Groups Urge Lawmakers to Reject Raw Milk Sales
Tuesday, November 24th, 2015 -- 8:11 AM
(Wisconsin Ag Connection) -A group of state farm organizations, health professionals and commerce leaders are banning together once again to urge lawmakers to reject any efforts to legalize the sales of raw milk.The Wisconsin Safe Milk Coalition, which is made up of 18 organizations, wrote to members of the state legislature this week asking them not to co-sponsor a bill that would permit the on-farm sale of unpasteurized milk. According to group representative Shawn Pfaff, their opposition stems from the fact that consumers cannot be assured that such products would be safe if they are consumed. Pfaff also noted that nearly 140 raw milk health outbreaks have occurred in the United States since 1998, resulting in nearly 2,500 illnesses and two deaths.
Supporters have long claimed that raw milk tastes better, contains bacteria that helps fight disease and is more natural. But the coalition says the entire dairy industry can suffer if just one illness or death from the product were spotlighted in the media. Members of the coalition include Wisconsin Academy of Family Physicians, Wisconsin Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Marshfield Clinic, Wisconsin Public Health Association, Wisconsin Insurance Alliance and many more.
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