Backers of raw milk are pushing to make the product more widely available and easier to obtain, even as a 鈥� one of at least five in the past year 鈥� sickens U.S. children.
More than supporting raw milk have been introduced in statehouses across the nation, The Associated Press found. A growing number of states are . Dairy farmers say they can barely keep it in stock.
Top government officials and internet influencers are helping drive this momentum. U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. downed shots of raw milk at the White House a year ago and previously promised to halt of the product. Social media posts about raw milk have surged in recent months, often touting unproven claims about its health benefits.
All of this alarms public health officials, who have long warned that unpasteurized milk can harbor . The current outbreak 鈥� tied to from California-based Raw Farm 鈥� has sickened nine people with E. coli, half of them children younger than 5.
Here are some key takeaways from AP鈥檚 report on raw milk.
Raw milk legislation is popping up across the nation
Bills favoring raw milk have been introduced in the current legislative session in 18 states, including those controlled by Democrats and Republicans. AP searched legislation in all 50 states using the bill-tracking software Plural and analyzed bills for whether they expand or streamline access to unpasteurized milk or products made from it. More than 40 bills introduced as of late April would make it easier to buy, sell or consume raw milk.
Some would allow it to be sold for human consumption 鈥� something more than three dozen states have already done. Others seek to manage, guide or expand already legal sales.
National legislation is also being considered. A bipartisan bill in the U.S. House would prevent federal departments, agencies or courts from restricting the movement of raw milk between two states where its sale is legal.
Wider access will probably mean more outbreaks, said Donald Schaffner, a Rutgers University food science professor.
Raw milk risks are well-documented
Despite raw milk鈥檚 popularity, scientists and public health experts warn against drinking it. Websites run by the FDA and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention point to the well-documented risks of serious illness from a host of germs, including campylobacter, listeria, salmonella and E. coli.
A CDC review counted tied to raw milk that sickened more than 2,600 people and sent 225 to hospitals between 1998 and 2018.
Another analysis found that raw dairy products cause and 45 times more hospitalizations than their pasteurized counterparts.
Children are especially vulnerable to such illness, because their immune systems are immature and because they drink milk frequently, noted Alex O鈥橞rien, safety and quality coordinator for the Center for Dairy Research in Madison, Wisconsin.
But adults can also get very sick.
Mari Tardiff, of Ashland, Oregon, was hospitalized for five months after drinking raw milk contaminated with campylobacter in 2008.
Doctors diagnosed her with Guillain-Barr茅 syndrome, caused by her campylobacter infection. She spent time on a ventilator and was temporarily paralyzed and unable to talk.
鈥淵our whole life is completely blown apart,鈥� said Tardiff, now 70.
Some raw milk supporters favor regulation
Proponents of raw milk are gratified that it鈥檚 becoming more available. Even in states where it can鈥檛 be sold in stores for human consumption, people can get raw milk marketed for pets or join a 鈥渉erd share鈥� in which consumers buy a partial ownership in a dairy herd.
Farmers who sell it say safety is key.
鈥淢y family and my wife, who鈥檚 currently pregnant, drink about a gallon of our own raw milk every single day,鈥� said Ben Beichler, of Creambrook Farm in Middlebrook, Virginia, which relies on herd shares. 鈥淪o if there鈥檚 anybody who has a vested interest in making sure our milk is safe, it is us.鈥�
Beichler said his 150-cow farm works with a veterinarian on regular herd checks and has a multistep safety process that includes sending milk to food safety labs every week to test for common germs.
With raw milk gaining a foothold, people on all sides of the issue are now favoring regulation.
鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of like legalization of weed, right?鈥� said Schaffner, the food safety expert. 鈥淚f people want it, we should find a way to regulate it and do it safely.鈥�
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