But many people are turning their backs on pasteurized milk, opting instead to become raw milk enthusiasts, they claim, for health reasons. And surprisingly, it is becoming much easier in many states to buy raw milk, getting it straight from the udder.
This past week, West Virginia joined a growing number of states in a movement called “herd sharing.” This is a huge change for the state because West Virginia has very strict laws prohibiting the sale of raw milk. Herd sharing allows consumers to set up a contract directly with a farmer, and, in essence, “buy a share of a dairy cow.”The consumer pays the farmer to care for the animals and milk them, and in return, gets all the raw milk they want.
On Thursday this week, the Maine legislature will decide whether LD229 will go through. The bill is to exempt farms that produce less than 20 gallons of raw milk a day from state inspection and licensing. This proposed change is part of the Maine Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, which has two new raw milk bills up for a vote. LD229 would continue to permit “on-farm only'” and “farmer’s market” sales.
The second bill, LD312 is more to Governor Paul R. LePage’s liking, actually. It would exempt raw milk producers from inspection and licensing if they are limited to “on-farm sales,” and agree not to advertise. Raw milk producers would also have to take a dairy sanitation course and agree to use labels clearly stating the raw milk is not pasteurized.
In July, 2013, the governor vetoed LD 1282, a bill similar to LD229, saying in his message: “Such face-to-face on Farm transactions should be promoted. The ‘on Farm only’ approach would reduce risk to overall public health because consumers would know the farmer who produced the milk, see and inspect the farm and hold the producer accountable for food-borne illnesses that are associated with unpasteurized milk.”
In the state of Maine alone, the number of dairy farms selling raw milk to the public has increased from 13 dairies 20 years ago, to 160 today. Other states have an increase on farms producing raw milk, also. The thing that makes the argument for, or against the sale of raw milk so complicated is that each state has its own laws, so we’re looking at 50 different sets of regulations governing the sale of unpasteurized milk.
In the 1980s, the Food and Drug Administration prohibited the distribution of raw milk across state lines, forcing states to make their own laws governing sales within state boundaries. For example, in California, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania, you can buy raw milk from a retail store or farmer’s market. In New York and Massachusetts, you can only buy raw milk at a licensed farm.
In Florida, Georgia and North Carolina, raw milk cannot be sold for human consumption but can be sold for pets. Strangely enough, in Virginia, Indiana, Kentucky and Alabama, there are no laws either legalizing or prohibiting the sale of raw milk, yet these states realize herd sharing is going on and have opted to ignore the practice.
The debate continues over the benefits of drinking raw milk
Proponents of raw milk cite a myriad of raw milk web sites that list the positive health benefits to be derived from drinking unpasteurized milk. The testimonials are endless, from curing painful knees, to getting rid of gastritis. And while the majority of people drinking raw milk may never suffer from a food-borne illness, there are still risks involved.
Proponents also cite the nutritional advantages of drinking raw milk. But at the same time, it has been proven there are no nutritional differences in pasteurized versus raw milk. Many people don’t take into consideration that the elderly, very young children and people with compromised immune systems are at greater risk from serious illness should they get a food-borne illness from drinking raw milk. And for the penny-pincher, beware. Raw milk can cost upwards of $16.00 a gallon.
The debate between the CDC and raw milk advocates
Here’s something to chew on. This is a brief compilation of a CDC report on raw milk in 2011.
1. 79 percent of the reported food-borne illnesses due to raw milk or cheese consumption was caused by Campylobacter spp.
2. From 1998 through 2011, there were 148 outbreaks due to consumption of raw milk or raw milk products that were reported to CDC.
3. These resulted in 2,384 illnesses, 284 hospitalizations, and 2 deaths.
Now here’s a report that was given in 2011 by Dr. Ted Beals MD, a proponent of drinking raw milk.
1. CDC estimates more than 845,000 Americans acquired diarrhea caused by contaminated food, but only an average of 34 of those cases are attributed to drinking raw milk.
2. CDC estimates an annual average of more than 63,150 Americans acquire diarrhea caused by food contaminated with E. coli, but only an average of 5 are attributed to drinking raw milk.
3. CDC estimates an annual average of more than 1 million Americans acquire diarrhea caused by food.
I will leave it to the reader to decide who is right, but I am interested in your thoughts on this matter.
