Raw Milk Issue Pours Into Pa. State Capitol

CHRIS TORRES
Staff Writer

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Room 1 of the Pennsylvania Senate Office Building was filled to the brim Tuesday for a lively hearing on the future of raw milk regulations in the state.

But it is unlikely any big changes to raw milk regulations will result.

A standing room only crowd packed the hearing room for what was at times an emotional debate on regulations, permitting and personal rights and freedoms.

The hearing was held by the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, chaired by Sen. Mike Brubaker (R-36). Brubaker and his committee went across the state earlier this year for a series of “listening sessions,” where he said the issue of raw milk sales and permits came up several times.

The raid of a Cumberland County farm a few weeks ago, Brubaker said, was a catalyst for the hearing.

Seven people testified about various issues concerning raw milk, including permitting, health issues and rights to buy other products made from raw milk.

Secretary of Agriculture Dennis Wolff took the stand and defended PDA’s actions it took in August against Mark Nolt, a farmer from Cumberland County, whom Wolff said violated the Milk Sanitation Law by selling raw milk products from his farm without the proper permits.

Nolt’s farm was raided by officials and his equipment was seized after Wolff said he continued to sell products from his farm after failing to show up to court and an injunction was issued.

The raid, Wolff said, was done to protect consumers after it was found Nolt was also selling yogurt and soft cheeses from raw milk, something that is not allowed by law.

Michael Nuff, a registered nurse and deputy secretary of health planning and assessment for the Pennsylvania Department of Health, testified after Wolff that raw milk is still considered “inherently unsafe” by the department, noting a total of 45 separate disease outbreaks in the U.S. between 1998 and 2005 that were attributed to raw milk consumption.

“Some consumers believe that raw milk has potential benefits,” Nuff said. “However, the validity of any health or nutritional benefits from consuming raw milk has not been scientifically proven.”

But raw milk lovers jamming the large hearing room say they are willing to take the risks and blasted PDA’s handling of not only Nolt, but of other farmers who provide raw milk on their farms.

Taking a more moderate tone, Brian Snyder, executive director of the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA), said many problems come out of bad relationships between farmers and the state inspectors they work with.

To sell raw milk, farmers are required by state law to go through vigorous inspections and tests to make sure the milk is safe to consume.

Snyder said some inspectors are impatient with farmers, many of whom are Plain Sect, and as a result disagreements often occur. “PDA has many fine inspectors out there, some of whom have contributed immensely to conferences and workshops we (PASA) have held on the subject of raw milk,” Snyder testified. “But we have all paid a price for those few instances where the inspection systems have not been as user friendly as they could and should have been.”

Along those lines, Snyder also said, “they (PDA) needs to do some sensitivity training.”

Sally Fallon, president of the Weston A. Price Foundation, for which she claims is the largest proponent of raw milk sales in the nation, said the testing PDA uses in its raw milk testing is flawed and allows for a lot of “false positive” results. Fallon did not testify in front of the panel, but spoke at a rally afterward.

Fallon is against the use of permits when it comes to raw milk sales in any state, so long as the cows used to get the milk from are grassfed. Although, she said, she is not against the use of permits when raw milk is sold in stores, she claims it is the “constitutional right” of a farmer and their customer to enter into private contracts when it comes to raw milk sales and that the government has no right to intrude.

She led the rally of raw milk supporters on the steps of the Capitol, which included members of Communities Alliance for Responsible Eco-Farming (CARE), a group based in Pennsylvania that advocates limited government intrusion when it comes to private raw milk sales.

The idea of personal freedom without the government looking on as “big brother” brought a lot of emotions out at the hearing and at the rally.

“Life is full of risks,” said Peggy Wolf, a raw milk consumer from Carlisle, Pa. who testified at the hearing. “I’m even allowed to parachute off the high bridge over the New River in West Virginia, where they kill people regularly. And yet, I’m not allowed to buy a healthy, wonderful tasting food produced by my neighbor. Does that make good sense?”

After the witnesses testified, 20 people eagerly voiced their opinions on the issue.

Many said the issue is about personal freedoms while others defended farmers’ rights. Some gave personal stories of the positive effects raw milk had in their lives.

Brubaker said he appreciated the personal stories from people drinking raw milk, but he added scientific evidence needs to support their claims. He called on medical professionals and scientists to get together to study raw milk and its effects. In the meantime, the permitting system in the state will likely continue.

“We need to have some sort of system in place that protects people,” he said. “We need to have some sort of a trail in case people would get sick.”