Why drink raw milk? Proposed legislation would allow on farm sales of the unpasteurized product, but a University of Wisconsin expert says the risks of drinking it outweigh the benefits. Scott Rankin, an associate professor of food science, says that while he drank raw milk as a child in California’s dairy country, he doesn’t recommend it. Just what are the supposed benefits? “It’s a raw product, and if you routinely ingest it, there is some evidence to suggest that your immune system is stronger,” Rankin says. He understands the appeal, especially at a time when raw foods are increasingly popular. “If we all ate nothing but highly processed snack food, that wouldn’t be a healthful diet. I think there’s a trend to swing way in the opposite direction and eating nothing but the freshest, most unprocessed foods available, and I think raw milk fits into that category.”
Rankin says surveys indicate up to half of dairy farmers consume raw milk on the farm. He says illnesses caused by that may not be reported, or may not exist. “These people are in dairy farms,” Rankin notes. “They’re constantly exposed to raw milk and the pathogens in it, and their immune systems are probably a little bit stronger.” But for the rest of us, the risks can be serious. “Salmonellosis or e-coli 0157:H7 infection, those are serious infections. You wouldn’t wish those kinds of outcomes on your worst enemy. And who are the most susceptible? Certainly the young, the elderly, the immunocompromised. These are people who have no business being exposed to these kinds of things.”
State Representative Chris Danou, the author of the legislation says allowing on farm sales of raw, unpasteurized milk could provide a new source of revenue for the state’s hard pressed dairy farmers. “It allows the farmer essentially to capture some more of the retail dollar,” says the Trempeleau Democrat, who is circulating legislation which would allow such sales. “That’s always been one of my goals, is to be able to help farmers either be able to ad more value to their product or to be able to capture some more of that money, downstream on the retail end.” Danou says some consumers “are willing to pay a premium” for raw milk.
But Bill Bruins, President of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, worries the dairy industry could end up paying, at least figuratively, if the state were to allow raw milk sales and people were to become ill. “The big thing for dairy farmers who are producing for a market is that we are concerned about our image,” says Bruins. “We certainly want to always be able to say that the milk that you buy in the store is safe, and we want to be able to protect that image.”
Rankin sees the proposed legislation as being more about allowing personal choice, and less about science. He also doesn’t expect the bill, which he says is poorly crafted, to gain much traction at the Capitol. “My opinion is, I understand the draw, the enticement to raw milk,” Rankin says. “But, you’re running the risk of putting someone through a terrible, terrible illness.”