Vernon Hershberger, the Mennonite
farmer from Loganville, Wis., was acquitted of three of four charges Saturday
in the raw milk/dairy farm co-op saga that has garnered attention across the
United States and Canada.
Hershberger
was convicted by a jury of violating a holding order the state put on his farm
store after a raid on his property back in 2010. He was acquitted of operating
a dairy farm and a dairy retail outlet without a license and operating a retail
store without a license.
These acquittals are big. First, the
jury found that his farm co-op was legitimate and that his store was merely a
pickup point and a place of work for members. I have been a member of the co-op
and can verify that it is indeed for members only. The state was vigorously
trying to prosecute Hershberger to make an example of him. After the state
raided his farm, they put yellow crime scene tape over his coolers. He broke
the seal and said he couldn't let food go to waste, that it was against his
religious beliefs. The judge ruled against his pretrial motions and the jury
agreed with the defense.
"This
is a victory for the food rights movement," said one member of
Hershberger's defense team, Elizabeth Rich.
Wisconsin
farmers can't sell unpasteurized milk directly to consumers and the state's
daairy lobby is standing behind the state to help prosecute Hershberger. He
said he was pleased with the outcome, but he has to be careful about what he
says until the sentencing, which carries a maximum of a year in jail and a
$10,000 fine.
Cleary,
taking down some yellow tape doesn't deserve either a stiff fine and surely not
a jail sentence for a man who is trying to bring organic food to consumers who
travel long distances to be part of his club. Loganville is located west of
Baraboo and Hershberger delivers food weekly to Madison as a dropoff point. He
consistently sells a lot of raw milk to people who have a right to drink it.
How can the state punish a man who brings a product to the public that has been
around a lot longer than pasteurization?
We'll see what the sentencing brings.
No date has been set.
Following
the verdict, which came at 1:30 Saturday morning, May 25, Hershberger told
supporters:
“I am
extremely grateful to the almighty God that I have been acquitted from the
first 3 criminal counts that were filed against me: operating a retail food
establishment without a license, operating without a milk producer’s license
and operating without a dairy plant license. I am very proud of the people in
Sauk County who served on the jury for sending the message to the state and
DATCP that it is absolute nonsense and a complete waste of tax dollars to
interfere with peaceful peoples’ natural right to peacefully assemble to
procure the foods of their choice from the producer of their choice. The 4th
count, violating the holding order, which I was found guilty of, carries a
penalty of 1 year in jail and up to $10,000 fine and to pay the state the value
of all the products moved that were under the holding order. The maximum
penalty is still a small price to pay compared to the price of a guilty
conscience because of letting good food spoil while families with small
children are in need of it. I consider it a great honor to suffer for the cause
of the truth and the good of my community.”
The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense
Fund, of which Hershberger is a member, retained attorneys Glenn Reynolds and
Elizabeth Rich to represent him at trial. Rich called the verdict "a
victory for the food rights movement."
The
Wisconsin state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
officials who raided his farm in June 2010 and intentionally destroyed 2,000
pounds of milk should have been the ones on trial.
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