Pasteurized Milk, Part III: The War on Raw Milk Rages

Now they use local proxies to do their dirty work obliquely. They pressure state departments of agriculture and influence state politicians to create legislation making consumer purchases of raw milk more difficult, to indirectly force small dairies out of business.

The Motive

Government regulation concerns on any level are rarely for public safety. If that were so, it would be easy for them to require testing of raw milk, along with random checks from the state department of agriculture. If pathogens are not in milk, why pasteurize? The concern is primarily from Big Dairy's trade associations.

Big Dairy is trying to stem the rising tide of public interest in raw milk. And they have the lobbies to influence government, or they have Big Dairy execs spinning through corporate/government revolving doors and into the FDA or USDA.

Big Dairy practices factory farming, which makes it impossible for them to produce uncontaminated healthy milk. Their lucrative method of creating unhealthy cows and unhealthy milking environments for large scale milk production, which has to be decontaminated through pasteurization, is being threatened by the increased interest in raw milk.

The century old war on raw milk is currently all about politics and money, not public health and safety.

The Means and Method

It has been proven from documents leaked or procured through the Freedom of Information Act that the various state agency legislative actions to restrict raw milk consumption are coordinated by the FDA or USDA. These state activities are not random or spontaneous.

The current focus of attack throughout the United States is on buying groups or clubs. A buying club is suitable for states where retail outlets are not permitted to sell raw milk. The laws then require the raw milk to be purchased directly from the farmer, who usually is not permitted to advertise. Pristine small dairy farms that produce raw milk are too few and far for most urban raw milk users to visit consistently.

So buyer groups or clubs are created, acting as brokers for direct delivery service from the dairy to the homes of raw milk users. The groups usually advertise. The farmers win because their customer base is increased, and the customers win with easier consistent access to the milk. But more and more states are now trying to restrict or eliminate buyer clubs.

States that won't even allow buyers clubs or buying directly from farmers often use a cow share technique of getting around big brother. Raw milk users in those states simply buy a share in a cow, technically enabling them to simply drink milk from their own cow. There are plans for restricting or eliminating cow share interests as well.

The War Escalates

There are several Boston raw milk buying club members who are concerned about proposed Massachusetts legislation to eliminate raw milk buying clubs. At the time of this writing, the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) was planning a raw milk drink-in on May 10th in Boston, which includes dumping a lot of pasteurized milk on the steps of the State House!

That's a bold demonstration! The revolt against raw milk restrictions as part of the health freedom movement is getting stronger.