Raw Milk Advocates Protest Outside FDA
Feds say drinking raw milk can lead to illness.
Photos
SILVER SPRING — Got protests?
A group of Maryland moms served raw milk and cookies in front of the Food and Drug Administration headquarters on Tuesday, urging the agency to drop its longstanding ban on selling unpasteurized milk across state lines.
The group of about 15 mothers and other supporters - calling themselves the "Raw Milk Freedom Riders" - purchased raw milk from a Pennsylvania farm and caravanned to Silver Spring to protest the ban.
The mothers were protesting a 1987 regulation issued by the FDA that prohibits the transportation of raw milk across state lines in order to sell it.
The FDA said the ban is necessary because consuming raw milk can lead to illnesses from foodborne pathogens like listeria, E. coli and salmonella.
"While the perceived nutritional and health benefits of raw milk consumption have not been scientifically substantiated, the health risks are clear," the agency said in a statement, attributing 143 illness outbreaks to raw milk since 1987.
But raw milk tastes better than pasteurized milk and has health benefits for children, said Liz Reitzig, a mother and co-founder of the Farm Food Freedom Coalition, which sponsored the protest.
"The (FDA) is undermining our authority as parents," she said.
While the interstate sale of raw milk is illegal, the sale of it within each state varies. According to the FDA, 20 states prohibit raw milk sales, while 30 allow it in some form. The sale of raw milk is legal in Pennsylvania, but not in Maryland.
At FDA headquarters on Tuesday, protesters welcomed the caravan with chants like "Hey, hey, FDA! Raw milk is here to stay!"
As police looked on, protesters maintained that transporting milk from Pennsylvania to Maryland and serving it for free was illegal. They held signs that said, "I drink raw milk. Arrest me!"
An FDA spokesperson said the agency defines "interstate commerce" to include both the sale of raw milk and giving it away for free. But there were no arrests made Tuesday.
The protesters gathered around Sally Fallon Morell, the president of the Weston A. Price Foundation, a non-profit nutrition organization, who spoke about the importance of raw milk was to children's health.
"Our children need this milk," Fallon Morell said. "We can't go on with another generation eating industrial foods."
Joel Salatin, a leading advocate of sustainable farming and the owner of Virginia's Polyface Farms, told protesters that individuals - not the government - should be able to choose to drink raw milk.
"If we're going to have freedom, we're going to have to have the risk of making bad decisions," he said.
Click for a photo gallery of the protests.
Sharon Adams
6:22 pm on Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Joel Salatin, a leading advocate of sustainable farming and the owner of Virginia's Polyface Farms, told protesters that individuals - not the government - should be able to choose to drink raw milk.
Excerpt from article: "If we're going to have freedom, we're going to have to have the risk of making bad decisions," he said.
These same people (when & if their children possibly get sick) will be the 1st ones to 'sue' the retailer, producer and even FDA. I worked for FDA (retiree). Damned if we do and damned if we don't try to 'do our job' of protecting the general public. Will always have to deal with conflicting complaints that we either don't do enough or the complaint is "The (FDA) is undermining our authority as parents". We would prefer to err on the side of 'science & utmost precaution'.
Nicole Smoot Tengwall
7:28 pm on Tuesday, November 1, 2011
And yet the FDA approves thousands of drugs every year that have a list of side effects a mile long (and most include death) and for some odd reason, they feel we are able to make an educated decision as to whether or not we are willing to take those risks....BUT, we apparently can't make those same decisions when it comes to freakin milk???? Hmmmmm...why would this be? I have one word for you-- MONEY. There is plenty to be made off of drugs the FDA approves but NONE to be made off of raw milk.
Nicole Smoot Tengwall
7:36 pm on Tuesday, November 1, 2011
143 illnesses in TWENTY FOUR YEARS? And that's considered a bad record? Are you serious? Thousands of people DIE every year (if not more) from drugs approved by the FDA...not to mention the people who die every year from FDA approved foods that are contaminated. (as a side note, not ONE person has died from drinking raw milk in over 37 years in the United States!) Thanks very much but I'll take the odds of being 1 in 143 in 24 years over the number of people who get sick from "FDA approved" foods.
How is it that the FDA approves Twinkies, Cheetos and meat infused with antibiotics and steroids but we can't feed our kids the same natural milk that our forefathers drank for hundreds of years (and that farmers still live off of every day)????
Sharon Adams
7:48 pm on Tuesday, November 1, 2011
http://patients.about.com/od/glossary/g/blackboxwarning.htm
Excerpt: "Not all pharmaceutical drugs are safe for all patients to take. When a prescription drug is known to be effective for some patients, but may cause serious side effects in others....".
http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/Surveillance/AdverseDrugEffects/default.htm
Nicole Smoot Tengwall
7:54 pm on Tuesday, November 1, 2011
My point was that there are plenty of products that the FDA approves that have many risks--including death--and yet they are fine with us weighing the pros and cons of those risks for ourselves. Why not allow us the same exact liberty with something like milk?
Sharon Adams
8:18 pm on Tuesday, November 1, 2011
http://www.realrawmilkfacts.com/
Sharon Adams
8:38 pm on Tuesday, November 1, 2011
http://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/rawmilk/raw-milk-questions-and-answers.html
Nicole Smoot Tengwall
9:14 pm on Tuesday, November 1, 2011
I appreciate the links but I have been researching raw milk for years now and feel VERY confident in my choice to consume it and give it to my children. A heck of a lot more people get sick every year from "FDA approved" foods then they do from raw milk. I also know exactly where my milk is coming from and my farmer has an impeccable safety record with his foods. After all, that's what it's all about--educating yourself, knowing the source of your food and then making an informed choice. There is risk in anything we eat/drink...my choice yields me and my family the best chances of staying healthy based on ALL the research I have done over the years!
Sandy Gonzalez
10:18 pm on Tuesday, November 1, 2011
For the first time ever prescription drugs have surpassed motor vehicle accidents as the leading cause of preventable death (according to CDC reports). I would argue that the risk there far outweighs that of consuming raw milk, let's not even get into the side effects! http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/10/26/prescription-drugs-number-one-cause-preventable-death-in-us.aspx
Sharon Adams
2:09 pm on Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Coincidental timing of this article today to your comment regarding more deaths fr drugs than car accidents.
http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/01/40-die-daily-in-rx-drug-epidemic-cdc-says/?hpt=hp_c2
Sharon Adams
10:31 pm on Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Actually, this is an FDA'er who rarely takes an aspirin for a headache. Unless medication needed (life-saving/on my death bed), I am anti-R/X & OTC drugs. I am anti-drugs period. Anything in this life, depending on individuals, can have adverse effects. And, if one can cope without popping some pill, the better off one is. And R/X drugs are surpassing motor vehicle accident, Sandy, because in a lot of cases, too many cases, doctors are over-prescribing...treating & dispensing every new medication that comes down the pike as some 'miracle cure'! Can't blame that on FDA! Physicians need closer monitoring as well, for sure. And, Nicole, I commend you on the research you do. I have great respect & appreciation for those who 'do their homework' & refuse to just accept accept what someone else says as gospel truth.