Indiana debates sale of raw milk \ Health panel eyes pros, cons

INDIANAPOLIS - A battle over the sale of raw milk is brewing in Indiana. 

The state Board of Animal Health has seen hundreds of people weigh  in on the subject as part of the agency's virtual public  hearing about whether Indiana should allow the sale of raw milk. 

"There are people who are really passionate about vegetarianism or eating lots of nuts or this vitamin or that vitamin. This is similar," said Kathleen Dutro, a spokeswoman at the Indiana Farm Bureau. "There are people who genuinely believe that pasteurization and homogenization causes the milk to lose something," Dutro said.

Legislators considered legalizing the sale of raw milk this year but decided to send the issue to a summer study committee, in part because the Indiana Farm Bureau opposed the idea. Officials there say pasteurization makes milk safer.

"Any incident could reflect badly on the dairy industry as a whole," Dutro said. "We have a responsibility to all of our members."

The Board of Animal Health started its virtual hearing June 1 as part of the larger effort to decide whether Indiana should legalize the sale of unpasteurized milk for human consumption. Currently, farmers can sell raw milk only for animal consumption.

Janelle Thompson, a spokeswoman for the Board of Animal Health, said the state has received about 200 responses from several sides of the issue. Nearly 90 percent of the comments favor legalizing raw milk for human consumption.

"Food is something that people get to choose, so there are lots of opinions about it," Thompson said. Sen. Jim Banks, R-Columbia City, said he sees the sale of raw milk as an issue of freedom. "I have a number of these types of farms in my district. They are a small, emerging new market. I'd like to see the government get out of the way," he said.

Banks said he plans to introduce legislation in the next session to "help small farms flourish in a rural community" and the sale of raw milk will be included in the legislation.

Mark Grieshop, owner of Pasture's Delights, said government should not restrict a farmer's ability to sell raw milk. "This is America," Grieshop said. "If we are going to be 'free' then let's walk the talk. America was founded on the principle of freedom. "While some people may choose to relinquish their food responsibility, it should not be de facto policy that all American people give up their food freedom," he said.

Pasture's Delights is a farm in northeast Indiana that sells free-range chickens and herdshares of cows. A herdshare is when a person or family pays for the boarding and care of a cow, which then entitles them to a portion of that cow's milk. Herdshares are one way farmers in Indiana provide raw milk to consumers without breaking the state's law. While many of the comments in favor of the legalization are from farmers or consumers, most of the comments against the sale of raw milk for human consumption come from health professionals.

Terry Smith, environmental director at the Adams County Health Department, said "permitting the sale of raw milk in Indiana would be one of the most irresponsible - and downright dangerous - acts that a Legislature could ever consider enacting." "Please do not fly in the face of science in one area of food-borne illness where we have made, and should not yield, progress," said Dr. David Taylor of Bristol.

Comments are open until Sept. 1 and can be made at www.in.gov/both/2615.htm.