- A Michigan bill would allow direct farm sales of raw milk and dairy products
- Health experts warn of unpredictable bacterial contamination
- Farmers say consumers should be able to decide whether they want to consume raw dairy, knowing its risks
More than a century after pasteurization helped eliminate milk-borne diseases, Michigan lawmakers are debating whether to roll back restrictions on raw dairy sales, sparking a clash between farmers who say adults should decide for themselves and health experts who warn against consumption.
A package of bills spearheaded by Rep. Matt Maddock and backed by three dozen other Republicans would allow direct farm-to-consumer sale of raw or unpasteurized milk or raw dairy products, including light cream, heavy cream, whipped cream, sour cream, condensed milk, dry milk, buttermilk and cheese.
“There’s nothing better than fresh milk,” Maddock said last month during a legislative hearing, where he drank a cup of raw milk. “It’s one of the greatest things in the world. We can allow people to have more choices and enjoy themselves.”
Unpasteurized, unprocessed milk comes directly from the animal and has not been heated to kill bacteria. Supporters consider it healthier because it retains natural microbes that are often lost during pasteurization.
However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that raw milk could also contain pathogens like E. coli and Salmonella, and cause foodborne illnesses if consumed. In New Mexico, a newborn recently died from listeria, which health officials said was likely linked to the baby’s mother drinking raw milk during pregnancy.
Once a niche interest of organic food aficionados, the raw milk movement has grown in recent years, particularly among the political right, as high-profile backers like US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. argue that government regulations have gone too far.
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But so far, the bills have sparked a partisan divide in Lansing, where Republicans advanced the bills out of the House Government Operations Committee without any Democratic support. The debate is expected to resume Thursday in a separate rules committee.
“Good food is actually truly nonpartisan – our clientele cuts across all political boundaries and religions,” Jesse Meerman of Green Pastures Dairy in Coopersville, which began processing cheese from unpasteurized milk in 2002, told state lawmakers.
Pasteurization
Widespread commercial adoption of pasteurization began in the early 1900s to eliminate disease outbreaks. The technique was developed by Louis Pasteur in the 1860s, originally for beer and wine production.
At the time, studies showed that pasteurizing milk significantly decreased infant mortality. A historical review of milk hygiene published by the National Library of Medicine found that between 1875 and 1925, high infant mortality tied to milk-borne pathogens like tuberculosis and diarrhea declined as pasteurization became more common.
In the early 1900s, cows had been taken from natural habitats into cities for mass production of dairy and meat products, creating unsanitary conditions with animals confined in tight spaces, Ashley Armstrong, owner of Armstrong Farms in southeast Michigan, said in a recent legislative hearing.
“When you combine those dirty conditions in a city with being fed brewers’ waste, the animals got really sick and unhealthy. Pasteurization was created for combating that need and not because raw milk and raw dairy are inherently unsafe,” she said.
But fast forward a century, and Armstrong thinks the government should now allow raw milk sales.
“Adults are currently allowed to make informed decisions involving known risks every single day (like) alcohol, vape pens, sushi with raw fish, raw oysters and even raw cookie dough,” she said. “In those cases, the government doesn’t ban access. Instead, it provides information and allows adults to decide for themselves.”
What other states are doing
Consuming raw milk is not uncommon nationally. If approved, the legislation would make Michigan one of more than 30 states that allow the sale of raw milk for human or pet consumption, according to an advocacy group.
“When handled correctly, raw milk can be one of the safest and highest quality foods available on Earth,” said Rick Hitchcock, owner of Lone Oak Homestead in Fowlerville. “Everything begins with a cow herself. A clean, healthy cow produced clean, healthy milk.”
Farmers and other supporters contend that pasteurizing the milk doesn’t make it any healthier than it already is. But proper cow hygiene, like brushing away dirt and keeping cow udders clean and dry, reduces the chances of contamination.
And cow hygiene, they say, is only one aspect of ensuring the safe consumption of raw milk.
“The speed at which it is cooled is one of the most critical steps in raw milk safety,” Hitchcock said. “Raw milk must be cooled rapidly, ideally in a cooling tank at a temperature below 40 degrees. Cooling slows bacteria growth to a near stop.”
‘Playing with fire’
Even when raw milk looks clean and tests clear, experts say there is no reliable way to guarantee what is inside the tank.
While most raw milk doesn’t contain harmful bacteria, up to 10% of raw milk tanks do, and it’s hard to identify which tanks are contaminated, according to a recent guide from Pamela Ruegg, chair of antimicrobial resistance at Michigan State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.
“So, it’s a bit like playing with fire,” she wrote.
Health officials are concerned that individuals who consume raw milk may contract illnesses that are avoidable, like Campylobacter, which can cause a dangerous paralytic disease called Guillain-Barré syndrome, or listeria, which can cause miscarriages or death in young infants.
While some farmers showed support for the legislation during the committee hearing, the Michigan Farm Bureau, which represents 40,000 family farms, opposes it, arguing that it creates “legal and liability concerns for producers.”
“In the event of a foodborne illness outbreak linked to raw milk, the resulting public response would not be limited to the individual producer but would likely impact consumer confidence in Michigan dairy products as a whole,” Rebecca Park, legislative counsel for the Michigan Farm Bureau, told lawmakers in written testimony opposing the bills.
“This represents a systemic risk to an industry that has invested heavily in meeting stringent state and federal safety standards.”
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