EAU CLAIRE, Wis (WSAU) Wisconsin legislators heard over 10 hours of testimony in Eau Claire yesterday on bills to allow the sale of raw milk. About 450 people attended, including busloads of supporters. Scientists, government officials, consumers, and farmers were among those testifying.
Raw milk advocates said they should have the freedom to drink a product which boosts the body’s immune system and prevents allergies and diseases. But health officials say raw milk carries dangerous micro-organisms that can only be eliminated by pasteurizing – something Wisconsin has required for over a half-century. Twenty-five states allow sales of raw milk in some form. And one supporter, Kimberly Hartke of the Weston Price Foundation, says what happens in Wisconsin will send a message to the rest of the nation.
But the state’s Farm Bureau Federation says any illnesses from raw milk would hurt the entire dairy industry, and perhaps cause panic among shoppers. There have been four outbreaks of Campy-lobacter infections linked to unpasteurized dairy products since 2000 – and state officials said they’ve made 131 people sick. The Senate and Assembly bills would also protect producers from liability – and state food safety administrator Steve Ingham calls that a dangerous precedent. He says there’s not a single food product in which processors have that right.
