We the People of Johnson Co MO Monday, August 29, 2022 🐄 Amish Farmer vs Government Regs

“After USDA targeting, judge orders Amish farmer who operates an organic farm to pay $250K fine or risk jail”

A lot of us have seen this headline, eh? It triggers some emotions that are pretty uncomfortable, fer sher. Since I am a farm-dweller and beef producer myself (actually, that’s pretty generous to me, Jerry does all the farm work), I decided to dig into it a little further, because you just never know. Like Paul Harvey (dating myself there) I like to hear “the REST of the story.” Well, there IS more to tell. See the clip below.

Amish Farmer faces 250k in Fines Possible Jail Truth Not Sensationalism #farming #foodfreedom #USDA - Bing video

The woman speaking is, “Stacy at Sustainable Stewards.” She and her husband Doug, live on a “homestead farm”, meaning…well, to me it seemed like they use & recycle everything that comes from the farm to grow the next cycle of stuff. The “sustainability” thing, although I’ve seen that idea run amuck on more than one occasion. Okay, disclaimer aside, I checked a few of her videos to get a feel for her credibility. It’s not something I can rate from 1 to 10, it’s more like, some of her stuff makes sense, some seems a little “out there” in terms of her green ideas, but some of her stuff is remarkably practical and common sense. So - that’s my take.

I’ll put some bullets below to give you her overview of the situation with Mr. Miller, the Amish farmer in question:

• In 2016 the FDA linked Mr. Miller’s milk to listeriosis that hospitalized two people. Sadly, one of them died. Mr. Miller was contacted at that time, and informed his farm was not following proper food guidelines. From there, it appears the games were on!

• Mr. Miller claims his foods “heal people” because they’re grown naturally/organically/sustainably/green/clean…you pick the word. Problem: Mr. Miller can’t legally make that claim, because his foods haven’t gone through Randomized double-blind clinical trials with adequate data to allow the FDA to evaluate and approve the claim. So, there’s the law part of it. His other option would have been to get the President to declare an EUA (Emergency Use Authorization) and mandate use of his foods on people. That would have circumvented the law, despite the fact it still would be illegal. Bottom line: it’s a claim he can’t legally make according to the laws in this country. Someone should let Joe in on that.

• Mr. Miller could have changed his claim to something like: “My ‘clean’ foods may help people’s bodies stay well, because without preservatives, etc. that are required by USDA guidelines bodies may heal better.” It gets wordy.

• Mr. Miller claims he is a private food club, so he does not have to follow federal USDA regulations. Examples of a private food club would include CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), food co-op, etc. The laws of a private food club specify there must be a private engagement between two entities: the seller and the buyer. No third party, such as a transport group is allowed for a “private food club.” In addition, the sale must not cross state lines unless the buyer drives directly to Mr. Miller’s farm and purchases food directly from him, then carries the food purchased across any state lines. Ooops! Mr. Miller has a third party, a transportation group, that delivers his products across state lines. So. He is not following the laws of a private food club. That means he must comply with federal USDA regulations.

• Mr. Miller could solve his dilemma by becoming state licensed, which does not require the addition of preservatives. State licensing is less stringent, requiring proper refrigeration, animal slaughter must be separated from processing to prevent contamination, only workers may be in the processing area and proper cleanliness and attire are required. Preservatives are not required to be used on meat. Why doesn’t Mr. Miller become state certified?

• It might be the refrigeration issue? Mr. Miller probably can’t use electricity powered refrigeration due to his religious beliefs, so would an icehouse work for him? Nope. Temperature fluctuations are difficult to prevent in an icehouse, however he could use propane powered refrigeration. But he doesn’t.

• There have been court battles, and Mr. Miller admits he has not been terribly cooperative with the government. It’s dragged on now for six years. It all came to a head in March this year when the court got downright ticked, and a federal judge ordered Miller to:

  • cease and desist all meat sales

  • authorized armed US marshals to use “reasonable force” to gain access to Miller’s farm so a court expert could inspect it (Miller had previously refused to allow inspections)

  • The expert—accompanied by the armed marshals—took an inventory of all Miller’s meat, and

  • federal inspectors are now returning every few months to make sure he hasn’t sold any of it.

Ruh roh.

One could argue that the government should just leave poor Mr. Miller alone. But…Mr. Miller knows the laws of a private food; he calls his business a private food club; but he knows it is not a private food club. He sells to 4,000 customers nationwide. Good income, but not too private.

Mr. Miller could become state licensed and still be within his religious beliefs. But that would limit his customers. It seems he wants to have his cake and eat it, too. Life doesn’t often comply with that.

We are a country of laws. Not all of them make sense, but up until lately a person could still live reasonably free, make a good living and not get overwhelmingly overrun by the government. A lot of the laws are helpful, like don’t kill people, don’t steal from people, etc. Like I said, up until the last couple of years, but that’s for another discussion. Most of the time most of the laws are helpful. I’ll stop there.

I don’t think the government is trying to pick on Mr. Miller. I think they’ve been fairly patient, don’t hate me. Mr. Miller has some options he won’t consider. Ah, therein lies the rub!

So, there’s the “rest of the story.” Or at least more than you may have known before you started reading. Have a great Monday!!