BISMARCK – The North Dakota State House passed a bill to allow sales of raw milk directly to consumers.
House Bill 1515 would allow farms to sell raw milk to consumers, though farms would still not be able to sell to wholesalers or retail stores for mass consumption. The bill received a Do Pass recommendation of 13-0 from the House Agriculture committee.
“The issue here is consumers who want to purchase raw milk for themselves or a child who cannot tolerate pasteurized milk in their digestive system,” said Rep. Jay Fisher, R-Dis. 5, Minot. “We heard testimony of a mother of a premature baby and others whose children thrived on raw milk from goats or cows.”
“The reality is babies are not designed to drink cow’s milk, they’re designed to drink human milk,” said Rep. Bernie Satrom, R-Dis. 12, Jamestown. “I showed you all a video that talked about the other side of this, about some very innocent people that loved their child and thought, well, hey this would be the best possible thing they could do. Unfortunately, they got sick from it. That child went into a coma and basically is handicapped for the rest of her life. All it takes is a hair. Barns are not necessarily laboratories. “
The bill passed 83 to 10 and will be sent to the Senate for consideration.
