WE WON

Faithful readers will remember my blog from last week titled "Time to Stand" regarding state action against Triple Oaks Farm in Campbell County, Virginia regarding their Private Membership Association (PMA) designation. 

                  Bryson Lipscomb called me yesterday to inform me that the state has withdrawn the suit in its entirety.  No courthouse showdown Monday, Sept. 22.  It's all done. 

                  Apparently this blog and other efforts generated enough attention and heat that the  Virginia Department of Health backed off and has decided to not pursue penetrating their PMA model.  This is a fabulous win on our side and we can all thank God for cooler heads to prevail. 

                  The issue here was singular, regardless of any other things you may hear about the farm or other relationships.  As I see it, the issue was that the state of Virginia did not and would not recognize a duly created Private Membership Association. 

                  Nobody needs to like what the farm produces.  Nobody needs to like the farmers.  Nobody needs to like how the farm does things.  I'm not endorsing anything except the right to set up a PMA and operate in the private space.  Certainly one of the most important elements of freedom is the freedom to operate outside the governmental space.

                  So kudos to anyone who helped in this cause and kudos to the government agents who retreated.  Thank you.  One thing we can learn from this whole kerfuffle is that ultimately, all these battles are political.                  

                  For all their innuendos about protecting the public from raw milk, the sickness and hazards to safety engendered by drinking raw milk--it all caved when enough people disagreed. If I really thought raw milk was deadly, I wouldn't back off for any reason.  But the fact that such a deadly public nuisance could be switched to a non-issue shows there was no real heart conviction, no courage, no backbone behind the suit.  It was bureaucracy posing as power, and when the power looked like it was going to be a liability, retreat became easy.

                  When it comes to bodily agency, I think it's paramount to keep our eyes on the real agenda.  Like Congressman Thomas Massie says, I can't disagree more with a flag burner, but I'll defend to the death for the right to burn it.  You can disagree with raw milk.  You can even think a farmer is a scoundrel.  But the right to create an entity that asks for no government protection, no government intervention, and the ability to engage in food commerce without asking the government's permission, is a bedrock of human rights.

                  Let's celebrate.