Raw Milk Regulations Tighten As Demand Increases

PANOCHE VALLEY, Calif. -- On a stretch of California grassland, workers milk 70 Jersey cows and bottle several hundred gallons of milk into quart glass bottles topped with bright yellow caps – without heating the milk to pasteurize it.

Claravale Farm, two hours west of Fresno, has been producing milk with minimal interference between the udder and the customer for about 80 years. It's one of two licensed raw milk dairies in California, which allows the retail sale of milk that has not been heated to 161 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 seconds.

But even as consumers inspired by the local food movement line up at farmers markets and specialty stores to buy raw milk, pressure on the producers has intensified in California and elsewhere around the country.

"People have been drinking raw milk for thousands of years around the world," Claravale's owner Ron Garthwaite said. "But recently, raw milk has become a biohazard."

Five other states – New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Idaho, Vermont and South Dakota – have adopted stricter standards to regulate the amount of bacteria in unprocessed milk in the past three years, according to the Raw Milk Survey released last month by the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture.

And states have cracked down on small unlicensed farmers selling raw milk to friends and neighbors. Three people were arrested in California this week for allegedly producing and selling raw milk without a license. They ran a herd share, in which several people split ownership because an animal's owner can legally drink its raw milk without state inspections.

Raw milk has been consumed since about 10,000 years ago, when goats were first domesticated, but only 1 to 3 percent of Americans consume it today. Federal law prohibits the sale of raw milk from state to state, but allows states to regulate its sale within their borders.

Thirty states allow some sort of raw milk sales: 13 restrict sales to the farm, 12 allow for retail sales and the other five have a combination of regulations.

Raw milk enthusiasts say pasteurization – the process of heating milk to kill disease-causing bacteria – kills bacteria beneficial to human health and argue that unprocessed milk is fresher, full of nutrients and tastier.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, however, warns that raw milk "can make you very sick or kill you." According to the CDC, raw milk can be contaminated with bacteria such listeria, salmonella and E. coli.

Raw milk producers, who are subject to extensive pathogen testing, say their product is unfairly maligned.

"Government officials want to force us to create a sterile environment. What they don't understand is that our customers don't want industrial milk, they want a living product," Garthwaite said. "It's ironic when you can freely smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol, yet the government tells you raw milk is supposedly deadly."

Michael Marsh, chief executive of Western United Dairymen, which lobbies on behalf of California's dairy industry, said the primary concern among conventional dairy producers is that raw milk can give all milk a bad image.

"Consumers don't always discriminate between the two," Marsh said. "They just hear `milk' and that it made somebody ill. Our concern is, if people get sick from raw milk, it stains the rest of us and demand for all milk goes down."

From 1998 through 2008, the CDC reported 86 outbreaks with 1,676 illnesses due to consumption of raw milk or raw milk products. During that period, no deaths were attributed to drinking raw milk, according to the agency. Two deaths occurred due to consumption of queso fresco, cheese made with unpasteurized milk.

During the same time period, pasteurized milk products – which are consumed by the vast majority of Americans – caused 27 outbreaks with 2,494 illnesses and 4 deaths.

The lack of retail availability of raw milk has led consumers to flock to so-called herd shares.

But California has recently moved to shut down shares in El Dorado, Placer, Riverside and Los Angeles counties, said Department of Food and Agriculture spokesman Steve Lyle. Local prosecutors have also taken up several cases against herd shares, Lyle said.

"Herd-sharing arrangements where milk is distributed off the property is a commercial distribution subject to state law," Lyle said. "It must be licensed and inspected by the state. It's about making sure the food is safe."

Evergreen Acres Farm in San Jose, which ran a 100-person herd share with 20 goats, has been told to shut down. Owner Michael Hulme said his farm may go out of business, because he can't afford the bottling equipment and other requirements to become a licensed dairy. He estimates there are 70 to 100 herd shares throughout California.

Another farmer told to shut down her herd share – 2 cows shared by 15 people – is hoping for legislative help. Pattie Chelseth, owner of My Sisters' Farm in Shingle Springs, wants a bill that would let small producers sell goods like milk and cheese directly to consumers without government oversight.

"It's about a private, contractual relationship between you and your neighbor," she said.

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Follow Gosia Wozniacka on Twitter at (at)GosiaWozniacka

Comments

[Backtalkisahorse]

12:37 PM on 09/21/2011

Soylent Green is PEOPLE!!!!!!! :)

[ontariogirl]

10:39 AM on 08/10/2011

They are getting a raw deal. I'd trust that milk over anything in the supermarket.

[BluebirdofUnhappiness]

11:12 PM on 08/08/2011

Raw milk has been consumed since about 10,000 years ago, when goats were first domesticated, but only 1 to 3 percent of Americans consume it today.
From 1998 through 2008, the CDC reported 86 outbreaks with 1,676 illnesses due to consumption of raw milk or raw milk products. During that period, no deaths were attributed to drinking raw milk, according to the agency. Two deaths occurred due to consumption of queso fresco, cheese made with unpasteurized milk.
During the same time period, pasteurized milk products – which are consumed by the vast majority of Americans – caused 27 outbreaks with 2,494 illnesses and 4 deaths.

So do the math. 1-3% causes almost as about 2/3 as much illness as 97-99%. If it was as safe, you'd have maybe a dozen illnesses.

[onnozol]

09:50 PM on 08/08/2011

I have drunk raw milk on and off over the years when it was available and I have never gotten sick from it. Not once nor has anyone I know who drinks raw milk. I don't see what the issue is.

[lotusgirl]

12:13 PM on 08/08/2011

I don't drink milk (vegan), but if I did, it would only be raw and organic milk. Most of the people who drink raw milk are part of private co-ops and sign waivers. They know what the risks are. Most co-ops deal only with certain dairy farmers, so it's not like the milk is coming from a factory farm full of disease.

Most of the people who go to the trouble to buy raw milk are educated and affluent, as it is expensive and not easy to get. They are making an informed decision.

I say that this a freedom and rights issue.

[Richard Aron]

05:46 PM on 08/07/2011

Not only people have been drinking raw milk for thousands of years. People are drinking right now in a lot of countries. If raw milk was that dangerous, why aren't we hearing those countries suffering from massive illnesses and death?!

[Shelly Walker]

03:51 PM on 08/07/2011

Do your research... people are only lactose intolerant because of pasteurized milk!! the enzymes in unpasteurized milk are actually good for people's skin, digestions, diabetes even - it's amazing!! Ultimately, this isn't even about our milk it's what this whole thing represents and that's our government wanting to control healthy foods that we eat!! They already passed a bill in Europe so that people can't buy their own supplements!! It was very quiet and sneaky and they are doing that here as well under "Safety Food Acts" - these supposed safety acts are NOT for us, they're so they can further control our healthy food! They want to take away our vitamins and supplements, and our rights to grow our own food! seriously.... our bread has 60% gluten - that's why so many people are gluten intolerant - in Europe, bread is only 10% gluten ... our breads and pastas are toxic for you here!! Monsanto is trying to destroy our entire health system with GMO crops and seeds ...look into it. It's ironic that people can smoke and consume alcohol but they don't want to allow people to drink raw milk? These are from happy cows who haven't been given hormones, who eat GRASS - regular milk on the shelf is horrible for us because of all the hormones, pesticides etc. Time to stand up people - buy locally and support your local farmer and eat ORGANIC

[Shelly Walker]

03:46 PM on 08/07/2011

This is an attack on our entire food system all across the country! Sickly, gov entities like people not eating healthily as they make money off of it. They make money off of cancer, pharmaceutical pills - they like us feeling fearful and uncertain about our health when in reality, all illness can be cured by healthy food, herbs etc. Our ancestors ate raw milk and we're all here today! Small farmers don't need to change, big agriculture needs to change. This is something we all need to stand up to and not be apathetic about - this is about our survival as humanity!!! Support local farmers and send letters to your senators and congressman to support local farmers and healthy food!!

[ssnugsbug]

10:05 PM on 08/08/2011

I agree with your post. Government is trying to remove all of our abilities to make our own choices for what is right for us. For as much as we have progressed, we have also taken a bunch of backward steps into controlling every move we make. The idea is that if we are all sick then the pharmaceutical companies get to sell us their drugs at inflated prices. Too many drugs in this country are not healthy or safe, but they don't care. They want us dependent on them for our lives. Personally, I'd rather be able to make my own choices when it comes to my health. I need no one telling me that vitamins are dangerous or that I must drink cooked milk instead of raw, healthy milk. Too much of our food supply has already been tainted and there is no reason other than greed.

[Untainted Love]

07:01 AM on 08/07/2011

Aside from cats, humans are the only mammals who continue to drink milk after weaning. It's highly unnatural, and commercial milk contains concentrated hormones, pesticide residues and other things that cause allergic reactions (puffy skin etc) for many people. According to studies about 40% of us are lactose intolerant, so forget about the E.coli and worry about the diahrrea and other digestive problems.

[Dana Seilhan]

01:22 PM on 08/07/2011

You live in an industrially built house, wearing clothes made by slaves from halfway around the world, get to and from work in a car, are typing your little screed on a computer and you presume to tell us we shouldn't drink milk because it's unnatural.

Gotcha.

By the way, you missed one. Pigs will drink milk too. Now you're torn between comparing human beings to pigs and defending pigs as intelligent animals. That's got to be a lousy way to start your day.

Also by-the-by, not all dairy products have lactose in them. And if the milk is raw, it is far more likely to ferment than to spoil, which means there are lactic acid bacteria already in the milk eating up that lactose for you. I keep hearing story after story from raw milk drinkers about how their lactose intolerance magically cleared up after they switched away from pasteurized. Too bad I don't get to try that yet, since the government thinks it's OK that I die from raw spinach or raw sprouts but not that I benefit from raw milk.

[Untainted Love]

02:10 AM on 08/08/2011

If one can consume milk products with no digestive or allergy issues, that's great. People who never stop drinking it from childhood are generally the ones who don't have a problem with it, but the natural development for mammals is to be weaned, and the body stops producing the chemicals needed to digest it. Once stopped this production never returns.

Here's a long but interesting read on milk, lactose intolerance is far from the only issue:

http://www.notmilk.com/kradjian.html

[mebecarl]

10:24 PM on 08/06/2011

I say leave the people to their own choices. If they want to absorb the risks, why should we care if they die from a certain bacteria or not? Whole Foods has been under fire TWICE for bad milk problems (bacteria illnesses). So don't try to tell me that all the "wholesome products" they peddle are better for you. They're not. They're over-priced and they know rich people can't deal with peer pressure so they impress each other by shopping there.

[norsecutie]

10:01 PM on 08/06/2011

I have read a lot of the comments and first things first. It is not the little farmers who get the majority of the tax subsidies. It is large corporate owned farms that get the bulk of the money. I might add they don't need it either. But back to why they are going after small farms. It is the lobbyists for the large farms that do not want small farms producing other kinds of milk. They are the ones that object to raw milk and make sure laws are written so as to make it illegal. Also when some farms refused to use drugs so that the cows would produce more milk there were farms who sold their milk saying they did not use them. Do you remember what happened? Well, people wanted the milk without the drugs and the huge milk producing companies had laws written that they could no longer put that on their milk. Small farms don't stand a chance against the larger corporate farms. I trust the small farmers and hope that they can survive the onslaught of corporate farms taking over all of our farmland.

[lotusgirl]

12:17 PM on 08/08/2011

The raid against Rawesome, a small raw food co-op in S California, involved 20 officers and took over 1 year to investigate. That's when I knew it wasn't a safety issue, but someone else (most likely big agribusiness) was behind it. With all the issues in the world, why would the federal and state government spend so much time and resources on a small co-op?

[joannevlavender]

09:32 PM on 08/06/2011

I grew up on raw milk obtained from the farm "next door." They bought our poultry; we bought their milk.

The key is to buy it from a reputable farm, not some backyard cow without the benefit of veterinary service.

When you process the he** out of milk, it loses necessary nutrients. Taking the fat out of milk drastically increases its carbohydrate count.

[Dana Seilhan]

01:23 PM on 08/07/2011

Also reduces the amount of minerals you can usefully absorb from the milk. The only time skim milk makes sense is when it's traditionally produced buttermilk, which is useful for other reasons.

[kagu632418]

09:21 PM on 08/06/2011

I'm from Europe and was appalled when I took my first sip of american milk.. Its Gross! there is nothing better than milk which is NOT processed. Now they worry about milk? give me a break .. The US has a crappy record when it comes ot food safety ... We read just about every month about some outbreak somewhere..

[Dana Seilhan]

01:24 PM on 08/07/2011

I still drink pasteurized milk but it is low-temp pasteurized at 175 degrees F. After several months of using that local brand I tried some Kroger milk one day. It was so disgusting, and it hadn't even gone bad. So, people, kagu here is NOT exaggerating. The dairy I use not only is low-temp but also their milk is very fresh. I can only imagine that raw milk would be that much better. Plus the cows are on pasture, something else Kroger doesn't do.

[Tkevan]

02:28 PM on 08/09/2011

Yeah, the fact that I can't donate blood for the rest of my life due to eating beef from Europe makes me feel SO much better about their standards than ours.

Sheesh.

[Estafae]

09:12 PM on 08/06/2011

I am ok with people that want to drink raw milk, but....I think they should grow their own cows/goats and milk them their ownselves and don't sell it to anyone else. And that should be the end of the discussion. And please no arguments about "can't", if you cared you could.

[kagu632418]

09:22 PM on 08/06/2011

Good greif get over yourself .... Puuuullleeeeeze!

[Estafae]

10:44 PM on 08/06/2011

What'd I say?

[robear6987]

09:10 PM on 08/06/2011

wow