Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection

THE FOLLOWING ANSWERS ARE BASED ON WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, TRADE and CONSUMER PROTECTION.

WE ARE TOLD WE CANNOT BUY RAW MILK BECAUSE IT MUST BE HEATED TO DESTROY THE HARMFUL BACTERIA THAT COULD CAUSE SICKNESS AND DEATH.

Can a dairy farmer legally sell dairy products made from raw milk?

No. You must have a dairy plant license to make dairy products that are sold to consumers. Products such as yogurt, butter and cream must be made from pasteurized milk. Cheese must be made from pasteurized milk unless it is properly aged for at least 60 days.

Can dairy farmers consume raw milk from their own farms?

Yes. A licensed milk producer may consume raw milk from his or her own farm, and may serve that raw milk to family members and nonpaying household guests. A licensed milk producer is legally responsible for all dairy farm operations

Can dairy farm employees buy raw milk from the dairy farm where they work?

Yes. Employees can buy raw milk for their personal or household consumption, provided that the licensed dairy farm operator declares them as employees for payroll and tax-reporting purposes.

TERRY’S COMMENTS

Raw milk is a very healthy drink providing many body building nutrients, and has been consumed in the raw state for centuries. Pasteurized milk on the other hand, when standing too long, is not fit to drink.  It will spoil and turn rotten.  Raw milk will eventurally sour and can still be healthy to drink; It takes on the tase and texture of butter milk.  Raw milk, with its natural lactic acid bacteria, will kill off the harmful bacteria that may cause sickness, providing safe, wholesome raw milk. Pasteurization is similar to using an antibiotic killing off the good and bad bacteria.

If milk is dangerous and can cause harm, why are farm owners and farmhands allowed to drink raw milk and I am not allowed to have the same right?

It seems the war is not against raw milk and safety, but a war to control pricing.

In the past few years, a number of foods have caused sickness and some deaths. These foods are primarily fruits and vegetables such as sprouts, spinach and melons. No one has required these foods to be pasteurized before they are sold and they are still on the market.

I am all for raw milk regulations that would require farms to be certified as they would for organics. Give farms the right to sell raw milk and the consumer the right to buy raw milk.

Prescription drugs kill over 110,000 people a year.  Tylenol is the number one cause of liver failure in the U.S.  Who is protecting whom? Where is the safety?

IT ALL COMES DOWN TO MONEY NOT SAFETY.