shortly after his hearing, Glen received a fourth citation from PDA. The citation was for the alleged sale of raw
milk at a farmers’ market on September 15, 2007. In October 2007 Chirdon gave Glen a license application encourag-
ing him to obtain a retail raw milk permit. This latest citation raises two questions: (1) why Glen received this citation
after the others when the other citations concerned alleged violations occurring at times after September 15; and (2)
why PDA issued a citation for an alleged violation occurring a month before giving the farmer a license application. It
appears that this latest citation was issued out of vindictiveness for Glen’s success at the May 6 hearing.

96 Wise Traditions SUMMER 2008