IDFA joined the National Milk Producers Federation earlier this month in opposing a proposed bill in Montana’s state legislature that would allow small-herd milk producers to sell raw milk and raw milk products directly to consumers. The bill, H.B. 325, defines a small-herd as one with five or fewer lactating cows, as well as goats and sheep, and would require the products to have warning labels.

The Montana House passed the bill yesterday and sent it to the Montana Senate for consideration.

In a letter to leaders of the Montana House Agriculture Committee, IDFA and NMPF highlighted the health risks associated with consuming raw milk and addressed the abundance of misinformation about the supposed health benefits of raw milk.

“It is important to emphasize that no claim to health benefits of consuming raw milk has been substantiated in any of the medical literature. The scientific consensus is that raw milk can cause serious illnesses and hospitalizations, as well as result in life-long negative health complications and death,” they said in the letter.

Montana law currently prohibits the sale of raw milk to consumers, but a handful of bills have been introduced in the past few years only to be voted down. During this time, IDFA and NMPF sent similar letters to state lawmakers outlining the dangers of drinking unpasteurized milk and urging them to oppose these bills.

Read the letter to Montana lawmakers here.

For more information, contact Dave Carlin, IDFA senior vice president of legislative affairs and economic policy, at dcarlin@idfa.org.