Legalize serving raw milk

If a family hosts a meal serving meat and farm produce from their farm, it is legal. However, serving the guests raw milk is breaking the law. I think that this is an unintended consequence of the current ban on raw milk that should be changed.

Current Montana law requires all milk distributed throughout the state to be pasteurized. A good thing. I don’t think the ban was meant to interfere with what one chooses to eat and with whom to do business, or to subvert individual trust and accountability between individuals. But that is what it does.

It implies that we, Montana citizens, do not have the intelligence, will, or capacity to make these choices and must be protected. Those who oppose the sale of raw milk claim that the main concern it milk safety, which is a good thing. This is especially true when milk is gathered from various sources, processed and distributed to multiple commercial outlets. But the raw milk bill is not about commercial distribution, it is about milk sold on the premises, between individuals, for personal use.

This year’s raw milk bill is written to ensure milk safety and making it legal to buy and sell raw milk on the premises. As for safety, this bill includes strict testing and notification standards, including the same frequency of testing required of Grade A Diaries.

Legal access to raw milk is one way to assert your right to eat what you want and to do business with your neighbor. Contact your state legislators.

– Frank White, Arlee