Over the weekend, it was reported Dan Allgyer had been formally blocked from selling raw milk outside PA:

Judge Lawrence Stengel issued a permanent injunction Feb. 2 barring Amish dairyman Daniel Allgyer from sending the unpasteurized beverage across state lines to Grassfed on The Hill, a Washington, D.C.-area buying club.

“Permanent injunction” sounds like they mean business.  Raw milk has been a raw issue, with interest groups rallying on both sides of the milkpail.  Allgyer has gotten unusual national attention, no doubt some of it due to his beard and buggy (see “Amish raw milk sting” and “Amish milk smugglers“).

Amish Raw Milk BanWhen it comes to legality of buying and selling raw milk, there are a whole host of rules, and six different categories a state can find itself in (including “retail sales legal”; “legal as pet food”; and simply “raw milk sales illegal”).

Raw milk buyers and sellers have coexisted thanks to creative arrangements such as herd shares, a “cow-leasing” scheme. Allgyer was hooked up with a private group called the “Rawesome Club” (rawesome name) which distributed his milk .

One thing is for sure, Allgyer has not submissively accepted his fate:

Allgyer had urged the court to deny the summary judgment the FDA requested in December, saying his dealings with the Rawesome Club were private and not subject to FDA involvement.

Allgyer also argued that the action against him was “quasi-criminal” in nature and thus required the government to furnish probable cause and an official complaint.

The government has contended that safety is a concern, a claim many raw milk enthusiasts dismiss.  Allgyer can request to have the injunction lifted in 5 years.

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Photo credit: Sarah Gilbert/flickr

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