MADISON - Carrying a cooler of raw milk, Wisconsin vegetable farmer Brian Wickert climbs the steps of the state Capitol on a sunny April day.
He is a man on a mission: to lobby for legislative support for a bill to legalize sales of unpasteurized milk.
"It's real simple," Wickert, a member of the lobbying group Wisconsin Raw Milk Association, says in a later interview. "We want the right to choose the food we eat. Why does the government care whether I want to go and drink raw milk? Am I so stupid that I don't know the risks?"
For Wickert, this bill is about having the freedom to live without interference from the government.
But for health officials in America's Dairyland, it's about potentially exposing unsuspecting citizens to disease-causing bacteria.
At the crux of this debate is the age-old question: How much should government protect its citizens from possible hazards?
That question took on increased urgency this month after bacteria in raw milk from an unnamed farm sickened at least 16 fourth graders and family members at a Racine County event, resulting in one hospitalization.
The June 3 after-school party was designed to celebrate Wisconsin food.
"I got very, very sick," says Melissa Werner, 40, who drank raw milk at the event with her son, Nathan, 10.
Both later suffered from nausea, diarrhea, vomiting and high fever. Werner was ill for two weeks, losing 12 pounds.
"Still, even now, when I eat, I can tell things aren't 100 percent right," she says.
Cheryl Mazmanian, a health officer with the Western Racine County Health Department, says while the incident in Raymond illustrates the dangers of raw milk, it violated no state laws.
"It's not illegal to drink raw milk, it's not illegal to give it to people, but it is illegal to sell it," Mazmanian says.
Wisconsin is one of 11 states that prohibit regular sales of raw milk, according to the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund, a pro-raw milk group.
Raw milk can contain disease-causing bacteria that the pasteurization process is designed to kill. Wisconsin law allows "incidental" sales of raw milk products to farm employees or visitors who buy on an ad-hoc basis.
Those products include buttermilk, kefir, yogurt, cottage cheese, ice cream, butter and cheese.
To get around the law, in some cases, farmers create programs in which consumers become part owners of cows or farms to get a regular supply of raw milk. While some of those arrangements were condoned by state officials for several years, the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) in 2008 warned that such arrangements were illegal and began cracking down on raw-milk operations.
In other instances, people ignore the law, creating a type of black market in which consumers and farmers keep their transactions quiet to avoid regulatory scrutiny.
One of the customers is Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, one of the co-sponsors of the bill introduced in May that would legalize raw milk sales. He says he gets milk from different farms but would not specify which ones - a common response among raw milk consumers.
"People don't want to answer those questions because it jeopardizes your farmer. It's a screwy system," Wickert says. "You've got people's lives and livelihoods in the balance."
The measure co-sponsored by Grothman and Rep. Don Pridemore, R-Hartford, would allow farmers to sell raw milk directly to consumers. Pridemore says he's open to adding testing requirements to the bill, which it currently lacks.
"My main goal is to get a public hearing to present reasons to make it a better bill," he says.
But one top official, Dr. Jim Kazmierczak, state public health veterinarian, warns that even daily testing cannot detect all contamination. Cows can shed bacteria intermittently, he says, so a negative test in the morning might not mean milk collected from the same cow in the afternoon is safe.
Last year, a similar bill with more health safeguards was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle.
At the time, the governor expressed concerns about the safety of unpasteurized milk, which some consumers drink for its perceived health benefits.
Like many of the roughly 15 farmers and consumers who came with Wickert to lobby, Grothman and Pridemore drink raw milk regularly.
"I drank it. I drank a lot of it, and I don't consider it risky behavior," Grothman says.
Public health officials disagree. In 2010, raw milk products caused 28 disease outbreaks in the United States that sickened 159 people, according to figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Raw milk has caused seven disease outbreaks in Wisconsin since 1998, including the incident in Raymond, state health officials say. The outbreaks sickened at least 277 people; 28 were hospitalized.
Six outbreaks were caused by campylobacter bacteria from cow manure that got into raw milk and raw cheese curds, causing illness but no death.
Many officials, including Mazmanian, are particularly concerned about the possibility of children, who are more vulnerable to infection, consuming raw milk.
"They were told there would be 'whole farm-fresh raw milk,' " she says, referring to the Racine County event. "Now, did they understand it was unpasteurized? I don't know."
Werner was aware that the milk at the North Cape Elementary School event was unpasteurized but says she did not fully understand the health risks.
"I'm not opposed to the legalization, I just think there should be some testing and standards in place to ensure this doesn't happen," Werner says. "Because I do really worry about younger children not being able to handle being as sick as I was."
A statement from Republican Gov. Scott Walker's office says he would support legislation allowing the limited sale of raw milk in Wisconsin, provided certain safety provisions are in place.
"The bill would need to contain the appropriate safeguards to protect public health and the integrity of our state's signature industry, while giving consumers the opportunity to purchase raw milk directly from farmers," Walker press secretary Cullen Werwie says.
- Sarah Karon is a reporter for the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism. Natasha Anderson, Steve Horn and Rory Linnane reported this story in a UW-Madison journalism class taught by Professor Deborah Blum, in collaboration with the
nonprofit Center (www.WisconsinWatch.org).
He is a man on a mission: to lobby for legislative support for a bill to legalize sales of unpasteurized milk.
"It's real simple," Wickert, a member of the lobbying group Wisconsin Raw Milk Association, says in a later interview. "We want the right to choose the food we eat. Why does the government care whether I want to go and drink raw milk? Am I so stupid that I don't know the risks?"
For Wickert, this bill is about having the freedom to live without interference from the government.
But for health officials in America's Dairyland, it's about potentially exposing unsuspecting citizens to disease-causing bacteria.
At the crux of this debate is the age-old question: How much should government protect its citizens from possible hazards?
That question took on increased urgency this month after bacteria in raw milk from an unnamed farm sickened at least 16 fourth graders and family members at a Racine County event, resulting in one hospitalization.
The June 3 after-school party was designed to celebrate Wisconsin food.
"I got very, very sick," says Melissa Werner, 40, who drank raw milk at the event with her son, Nathan, 10.
Both later suffered from nausea, diarrhea, vomiting and high fever. Werner was ill for two weeks, losing 12 pounds.
"Still, even now, when I eat, I can tell things aren't 100 percent right," she says.
Cheryl Mazmanian, a health officer with the Western Racine County Health Department, says while the incident in Raymond illustrates the dangers of raw milk, it violated no state laws.
"It's not illegal to drink raw milk, it's not illegal to give it to people, but it is illegal to sell it," Mazmanian says.
Wisconsin is one of 11 states that prohibit regular sales of raw milk, according to the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund, a pro-raw milk group.
Raw milk can contain disease-causing bacteria that the pasteurization process is designed to kill. Wisconsin law allows "incidental" sales of raw milk products to farm employees or visitors who buy on an ad-hoc basis.
Those products include buttermilk, kefir, yogurt, cottage cheese, ice cream, butter and cheese.
To get around the law, in some cases, farmers create programs in which consumers become part owners of cows or farms to get a regular supply of raw milk. While some of those arrangements were condoned by state officials for several years, the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) in 2008 warned that such arrangements were illegal and began cracking down on raw-milk operations.
In other instances, people ignore the law, creating a type of black market in which consumers and farmers keep their transactions quiet to avoid regulatory scrutiny.
One of the customers is Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, one of the co-sponsors of the bill introduced in May that would legalize raw milk sales. He says he gets milk from different farms but would not specify which ones - a common response among raw milk consumers.
"People don't want to answer those questions because it jeopardizes your farmer. It's a screwy system," Wickert says. "You've got people's lives and livelihoods in the balance."
The measure co-sponsored by Grothman and Rep. Don Pridemore, R-Hartford, would allow farmers to sell raw milk directly to consumers. Pridemore says he's open to adding testing requirements to the bill, which it currently lacks.
"My main goal is to get a public hearing to present reasons to make it a better bill," he says.
But one top official, Dr. Jim Kazmierczak, state public health veterinarian, warns that even daily testing cannot detect all contamination. Cows can shed bacteria intermittently, he says, so a negative test in the morning might not mean milk collected from the same cow in the afternoon is safe.
Last year, a similar bill with more health safeguards was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle.
At the time, the governor expressed concerns about the safety of unpasteurized milk, which some consumers drink for its perceived health benefits.
Like many of the roughly 15 farmers and consumers who came with Wickert to lobby, Grothman and Pridemore drink raw milk regularly.
"I drank it. I drank a lot of it, and I don't consider it risky behavior," Grothman says.
Public health officials disagree. In 2010, raw milk products caused 28 disease outbreaks in the United States that sickened 159 people, according to figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Raw milk has caused seven disease outbreaks in Wisconsin since 1998, including the incident in Raymond, state health officials say. The outbreaks sickened at least 277 people; 28 were hospitalized.
Six outbreaks were caused by campylobacter bacteria from cow manure that got into raw milk and raw cheese curds, causing illness but no death.
Many officials, including Mazmanian, are particularly concerned about the possibility of children, who are more vulnerable to infection, consuming raw milk.
"They were told there would be 'whole farm-fresh raw milk,' " she says, referring to the Racine County event. "Now, did they understand it was unpasteurized? I don't know."
Werner was aware that the milk at the North Cape Elementary School event was unpasteurized but says she did not fully understand the health risks.
"I'm not opposed to the legalization, I just think there should be some testing and standards in place to ensure this doesn't happen," Werner says. "Because I do really worry about younger children not being able to handle being as sick as I was."
A statement from Republican Gov. Scott Walker's office says he would support legislation allowing the limited sale of raw milk in Wisconsin, provided certain safety provisions are in place.
"The bill would need to contain the appropriate safeguards to protect public health and the integrity of our state's signature industry, while giving consumers the opportunity to purchase raw milk directly from farmers," Walker press secretary Cullen Werwie says.
- Sarah Karon is a reporter for the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism. Natasha Anderson, Steve Horn and Rory Linnane reported this story in a UW-Madison journalism class taught by Professor Deborah Blum, in collaboration with the
nonprofit Center (www.WisconsinWatch.org).