Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is getting plenty of criticism for what could happen as his “Make America Healthy Again” agenda upends some long-established public health policies.
But for some nationally prominent raw advocates, RFK Jr. is not moving fast enough. Mark McAfee, chief executive of the California-based Raw Farm, and Sally Fallon Morell, founding president of the Weston A. Price Foundation, are among those pressuring RFK Jr. to get public health officials to quit bringing up the food safety risks of raw milk.
Raw milk isn’t pasteurized, the heat treatment process that eliminates dangerous pathogens from milk and fruit juice products. The procedure has been in practice since the late 1800s and is named for French microbiologist Louis Pasteur.
RFK Jr. claims he drank raw milk while growing up at the large brick house about one-half hour west of Washington D.C., known as Hickory Hill. He did not drink it as an adult until after 2021, when Morell connected him with a website her foundation set up to connect consumers to raw milk distributors.
At a Price conference the following year, RFK Jr. reportedly told the audience, “Since I was here last year, I only drink raw milk.” And while the much-publicized MAHA Report was silent on raw milk, RGK Jr. drank some more to celebrate the document’s release.
All of this comes down to what RFK Jr. could do about raw milk that would satisfy its advocates.
The only federal raw milk regulation of any significance prohibits unpasteurized milk sales across state lines. But that’s hardly ever enforced. For example, Pennsylvania permits its raw milk to be sold without any regulations whatsoever as long as it goes to other states.
Federal Health and Human Services agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration, warn about the health dangers of drinking raw milk and investigate outbreaks and recalls. Without pasteurization, milk can carry bacteria such as E. coli, Listeria and Salmonella. Research shows that people are 800 times more likely to become infected drinking raw milk rather than pasteurized milk.
While raw milk advocates say the CDC and FDA have a “pro-pasteurization bias” and want RFK Jr. to “take down” much of what public health has warned about for about 100 years, one fact remains: Pasteurization works. Harmful pathogens are removed, and the milk is much safer to drink.
Public health and raw milk advocates agree that pasteurization removes something from the milk. Public health says it’s harmful pathogens. The advocates say it’s the natural health benefits. No peer-reviewed research supports the advocates’ claims.
While the CDC and FDA investigate recalls and multistate outbreaks involving raw milk, significant policies are entirely up to the states. And state policies are all over the map. It all comes down to how permissive a state is with he distribution of raw milk.
Retailers in a half dozen western states, including California, can sell as much raw milk as they like. In several Mountain States and in the Midwest, from Texas to the Canadian border, only direct sales to the consumer are permitted. Direct sale means from the farmer to the consumer who is going to drink it
In Louisiana and Florida, raw milk can only be sold as “pet food.” Raw milk policies in other Eastern states include a mix of regulations, with several permitting purchase within a herd share agreement. Changes can occur anytime a state Legislature convenes.
Several states have eased their distribution policies in recent years to boost economic development.
McAfee, who founded the Raw Milk Institute in 2011, says he has applied for the “FDA advisor on raw milk policy and standards development position.” His Raw Farm, which was initially named Organic Pastures, started in 1998 and dominates California’s market for raw milk. It has been involved in a number of recalls and outbreaks.
McAfee sees the risks of raw milk as overstated and the health and nutritional benefits as not being given enough credit.
While RFK Jr. has not taken any raw milk action, McAfee is still waiting to hear about that job.
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