Message to the FDA: “I Drink Raw Milk. Arrest Me!”

She doesn’t exactly look the part of a federal criminal.

In fact, the petite, blond headed woman better fits the image of suburban mother of five.

And Liz Reitzig doesn’t commit her nefarious acts in dark, seedy alleys. Her criminal enterprise starts on a picturesque Amish farm in rural Pennsylvania.

Her crime?

Transporting raw milk across state lines.

Last Tuesday, Reitzig and fifteen other mothers drove from their Maryland homes, purchased raw milk from an Amish farm and publically caravanned back to Maryland.

The federal government calls it a crime.

Reitzig calls it an exercise in liberty.

The FDA bans transportation of unpasteurized raw milk across state lines. Government officials insist the unpasteurized milk poses a health risk because of its susceptibility to contamination from cow manure, a source of E. coli. In 1987, the feds implemented 21 CFR 1240.61(a), which provides that, “no person shall cause to be delivered into interstate commerce or shall sell, otherwise distribute, or hold for sale or other distribution after shipment in interstate commerce any milk or milk product in final package form for direct human consumption unless the product has been pasteurized.”

Protesting a recent surge in federal enforcement of the rule, Reitzig organized the milk run with other mothers. It wasn’t done on the sly. In fact, she says the group invited the FDA to come to the Pennsylvania – Maryland border and witness the crime.

“We made a big point of showing what we were doing,” Reitzig said.

The feds declined the invitation.

Tenth Amendment Center

Tags: amish farm, cow, FDA, Featured, feds, interstate commerce, Liz Reitzig, raw milk, tenth amendment center, unpasteurized milk

Category: Big Brother/Freedom