Milking equipment in Arlie Stutzman’s milkhouse

Arlie Stutzman was busted in a rare sting when an undercover agent bought raw milk from the Amish dairy farmer in an unlabeled container.

Now, Stutzman is fighting the law that forbids the sale of raw milk, saying he believes it violates his religious beliefs because it prohibits him from sharing the milk he produces with others.

“While I can and I have food, I’ll share it,” said Stutzman, who is due in Holmes County Common Pleas Court on Friday to tell a judge his views. “Do unto others what you would have others do unto you.”

The Ohio Department of Agriculture revoked Stutzman’s license in February. In April, he got a new license, which allows him to sell to cheese houses and dairies, but received a warning not to sell raw milk to consumers again.

“You can’t just give milk away to someone other than yourself. It’s a violation of the law,” said LeeAnne Mizer, spokeswoman for the department.

State officials said they sent the agent to his farm because they received a tip from an anonymous neighbor about raw milk sales.

Stutzman, however, said he believes he was targeted because his cows are partly owned by a group of 150 families in what is known as a herd share agreement. Members pay him a fee for the cows and are entitled to a portion of the milk.

Sales of raw milk are illegal in Ohio and 24 other states. But herd share agreements take advantage of a loophole because the group is buying the cows, not the milk.

The line between entrapment and a sting can be pretty fine. It can also be patently artificial.

Thanks to Pat McEntee



  1. Johnny-Cakes says:

    OMFG! Lock this sicko up!

    How much money did this sting for this non-crime cost the taxpayers? I actually grew up on raw milk. The farmer that lived right next door to us brought over fresh milk that morning. I couldn’t tell you what it would taste like today because we only use skim milk now, but I kinda remember it being a tad thicker back then…hehe.

  2. Marc Perkel says:

    I thought I read that the farmer gave the guy milk for free?

  3. Frank IBC says:

    I thought I read that the farmer gave the guy milk for free?

    Yes, see the quote at the end of the first block:

    “You can’t just give milk away to someone other than yourself. It’s a violation of the law,” said LeeAnne Mizer, spokeswoman for the department.

    IIRC, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania will let you buy “raw” milk under certain circumstances.

  4. Frank IBC says:

    More suppression of religious freedom.

    I blame the Republicans.

  5. Mike Voice says:

    I blame the Republicans.

    Welcome, Brother…

  6. Pmitchell says:

    dont blame the republicans blame all of our bought and paid for law makers. I live in texas and the dairy assoc lobbied/paid for the law to be changed in this state also, so real milk can not be bought, sold or even givin away “because of health concerns ” instead all milk must be proceesed, another small buisness is killed by greed and corrupt polititians

    I think a dairy should be able to seel its milk direct if it wants .

  7. meetsy says:

    The milk lobby, the soy growers association, the Canola board…they’re the new bad actors in our dietary problems. These guys form a huge pocket lobby and push legislators, they write slanted “studies” and release it to the media, they convince people that junk is good for them.
    So, how do we assemble ourselves to fight back against the lobbiests?
    That’s the bigger question.
    Fresh raw milk, from a clean dairy, is the best stuff I’ve ever had!!!

  8. Frank IBC says:

    Amazing how gullible Americans are when it comes to “consumer protection”.

  9. Tom K says:

    Free milk! Another group of commie pinko’s to contend with. Did we have an informer in there Chester?

  10. jason says:

    May God save us from these Milk Crazed pushers!

    What is this country coming to when we have people selling RAW MILK?

    I shudder to think of our children and the future of the United States!

    This is second only to “WiFi Theft” in my book.

  11. Johnny-Cakes says:

    I blame the cows.

  12. Nathan says:

    Given the early days of commercial milk production (companies putting fillers in milk, etc) I can understand the need to regulate milk production/distribution – to some extent. BUT – I grew up on raw milk too and so long as people know what they’re getting I don’t understand why we need this kind of “protection.”

  13. Jason says:

    What next? A ban on Sushi? Any other unprocessed/raw food or drink?

  14. Angel H. Wong says:

    It’s not the law that worries me, it’s the self righteous SOB neighbour who gave the anonymous tip. What kind of pr*ck would do that?

    And Jason: as long as people think that eating raw seafood with vinegar and rice is classy it will still be legal.

  15. AB CD says:

    In California, you can’t even buy processed whole milk.

  16. woktiny says:

    the cops tried to prevent some guys from giving away money in Love Park, Philly, I hear. being nice is not a freedom we can afford anymore.

    just one freedom left, which is the new foundation of our free nation

    the freedom to shoot ourselves in the foot.

    i suppose.

  17. Gary Marks says:

    Farting Amish farmers and their equally flatulent dairy cows cause global warming. Save the planet — take ’em all down!

  18. Mr. H. Fusion says:

    What next? A ban on Sushi? Any other unprocessed/raw food or drink?
    Comment by Jason — 6/29/2006 @ 9:59 am

    Just check out the Produce section at your grocery store. All that RAW produce, most still laced with chemical herbicides, pesticides, and preservatives.

  19. Podesta says:

    Such ignorance. Several outbreaks of salmonella, listeria, e-coli and other food based diseases occur every year in the U.S., resulting in double digit fatalities. Raw milk is a major cause. The people who die are usually young children or others with undeveloped or impaired immune systems.

    The same scenario played out in Washington and Oregon a few months ago. A dairy, affiliated with the same raw milk advocacy organization as this one, was selling milk under a ‘cow share’ arrangement. ‘Cow sharing’ is a ruse to deny that it is the milk that is being sold, by pretending the cows are the transaction. Most of the customers never even visit the farms involved. Woudn’t know ‘their’ cow if it bit them. Either the dairy owner or a customer deliveries the milk, often leaving it on the doorsteps in containers that are not temperature controlled.

    In the Washington/Oregon case, the situation came to a head when 18 people became sick with e-coli after drinking the dairy’s milk. Inspectors discovered the farm did not even have a sink near the milking area where workers could wash their hands. There were no sanitary precautions at all. Furthermore, the cows had never been vaccinated. But, like this farmer, the dairy owners were ready with mouths full of babble about ‘Christian values’ and ‘helping our neighbors.’ In reality, these dairies are for profit businesses (raw milk can be sold at a premium) skirting the law.

    Both states have now strengthened their laws against selling raw milk. Under the new laws, ‘cow sharing’ will not work as an evasion.

    Read more here:

    http://www.tdn.com/articles/2006/06/18/area_news/news06.txt

  20. Public health > Religious beliefs

    Who wants to buy some un-refrigerated raw meat? (or such)

  21. Roman Berry says:

    Podesta, while you do make some good points about the practical perils, here’s the thing: Freedom.

    Should the government be in the business of protecting people from themselves? If I want to buy raw milk and I know the risks, should I be prohibited? If I should be prohibited from buying raw milk on the chance it may be or become contaminated/spoiled, doesn’t it logically follow that I should also be prohibited from buying raw hamburger (some people eat it rare you know), raw fish, raw chicken or even broccoli and lettuce (both of which have been responsible for outbreaks of illness due to e-coli and samonella)?

    As long as people understand what it is that they are buying (raw milk!) and the potential risks involved, why shouldn’t they be allowed to buy it? If government is in the business of making us “safe” and gets to prohibit anything that might be “unsafe”, isn’t everything from aspirin and ibuprofren to alcohol and sharp knives perfect examples of things that should be banned?

    It’s milk. I don’t think the government has any place telling people that they can’t buy raw milk. Then again, I’m one of those liberal radicals that thinks the government has no place telling people they can’t smoke some of the evil weed…but they can buy 190 proof grain alcohol and drink themselves literally to death.

  22. Roman Berry says:

    often leaving it on the doorsteps in containers that are not temperature controlled.

    I meant to address this in the previous post.

    There’s a big difference between raw milk and “dead” cooked (pastuerized) milk when it come to refrigiration. Raw milk, when it gets warm, sours. You can leave a glass of it out and enjoy a delicious glass of sour milk (an entirely different thing from modern day “buttermilk”) later in the day. Raw milk is “alive” with enzymes. Pasteurized milk is “dead” food. If you leave it out in a glass all day, it doesn’t sour, it purtrifies. That is to say it rots.

    I do understand the need to look out for children and people with immune disorders but when it comes to kids, their parents take responsibility and when it comes to people with weakened immune systems, if they are old enough form informed consent, let them choose what they will.

  23. meetsy says:

    podella,
    Washington state has a very strict raw dairy inspection policy. The cow share program never worked.
    The problem is not with raw milk, but with dirty dairy’s, and processing.. Just as e-coli in meat is because of dirty slaughtering and processing plants and poor restaurant practices. It’s the reason that it’s a law — in every state — for workers to wash their hands after using the restroom.
    e-coli is everywhere..and more people have been sickened by raw salads (poorly handled, usually in the pre-washed, pre packaged greens, and in several cases, one sold to hospitals, schools, and rest homes!), undercooked meats and/or contaminated processed meats, contaminated seeds that grew into vegetables (like the Parsley outbreak in Oregon and Washington States in 2005) and, unpasturized juices. Seems that the cows are getting all the blame when it is FILTH that causes the problem.
    We should outlaw filth.

    http://www.about-ecoli.com/

  24. I stumbled across your blog while I was in the process of doing some online research. This is really such an outrageous story. With all the real crime, danger, and terrorism going on in this world, they really had nothing better to do than harass a poor farmer?


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