Farmer files federal lawsuit in Harrisburg over definition of ‘skim milk’
Randy Sowers stands outside the capitol complex, across the street from the federal courthouse in Harrisburg. (Photo: Rachel McDevitt/WITF)
(Harrisburg) — A dairy farmer looking to sell his products in Pennsylvania is suing the federal Food and Drug Administration over what he says is a free speech violation.
At issue is what can legally be called “skim milk.”
Randy Sowers owns South Mountain Creamery, a 500-cow operation outside Frederick, Maryland.
He does business in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Sowers says he wants to sell pure skim milk, which is just the milk with the fatty cream skimmed off.
But the FDA says he can’t label his product as skim milk unless he adds vitamin A and D to it.
Sowers says he’s done that for the last 15 years.
“But it’s not what we want to do and it’s not what we want to do in the future,” he said. “We need a niche, to be different than other people, to make our business work. That’s what we’re after.”
Sowers says the current regulations benefit huge agribusinesses, but hurt smaller farms like his.
He’s represented pro bono by the Institute for Justice, which won a similar case against the state of Florida last year.
“Based on what we saw in that case and what we think we’ll see in this case, customers understand that skim milk is milk with the cream skimmed off,” said attorney Justin Pearson, who argued the Florida case. “And they especially understand it when someone is going overboard to try to be honest like Randy is. No one’s being harmed by telling the truth here.”
The lawsuit was filed in the federal U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg.
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