Friday, May 28, 2010

Raw Milk?

I was going to leave these thoughts in comment-form on a blog, but…I have a bad habit of starting fights with what start out as simply curious questions.

 

Her blog post was simply a small rant on how ridiculous it is for Big Government to swoop in and tell us what we can and cannot eat (raw milk, in this case). Her point was that if she did her research, and believes the pros outweigh the cons, why SHOULDN’T she be allowed to choose what she eats?? (The sale of raw milk is illegal in her state. She loves raw milk and wishes she could still buy it.)

It got me thinking, though (and I’m going to word this carefully so I avoid weird Google hits), but don’t you think there are a lot of people out there wishing THEY could buy OTHER “illegal substances” and believe the pros outweigh the cons (medical m*riju*na anyone?)

 

I have not looked into raw milk at all, and I agree that if people would like to drink raw milk, then they should be able to drink raw milk. (I also think, just off the top of my head, that there had better be some guidelines for how that milk is handled, prior to sale.) What do you guys think? Are you pro raw milk? Even if you’re not, are you frustrated that somewhere in Iowa a room full of lawyers and judges pleading the case that consumers should not be able to buy the foods that they want?

 

I can kind of see both arguments. Let’s put a different spin on this. Instead of raw milk, something a little more familiar? Wild mushrooms. How about that.  Let’s say I love wild mushrooms. I do my research, and I go foraging. I am good at what I do, and I do just fine. Let’s say another woman DOESN’T do her research, and goes forth to forage…and ends up poisoning her family. Should there be a law in place to ban future families from gathering wild mushrooms, to avoid the same mistake? Or should we just chalk it up to Darwin’s Law already being satisfied and continue to allow the foraging of (possibly deadly) wild mushrooms?

 

Alright. Discuss. Thoughts on Raw Milk, and thoughts on Government Control over foods that we buy and consume. Go.

7 comments:

  1. ooohhh, I am totally for raw milk. It's not just about safe handling, or any other logical consideration. Big Ag and the FDA are literally out to ban it, despite evidence that it is not only safe (when handled appropriately), but healthier than pasteurized milk, and probably safer than most Factory, Big Business, Big Ag, Multinational, Processed foods you can think of. Think spinach, or "peanut butter products," or "it wasnt' the tomatoes after all, it was the peppers..." I'll have to collect my thoughts if you would like a more detailed opinion. ;) I am not a doomsdayer or pessimistic or paranoid or into conspiracies. But raw milk is a "food freedom" issue where the gov't is wrong, the evidence is against them, and they are actually taking SWAT teams onto small Amish family farms, terrorizing women and children, confiscating equipment and putting folks out of business over allegations that often are mishandled. I mean, really. It's MILK. :)

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  2. Hrm. Well, first off, I've heard really good things about raw milk. And really gross things about pasteurized milk. But as far as the bigger issue goes, I've thought quite a bit about government control in our lives, and...I still can't decide. Really, where do you draw the line? Should the government be responsible for protecting us from ourselves? I sort of lean toward the Darwin's Law side of things, but then I feel kind of mean.

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  3. I remember raw milk when I was a kid and LOVED it. I understand why the government wants to do what they are doing, but seriously I got a movie for you to watch. It's called Food, Inc. Oh gosh, that is eye opening about our food system.

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  4. not to mention that medical m*riju*na is legal, while raw milk is not!

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  5. Mind altering substances do not equal raw milk. The government should not be involved in these decisions regarding our health. They fear alternative health care and anything that they don't have a hand in - it if you follow the money it usually clears up why. It really steams me we should have to fight these kind of fights here in America, and it seems like we are losing.

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  6. This is a new website with information on raw milk benefits and risks that you may find helpful:

    www.realrawmilkfacts.com

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  7. I'm not a fan of, what I call, "stupid laws." These are laws passed to save people from their own supposed stupidity. I believe in educating, warning, and then allowing the freedom to make the choice and the freedom to suffer the consequences. As for the maryjane, if raw milk were shown to affect the brain to an extent where people are unaccountable for their actions then I would consider it a comparable item. The only reason it has become medically legal (and given "lowest priority for law enforcement" in certain states is because people were willing to fight hard enough and long enough. So people who want the right to drink raw milk just need to make them selves really annoying to the law makers in their states. =)

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