14 November 2016

Rep. Ballance requests two bills on raw milk

Rep. Nancy Ballance (R-Hamilton) has requested two bills (LC0662 and LC0533) on raw milk or the 2017 session of the Montana Legislature. The drafts are not ready for review, but in the 2013 and 2015 sessions, Ballance led unsuccessful attempts to allow the sale of raw milk — a known health hazard — in Montana.

This is an attack on public health practices — in particular, an attack on Pasteurization — and laws that have prevented disease and improved the health, and thus the longevity, of the American people. The people behind this attack are anti-science, natural food zealots, and fanatical Libertarians.

Although Ballance’s bill have been beaten back in the past two sessions, the votes have been close and many legislators have not exercised good judgement. Montana’s sanitarians led the opposition, but they received virtually no public help from Montana’s medical community. Unless Montana’s health care professionals and scientists muster swift and massive support of pasteurization, the sale of raw milk could be legalized this session.