Raw milk consumers seek law in Wisconsin

MADISON, Wis., March 11 (UPI) -- A Wisconsin legislative hearing was packed with raw milk advocates who said they seek the right to sell and purchase unpasteurized dairy products.

The hearing in Madison Wednesday included a debate on the alleged health benefits and dangers of raw milk products, but lawmakers said the legislation in dispute is more about consumer choice and helping farmers economically than the merits of raw milk products, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

"It is not the role of the state to protect people by eliminating all risks and intruding unnecessarily into their lives. Please don't protect me from myself, telling me what I can and cannot drink," Margo Redmond, a Madison raw milk consumer told the hearing.

Approximately 25 states permit some form of raw milk sales, the newspaper said.

Wisconsin's disposition of the issue will be a bellwether to the rest of the nation, said Kimberly Hartke, a spokeswoman for the Weston A. Price Foundation, which promotes the health benefits of raw milk.

Steve Ingham, a spokesman for the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection's food safety division, said permitting sales of raw milk to the general public could cause food-borne illnesses with fatal consequences.