As many as 3% of consumers may like their milk raw, a growing trend that has spurred federal legislation to allow raw milk to cross state lines. As demand grows, we have seen an increase in raw milk blogs, regulatory action in states such as Connecticut and California, and even an increase in raw milk conferences and conference panels. A problem with the raw milk discussion in general is that it remains polarized. Of the two prominent raw milk symposiums so far this year, one was made up exclusively of raw milk opponents and sponsored by the International Association for Food Protection and the other was made up exclusively of raw milk advocates.
A third symposium, in planning since the summer of 2008, is noteworthy in having a raw milk consumer on the panel. Called “The Raw Milk Conundrum,” the American Veterinary Medical Association will host the symposium this summer in Seattle. The panel includes regulators from the CDC and FDA, Californian’s favorite love-to-hate dairy safety expert Michael Payne, notorious food safety lawyer William Marler, Barfblog’s Doug Powell, and one raw milk consumer: me.
With social science background and interest in the philosophy of choice, I am charged with presenting an even-handed paper on raw milk choice appropriate for a scientific meeting. To that end, I am conducting a survey on raw milk consumer information and need your help.
If you consume raw milk and live in the United States, please take this survey. It should take only ten to fifteen minutes to complete. The survey will close April 30. The paper will be available later this fall.
Technorati Tags: Barfblog, raw milk, William Marler
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