Raw milk enters presidential politics
You’re going to hear more than your fair share of political endorsements in 2008, and I don’t want to become yet another screaming voice in this year of high-intensity punditry. But now that the primary season is upon us, I do want to draw your attention to a candidate that shares many of my beliefs. You may have already figured out that I’m talking about Congressman Ron Paul.
I’m sure you’ve already heard about his somewhat under-the-radar, grassroots campaign for president. Paul is the ultimate long shot, and he’s a man who speaks his mind. A man willing to accept the unpopularity of his so-called unconventional beliefs. He’s a contrarian and is known for voting “no” on all legislation that’s not expressly authorized by the Constitution. In other words: He’s my kinda guy.
But this isn’t about a political endorsement. I bring up Ron Paul because he’s taken a strong public position on a subject that is very near and dear to my heart: raw milk. Right now, too many of you are being deprived of your right to drink raw milk. Paul is trying to change that. Last November, he proposed a raw milk free trade bill to Congress.
I find it incredibly encouraging when someone who’s actually running for president isn’t ready to tow the Big Government line and blindly back the government agencies. He not only agrees with me, he stands by his principals! (If he keeps up with this kind of behavior, they’ll take away his membership in membership in the American Politician Club!)
Of course, Congressman Paul didn’t just take this stand because of the potential health benefits of raw milk-he took it because it’s the constitutionally correct stance. The Federal government has no business limiting the sale of raw milk. It’s simply beyond its constitutional jurisdiction. If Congressman Paul’s bill becomes law, it would give the freedom of choice back to you, the consumer, and allow you to take control of your own health by determining for yourself whether the milk you consume is pasteurized or raw.
This is really a variation on the argument against mandatory vaccination. It’s a matter of personal freedom – just as it should be up to you and you alone what is (or is not) injected into your body, so should the consumption of raw milk be a choice that’s free of government constraint.
Congressman Paul’s proposed free trade law for raw milk could be in the nick of time. California – one of only four states that has less restrictive raw milk laws – has just enacted a law that could doom raw milk there.
New law restricts raw milk in California
According to new state regulations, raw milk in California must now meet a strict limit for coliform bacteria. But while raw milk is already routinely tested for the strains of coliform bacteria that cause illness (strains such as E. coli, salmonella, listeria, and campylobacter), the other forms are left in the milk ON PURPOSE. That’s because the strains that don’t make you sick are actually part of what makes raw milk so good for you-those teeming cultures of bacteria and live enzymes. Can you see the dilemma here?
As for common sense, don’t look to the FDA. Their response to the new limits on raw milk in California was, of course, a ringing endorsement. An FDA manager compared drinking raw milk to “playing Russian roulette with your health.”
But according to Mark McAfee, managing partner of Organic Pastures Dairy, California’s largest producer of raw milk, the new standard is really a stealth attempt to ban raw milk. “It basically prohibits raw milk in California,” he said.
I’m inclined to agree with McAfee. Strangely, this bill was passed into law WITHOUT public debate – and the state’s two raw milk dairies were not informed of the bill in advance. It’s just got to make you wonder.
McAfee claims that this move represents a de facto ban on his product, and he says that the new standard will be impossible for his 350-cow dairy to meet consistently because coliform bacteria are so common in the environment in general, and in cows in particular. All of this in spite of the fact that there’s been exactly ZERO incidences of illness- causing bacteria in the milk from his dairy.
The new law is just as upsetting to raw milk consumers, some of whom believe that they’ll be driven “underground,” bound together in buying clubs that will purchase the banned milk directly from the dairies.
A black market for milk? It shouldn’t have to be that way – and Organic Pastures is seeing to it that it isn’t. They’re leading the way in the legal fight for your right to raw milk – and they’re making some great headway, too. Go to www.OrganicPastures.com to keep up-to-date on this very important legal battle, and to see how you can help them out in the process.
