July 8, 2008

The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund received word from the U.S. Attorney's office in Fresno, California that the grand jury testimony of two Organic Pastures Dairy Company employees was cancelled for April 3. The Legal Defense Fund's legal team had previously contacted the prosecutor's office and expressed a willingness to share documents and proffer other evidence so that the prosecution could make an informed decision about whether it was appropriate to proceed to grand jury at this time.  The cancellation of the grand jury testimony was apparently in response to the Fund's actions.  At this time, therefore, the grand jury proceedings have been temporarily suspended.

Mark McAfee, founder of OPDC was shocked by the lack of prosecutor preparation prior to issuing subpoenas. “Since OPDC’s raw milk and raw colostrum meet and exceed FDA regulations, this is FDA raw milk harassment pure and simple,” said McAfee.  "This FDA and Federal Grand Jury issue has been a distraction and a total waste of time. We can now refocus on meeting and exceeding the needs of customers." McAfee added, "What the FDA fails to appreciate is that the harassment tactics always backfire and stimulate our sales by further upsetting our consumers."

Fund attorney Gary Cox stated "a proffer of evidence gives the prosecutor the opportunity to compare what we tell him with what his investigators tell him, and it may clear up any misunderstandings the Assistant U.S. Attorney may have on whether probable cause exists that a crime has been committed.  We hope he takes us up on our offer."

This is another Legal Defense Fund win for Claravale Dairy, OPDC and every Raw Milk Consumer in the USA.   

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Stay tuned as this situation develops.