David Gumpert, former BusinessWeek columnist and Wall Street Journal reporter, wrote extensively about raw milk during this era. His book, Raw Milk Revolution, chronicles the battle between state regulators and farmers who were willing to break the law to give “health-conscious consumers” what they want at a much higher price than they could get from a dairy distributor. Gumpert was, and is, a defender of the consumption of raw milk,
In 2008, while running for the Iowa House of Representatives, Jason Schultz was shocked to learn that dairy farmers could get in trouble for selling milk. But Schultz did not give up, pushing the bill year after year. Very slowly, over time, it attracted supporters like Esther Arkfeld, a homeschooling mother and dairy owner turned grassroots leader who argued that raw milk had health benefits and could also help small farmers. Last May, Schultz's bill was finally passed, legalizing the sale of raw milk directly from farm to consumer. The vote (37 to 13 in the Senate and 64 to 35 in the House) was not particularly close.
The FDA and CDC still say raw milk is dangerous, and the state dairy lobby sent lobbyists to the Iowa Capitol to defeat Schultz's bill. But Iowa has taken a political turn. Raw milk, long a fringe health food for new-age hippies and liberal foodies, has won the hearts and minds of Republican lawmakers and regulators in recent years. (Iowa's vote fell almost perfectly along party lines, with nearly all Republicans in favor and only a handful of Democrats defecting to their side.
And it's not just in Iowa, Montana, North Dakota, Alaska, Idaho. Northern Dakpta, Georgia and Wyoming have passed laws (or modified regulations) since 2020 that legalize the sale of raw milk on farms or in stores.
In the words of Schultz, now an Iowa state senator: “Cycle after cycle, we find that new officials are becoming more freedom-oriented and less trusting of government at all levels.”
It wasn't difficult to understand why. After decades of highly processed foods, skyrocketing obesity rates, and an excess of unpronounceable ingredients, some consumers began looking for foods they understood to be natural, healthy, and better for the planet. In 2001, the organic food market in the United States was valued at $8 billion; Now it is 63 billion dollars. Raw milk, its enthusiasts claim, contains probiotics, enzymes and vitamins that are reduced, damaged or inactivated by the pasteurization process. Both articles are very complete.
David Gumpert, former BusinessWeek columnist and Wall Street Journal reporter, wrote extensively about raw milk during this era. His book, Raw Milk Revolution, chronicles the battle between state regulators and farmers who were willing to break the law to give “health-conscious consumers” what they want at a much higher price than they could get from a dairy distributor. Gumpert was, and is, a defender of the consumption of raw milk,
In 2008, while running for the Iowa House of Representatives, Jason Schultz was shocked to learn that dairy farmers could get in trouble for selling milk. But Schultz did not give up, pushing the bill year after year. Very slowly, over time, it attracted supporters like Esther Arkfeld, a homeschooling mother and dairy owner turned grassroots leader who argued that raw milk had health benefits and could also help small farmers. Last May, Schultz's bill was finally passed, legalizing the sale of raw milk directly from farm to consumer. The vote (37 to 13 in the Senate and 64 to 35 in the House) was not particularly close.
The FDA and CDC still say raw milk is dangerous, and the state dairy lobby sent lobbyists to the Iowa Capitol to defeat Schultz's bill. But Iowa has taken a political turn. Raw milk, long a fringe health food for new-age hippies and liberal foodies, has won the hearts and minds of Republican lawmakers and regulators in recent years. (Iowa's vote fell almost perfectly along party lines, with nearly all Republicans in favor and only a handful of Democrats defecting to their side.
And it's not just in Iowa, Montana, North Dakota, Alaska, Idaho. Northern Dakpta, Georgia and Wyoming have passed laws (or modified regulations) since 2020 that legalize the sale of raw milk on farms or in stores.
In the words of Schultz, now an Iowa state senator: “Cycle after cycle, we find that new officials are becoming more freedom-oriented and less trusting of government at all levels.”
It wasn't difficult to understand why. After decades of highly processed foods, skyrocketing obesity rates, and an excess of unpronounceable ingredients, some consumers began looking for foods they understood to be natural, healthy, and better for the planet. In 2001, the organic food market in the United States was valued at $8 billion; Now it is 63 billion dollars. Raw milk, its enthusiasts claim, contains probiotics, enzymes and vitamins that are reduced, damaged or inactivated by the pasteurization process. Both articles are very complete.
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/03/10/the-alt-right-rebrand-of-raw-milk-00145625 (2024).--
https://www.theblaze.com/news/food-freedom-raw-milk?utm_source=theblaze-breaking&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20240514Trending%20-%20Raw%20Milk&utm_term=ACTIVE%20LIST%20-%20TheBlaze%20Breaking%20News&tpcc= email-breaking (2024).--
https://grist.org/author/david-gumpert/
https://www.amazon.com/Raw-Milk-Revolution-Americas-Emerging/dp/1603582193
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