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Got raw milk?

Although not a campaign slogan just yet, a bipartisan coalition of House
members is pushing for the overturn of a decades-old ban on the
interstate sale of raw milk. A controversial topic within the food
industry, it has slowly evolved into a pet cause that’s bringing
together some of the most anti-government libertarians and left-leaning
liberals.

Loosening regulations on raw – or unpasteurized – milk, which the Food
and Drug Administration believes poses too many health risks, has been
gaining steam on the state level in recent times, with at least half of
states now allowing the sale of raw milk directly to consumers and
several more seeing raw milk-related bills being introduced in the
previous two sessions.

Now, with the introduction of two new bills in Congress by Rep. Thomas
Massie (R-Ky.), proponents of legalizing raw milk are making strides on
the national front, too. Massie’s first bill, the “Milk Freedom Act of
2014,” would overturn the interstate ban on raw milk, and his other
bill, the “Interstate Milk Freedom Act of 2014,” would allow interstate
shipment of raw milk only between two states where raw milk sales are
already legal.

The swing in momentum can, in part, be attributed to a transformation of
the argument that advocates are using. The debate used to be centered
on the health and nutritional benefits of raw milk versus the safety of
pasteurized milk, but the likes of Ron Paul – who mentioned the issue in
several speeches during his 2012 presidential run and introduced
similar bills when he was in Congress – have turned it into one about
freedom of choice.

“It’s nice to see that people are now advocating for their right rather
than science,” said Baylen Linnekin, executive director of Keep Food
Legal, a group that describes itself as “the first nationwide membership
organization devoted to food freedom-the right of every American to
grow, raise, produce, buy, sell, share, cook, eat, and drink the foods
of their own choosing.”