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Hundreds show up for hearing on bill to allow raw-milk sales

Margo and Daniel Redmond of Madison, Wis., lower right, listen to opinions on Senate Bill 434 and Assembly Bill 628 during a public hearing, Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at the Chippewa Valley Technical College in Eau Claire, Wis. (AP Photo/The Eau Claire Leader-Telegram, Shane Opatz).

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (AP) -- Hundreds of people packed a legislative hearing in Eau Claire Wednesday on legalizing the sale of unpasteurized milk.

The proposed legislation would allow consumers to buy raw milk directly from a farm and give dairy farmers immunity from liability if someone got sick drinking the unpasteurized product.

The issue came to a head in September when state agriculture officials ordered an East Troy area farm to stop selling raw milk through a cow-share program after more than two dozen people fell ill.

The order against Zinniker Farm Inc., said that 35 people from Walworth, Waukesha and Racine counties have been diagnosed with campylobacter jejuni since Aug. 13. The bacterial infection causes diarrhea, cramping and vomiting.

In a news release issued after he testified at the hearing, Wisconsin Farmers Union President Darin Von Ruden said on-farm raw-milk sales should be allowed under well-managed handling and labeling programs such as those outlined in proposed Senate and Assembly legislation about the transactions.

“There’s an inherent issue of personal rights in this matter,” Von Ruden said. “If someone wants to consume raw milk, that person should be allowed to do so at their own risk – or, if you listen to another side of research, to their own benefit.

“I find it interesting that anyone can go to many restaurants to find raw meats, fish and other seafood on menus. Our society has chosen to allow people the right to eat sushi, steak tartar or raw clams on the half-shell. Why can’t we allow people the right to drink raw milk?”

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Jim Kazmierczak, the Wisconsin state public health veterinarian, outlined why the state Department of Health Services opposes the bill in a March 4 Newsmaker interview. Kazmierczak plans to testify at the March 10 public hearing.