Raw Milk Supporters on Capitol Hill

Cindy ZimmermanGovernment, Milk

A grassroots “moovement” brought a cow to Capitol Hill this week to support the sale of raw milk.

amish milkThe “Grassfed on the Hill” group gathered at the Capitol to protest the federal government for prosecuting a Pennsylvania Amish farmer for selling fresh, unpasteurized milk across state lines.

Grassfed On The Hill is a buying club for raw milk that was started several years ago in Washington, DC. They found Dan Allgyer through his website realmilk.com as a supplier and the group began growing to the point where 1000 households were in the club by 2009, at which point they attracted the attention of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The agency then began investigations and became determined to shut the operation down.

Interstate sales of raw milk are illegal, although several states allow sales within their borders. Representative Ron Paul (R-TX) has just introduced legislation that would allow sales of unpasteurized milk for human consumption to cross state lines.

The protest on Capitol Hill this week attracted quite a bit of media attention and you can read more about it and see photos on the group’s Facebook page.