DenverPost.com - LOCAL NEWS

[Guest guest]

Article Published: Tuesday, March 29, 2005

Got raw milk?

Dairyman pushing bill to allow consumers to choose unpasteurized product

By Theo Stein

Denver Post Staff Writer

Loveland - As Colorado's chief advocate for raw milk, Lynch has been

spending time lately at the state Capitol in pursuit of a small victory on the

long road to legitimacy in Colorado.

He is pushing a bill that would make it legal for investors in a dairy

herd to obtain raw milk from their cows. The measure, sponsored by state Sen.

Steve , R-Fort , survived a state House committee vote after

passing the Senate last month.

" This is such a compelling right-to-choose issue, " Lynch said. " We need to

provide people a way to access foods that they determine are best for their

health. "

The 56-year-old Lynch is the inspiration behind Guidestone Farm, a tiny

organic co-op tucked in a little valley near the Big River.

Raw milk has been a human staple for almost 10,000 years. Lynch and others

argue that raw milk contains a suite of enzymes and bacteria that the body

needs. " It's a healing food, " he said.

But Colorado regulations require that milk must be pasteurized - rapid

heating and cooling that kills most of the organisms, good and bad.

Otherwise, disease-causing agents such as campylobacter, salmonella,

E.coli 157 and listeria could build up during the time the milk is handled,

processed, packaged and shipped to stores.

So raw-milk producers and drinkers found a loophole in the law: They buy

and sell shares in the cows and pay for their upkeep, then get the milk for

free. State health officials have known of the cow-share arrangement for several

years but never sought to regulate it.

The bill would require producers to identify standards to maintain herd

health and register with the Colorado Department of Agriculture.

With 400 cow-share owners and a waiting list of 357, Lynch's small herd of

Jersey cows can't possibly keep up with demand. Nor does he want them to.

" The minute you get to large-scale production, the risk to human health

increases rather dramatically, " he said. " But a person doing small-scale dairy

can make it work. "

Part philosopher, part farmer, Lynch preaches a model of agriculture as it

used to be: small organic plots tended by a landowner who sells a variety of

products directly to local customers.

Lynch's cow-share operation provides almost half the farm's $250,000

annual income.

Colorado dairy producers don't think much of Lynch's raw-milk program.

They feel one bad outbreak of milk-borne disease from unregulated raw milk could

taint their food-safety image.

" The thing our dairy farmers support is rigorous testing and oversight by

the health department and FDA (Food and Drug Administration), " said lobbyist

French of the Colorado Dairy Farmers.

Annelis of Brighton stayed away from dairy products for 18 years

as a result of intolerance. After enduring bouts with ear infections, bronchitis

and pneumonia, finally tried raw milk from Guidestone. And loved it.

Daunted by Lynch's waiting list but unwilling to give up milk again,

took an unusual step: She became a dairy farmer. Investors in her small

farm support five cows.

Lynch is betting won't be the last.

" My goal, " he said, " is to see other small dairy farms with raw-milk

operations in every county of the state. "

Staff writer Theo Stein can be reached at 303-820-1657 or

tstein@....

[Guest guest]

> So raw-milk producers and drinkers found a loophole in the law: They

> buy and sell shares in the cows and pay for their upkeep, then get the

> milk for free. State health officials have known of the cow-share

> arrangement for several years but never sought to regulate it.

>

> The bill would require producers to identify standards to

> maintain herd health and register with the Colorado Department of

> Agriculture.

Status quo: consumer regulation

Proposed bill: DoA regulation

How is this an improvement?