MORGANTOWN – The sale of unpasteurized raw milk became legal in West Virginia in June.
But two WVU professors are working to get the word out that insurance and health issues still remain factors that producers, sellers and consumers should take into account when they exercise their newfound freedom to buy and sell raw milk.
The professors are Dee Singh-Knights, professor and agriculture economics specialist with WVU Extension; and Jesse Richardson, with the WVU College of Law.
The health issue has been hotly debated for years – since at least 2014 when we first reported on a raw milk bill – so we’ll take a look at the lesser-known insurance liability problem first. And we’ll wrap up with some additional tidbits from the FDA and CDC and other sources.
When the raw milk bill passed in early March (it became law a couple weeks later without the governor’s signature), Richardson wondered if insurance companies would provide liability insurance to cover it, and he made some calls.
(A hotly debated liability immunity clause in the original version of the bill was struck by the Senate and does not appear in the final bill.)
“I quickly found out that you can’t get liability insurance for selling raw milk,” he said. “If you sell raw milk, that violates the terms of your insurance contract and the entire contract is void, and nothing that you do is covered under your liability policy.”
Singh-Knights confirmed that with an Extension colleague knowledgeable of the insurance industry. It’s called a raw milk exclusion. “You cannot get insurance.”
Her colleague told of a case where the carrier saw the producer’s Facebook reference to selling raw milk and voided their policy.
What about some under-the-table workarounds? Richardson nixed those, too. One is giving the milk away, and if the customer just happens to slip a $5 in a box – or wherever.
Another is called community supported agriculture. A consumer pays a farmer for a share of the crops. The farmer doesn’t advertise the raw milk, but everyone knows that when they stop by, they can visit the refrigerator at the back of the building and grab some bottles.
“It doesn’t work,” he said.
Neither do liability waivers, he said. They’re ineffective in general, and more so with raw milk. Mom signs the waiver but feeds it to her child, who gets sick. The child didn’t sign the waiver and here comes the lawsuit.
“As a lawyer,” he said, “I wouldn’t tell people not to do it. I would just say, ‘If you’re going to do it, be aware. … If an accident happens all the assets you own are on the block. You might lose it. You’re taking a big risk by doing that.”
Richardson said he has an economics background and supports freedom. But, “if insurance companies thought they could insure against the risks of raw milk and make money, they would do it.” He hasn’t found one yet that will. “That says something.”
Health risks
Singh-Knights said pasteurization gets rid of the pathogens in milk and increases the shelf life.
People might say, “I want my food to be natural,” but research has shown that pasteurization does prevent food-borne illness and increases the shelf life. No research shows that pasteurization reduces the health benefits.
What about all the folks over the centuries who drank raw milk and lived? And small farmers who now milk their cows or sheep or goats and bring it to the table?
Both professors said they’re conditioned to it. Their gut bacteria provide natural immunity, Singh-Knights said. But 30% of the population is immune compromised.
How do pathogens get into the milk? Singh-Knights said an animal might have a mild bacterial infection; the animal is fine but the bacteria are in the milk and gets passed to humans.
Or the sanitation of the dairy environment and the human handlers may be not up to snuff. “There are a lot of ways that these microorganisms can actually enter your milk supply.” And if a farmer has several cows and just one has some pathogens in its milk, they get mixed into everything when the milk is blended.
Singh-Knights said some producers and sellers might want to offer raw milk because of the price premiums and profitability of a niche market (we bought a half gallon from a local vendor, and it cost $6.50, while a gallon of pasteurized whole mile was selling nearby for $2.99).
But, she said, “the risks are so much more than the benefits of a small price premium.”
And for those who simply want the freedom of their food choices? “It’s a big price to pay. … I would strongly advise against raw milk sales.”
But what if you still want to sell it? Singh-Knights said talk to your insurance company first to find out if you are or will be protected. And make sure everything is properly sanitized and chilled.
“We have the lowest cost food in the world,” she said. “We also have the safest food system in the world. And that we can be proud of. And it’s because of innovation and technology and things like pasteurization.”
Other sources
We found a 2013 raw milk exclusion written by the Underwriters Rating Board, a nonprofit insurance rate service organization. It says, in summary, that your insurance, and any duty to defend you from an injury suit does not apply if you produce, handle, process, package, bottle, distribute, exchange, sell or intend to sell, transport or deliver raw milk.
It says the exclusion applies whether the excluded activity takes place on a farm, an insured premises or elsewhere.
On health matters, the FDA says, “While the perceived nutritional and health benefits of raw milk consumption have not been scientifically substantiated, the health risks are clear.” Since 1987, there had been 143 illness outbreaks – including miscarriages, still births, kidney failure and death – associated with consuming contaminated raw milk.
The CDC has this statistic: From 1998-2018, there were 202 outbreaks causing 2,645 illnesses and 228 hospitalizations.
The elderly, immune-compromised, children and pregnant women are especially vulnerable, FDA said.
FDA also addresses a number of so-called health benefits that haven’t been proven. Raw milk doesn’t cure lactose intolerance or treat asthma or allergy or do more to prevent osteoporosis than pasteurized milk.
And it’s not probiotic (the bottle we bought says it is). Probiotic organisms must be non-pathogenic. Raw milk can host a wide variety of pathogenic bacteria acquired from infected udders, the dairy environment, and milking equipment. “High bacteria counts in raw milk only indicate poor animal health and poor farm hygiene.”
FDA points out that it prohibits interstate sale and distribution of raw milk, but it doesn’t take enforcement action against a person who crosses state lines to buy raw milk for personal consumption.
The FDA said it does not regulate intrastate sale and distribution of raw milk. That’s up to each state.
According to the most recent data we could find, 31 states besides West Virginia allow some form of sale and distribution of raw milk. Two others allow herd sharing, as West Virginia did from 2016 through this May. Three neighbor states – Kentucky, Maryland and Virginia – prohibit it. In Ohio, it’s technically legal for anyone who’s been continuously doing it since 1965, which rules out every producer in the state.
Email: dbeard@dominionpost.com
