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Wisconsin Independent Consumers & Farmers Association
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Wisconsin Independent Consumers & Farmers Association
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WICFA FARMERS MARKET NEW!!! |
Raw Milk, Should Farmers Be Going To Prison For Producing and Selling One of The Planet's Most Complete Beverages? Farmers across the state of Wisconsin have been put on notice that they are not going to be selling raw milk anymore and those of you who are consumers of raw milk, well tough. It is considered, by the powers that be (DATCP), to be unsafe for Wisconsinites to consume raw milk. Maybe we should tell that to the billions of people who have been raised on raw milk that they were and are risking their own lives. Apparently it is safer for someone to consume hard liquor and/or beer in copious amounts and then get behind the wheel of a car and play the ultimate game of Russian Roulette; however, don't even think about drinking that raw milk. Don't worry, Wisconsin's Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection is on the case and will be making a visit to your farm if they suspect you are involved with this highly dangerous act. Or, if you are a consumer, they may come nosing around to find out what evil dairy farmer you are purchasing your contraband from. I did a little searching for information about Campylobacter jejuni caused infectious diseases online. It appears that a very small percentage of the actual food borne cases of illness are caused by the consumption of raw milk and C. jejuni. For that matter, retail poultry carries the pathogen at a rate of 98% according to some studies. Wow, don't you think that DATCP should be attacking people who raise and sell poultry that will be sold at the retail level. If you think that is stupid, then you would certainly agree that DATCP should not be going after raw milk sellers either. A majority of the cases of illness caused by C. jejuni are related to the consumption of retail poultry, not raw milk. For now, all we can do is try to educate the general public about the safety of raw milk. It is believed, by some, to be healthier to drink raw milk than pasteurized milk because of the fact that the high temperature of pasteurization destroys enzymes, good bacteria, and nutrients found in milk. WICFA supports the right of dairy farmers to sell raw milk and the right of consumers to be able to purchase raw milk. As with any other thing you may do in life, there is a certain amount of risk involved. Ultimately, it should be left to us, the consumer, to decide which risk we want to take. I still can't believe that our state is spending taxpayer dollars to police raw milk sales when there are so many people killed each year by drunken driving. Seems like PETA should be supporting DATCP 100% in their efforts to stamp out raw milk sells. After all, isn't PETA the organization responsible for the Got Beer? slogan, prompting consumers to drink beer and not milk. Both of these campaigns are ridiculous; however, I am not surprised that DATCP has stooped down to the level of idiocy that PETA is routinely known for. As always, we are looking to expand our information about this topic. If you want to contribute articles, research, or suggest books and articles to read, please feel free to email us at cj@wicfa.org. We would like to compile a list of dairy farmers who have been told to stop selling raw milk and are facing prosecution by DATCP for doing so. With your permission, we would also like to post this list to our website so that we can make people realize that the people our state is after are more than just a few rouge farmers, that you are indeed their neighbors and fellow citizens.
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