Opinion: Slovenia has US Beat When It Comes to Raw Milk
March 27, 2014Maine Tries Again to Legalize Raw Milk Sales
April 1, 2014Show of Opposition Urgently Needed to Stop Attempt to Ban Illinois Raw Milk
The Illinois House of Representatives is considering a ban that will entirely outlaw raw milk for human consumption. Currently, Illinois raw milk sales are allowed if sold directly to consumers on the farm under production regulations. A proposed amendment to HB 4036, which addresses “The Grade A Pasteurized Milk and Milk Products Act,” would remove the clause that allows for on-farm sales of Illinois raw milk.
Section 8 of “Section 5. The Grade A Pasteurized Milk and Milk Products Act” reads: “After the effective date of this Act, no person shall sell or distribute, offer to sell or distribute any milk or milk product for human use or consumption unless such milk or milk product has been pasteurized and has been produced and processed in accordance with rules and regulations promulgated by the Department.”
The proposed amendment would remove the following clause, “The pasteurization requirement of this Section shall not be applicable to milk produced in accordance with Department rules and regulations if sold or distributed on the premises of the dairy farm.”
The Bill passed out of committee on March 26, 2014. The House is in session and on the floor right now. The Bill is waiting to be called up for another reading and short debate.
If you live in Illinois and oppose the amendment to this Bill, please voice your opposition to the Bill’s Chief Sponsor, Rep. Daniel Burke of Chicago, or one of your other State Legislators ASAP. You can find your representatives’ contact information here or here. Call or email them to share the nutritional and economic benefits of continuing to allow the on-farm sales of raw milk.
The Campaign for Real Milk is a project of nutrition education non-profit, The Weston A. Price Foundation.
11 Comments
Please do not ban the responsible selling of raw dairy milk in Illinois. The health benefits from raw milk products bought from reputable farmers is extremely beneficial and FAR outweighs the nutritional value of pasteurized milk.
Please do Not take away the choice if so chosen for Illinois residents to drink raw milk or buy it from their neighbor.
Thanks for making us aware of this.
I just spoke with Rep. Daniel J. Burke’s office (http://www.ilga.gov/house/Rep.asp?MemberID=1825), they have received a large number of calls and they are not going to push this bill forward with its current language.
They plan on working up new language next week…Please keep us updated if further efforts are needed.
Please don’t outlaw the sale of raw milk. It’s benefits for our health and availability should be a choice we make. Not our government !!!
Please do not outlaw the sale or consumption of raw milk. I have been educating myself on the subject and have determined it may have health benefits I wish to take advantage of. I’m a 32 year old U.S. citizen. The Land of the FREE! Although it may be important to know what our food is, where it comes from, and/or what is in it. FREEDOM is a citizens right to choose what he or she consumes for food. Not! I emphasize Not the government!
I wonder what business interest is sponsoring this legislation? No doubt there is profit for someone by forcing all milk through the narrow funnel of large-scale processing plants.
Do not go forward with this bill. It is absurd to make raw milk for consumption by humans an illegal substance, thus making those who consume it lawbreakers. Please reserve Illinois resources (time of lawmakers, law enforcement officials, and the time and tax dollars) of Illinois citizens for good and worthy causes. Stop this attack on raw milk in it’s tracks and let the right to consume raw milk remain with Illinois citizens. Get out of the barn Illinois government!
When I was a baby, my parents searched all over to find something I could eat without getting sick. I could not digest any formulas or milk products at all and was wasting away, nearing death. They finally tried the last option doctors had been telling them would kill me—raw milk! Well, here I am 65 years later. Raw milk is not the real issue and should not be made the culprit. As in my case, there are some real tangible benefits to consuming raw milk.
Oh please – eating raw as nature intended is somehow dangerous and illegal!
yet all kinds of destructive and mind altering drugs are legal.! think these guys are in somebodies hip pocket? Time for a little more honesty and rational thought!
As an Illinois voter, I strongly urge you not to make raw milk illegal in the state. While I understand your duty to protect the public health, I think it is misplaced here. Raw milk has been used for thousands of years in most of the world. When it is immediately refrigerated, as happens on a dairy farm, there is very little chance of contamination. The health benefits of raw milk far outweigh the risks.
-bw-
I feel there is no need to change the law as it is now written. It looks like this has more to do with government control than public health. It’s ironic that in an age when states are legalizing the use of marijuana and such, we are being treated like we are not intelligent enough to drink what is healthy.