Iowa's Raw Milk Bill – Dead for 2011 Session
by Paul Deaton
On Tuesday, Blog for Iowa received word that HF 394, the Raw Milk Bill, was done for the 2011 Session. According to sources at the capitol, the measure got more support than expected and will likely return in the 2012 session for another go-around. Check out our post last week here.
Francis Thicke, an organic dairy farmer and author from Fairfield said in an e-mail, “We did well to have gotten the raw milk bill out of the Economic Growth Committee this year. We had industry lobbyists working against us, but we had no lobbyists — just a lot of ordinary citizens who think we should have the freedom to choose raw milk if we wish. Next year we will be more prepared, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the citizens win out over the lobbyists.”
“New Jersey passed a raw milk bill in their legislature this year. If the NJ bill is signed into law, Iowa will be one of only nine states left that do not allow any raw milk sales,” said Thicke. Read a news article about the legislation in New Jersey here.
The author received some Facebook comments after posting a link to our article last week:
“When I lived in Whittier, my neighbor's son
contracted TB from drinking raw milk from a dairy there. Serious surgery
on little guy. No, I think I will skip the raw milk idea…”
“I was part of the CDC effort in Maine after the
TB outbreak at Bath Iron Works. Some of the workers there had been in a
hospital in their youth as a result of drinking raw milk. I drank raw
milk as a child and later popped positive on my PPD. Had to take INH for
a year. It's scary.”
While the bill appears to be finished this year, advocates are certain to be back next year. If you want to follow the Raw Milk issue, check out the related blog, The Bovine here.
~Paul Deaton is a native Iowan living in rural Johnson County and weekend editor of Blog for Iowa. E-mail Paul Deaton
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