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Amish farmer in Pennsylvania's Lancaster County is in a legal battle over selling raw milk products

Nick Vadala, The Philadelphia Inquirer on

Published in News & Features

Barnes, however, told the court that Miller getting a permit to sell raw milk would prevent him from selling other raw milk-derived products, according to Lancaster Online. Miller has also argued that he does not sell his products to the public, but rather to members of his farm's "private membership association," and the state's regulations should not apply to him.

The legal battle continues

Earlier this month, Miller's legal team filed a motion asking the court to allow sales for customers outside of Pennsylvania. The case, lawyers wrote, presents the question of whether "the state's raw milk laws can reach beyond the state of Pennsylvania."

"The farm faces substantial irreparable injury without relief, out-of-state purchasers of raw milk products from the farm will suffer substantial harm if not afforded access to these products, and the public benefits from protection of constitutional rights," the motion read. As a result, Miller's legal team requested that sales be halted only "within the commonwealth."

Federal law, however, requires milk to be pasteurized if it is shipped from one state to another. Barnes previously told Lancaster Online that that law has been challenged in court, and the Food and Drug Administration has backed off from enforcing it.

Sponaugle last week changed the order to only bar Miller from selling raw milk and related products in Pennsylvania. On social media, Barnes called it a "major win."

 

"Court agreed to modify injunction so that it only applies within the state of Pennsylvania removing the ban on sales to customers outside the state," Barnes wrote on X.

But on Monday, lawyers for the Department of Agriculture asked the court to enjoin Miller from offering the products from Pennsylvania, regardless of where customers live. Sales outside of the commonwealth, the department argued, still violate the state's laws, and "there is no ... regulatory requirement that the persons to whom the products are being offered ... must reside in Pennsylvania."

Barnes did not respond to a request for comment.

Sponaugle has yet to rule.


(c)2024 The Philadelphia Inquirer Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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