Raw milk advocates hope passage of Wis. bill will encourage other states to legalize sales too

Wis. legalization of raw milk seen as benchmark

MADISON, Wis. — Advocates of raw milk hope legalization of sales in Wisconsin will lead to broader acceptance of unpasteurized milk and approval of sales in other states.

Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle has indicated he will sign a bill the Legislature passed late last month allowing farms to sell raw milk directly to consumers through 2011. Wisconsin would be the 20th state to allow such sales.

Sally Fallon Morell is president of a nonprofit group that advocates drinking raw milk. She says Wisconsin is the best state in the country legalization of raw milk could happen in because it’s “America’s Dairyland.”

Raw milk opponents, meanwhile, say the more states that legalize sales, the greater the chance of people becoming sick from contaminated milk.