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At least in Colorado, that effort won't be illegal now, said state Rep.
Mark Larson, a Durango Republican who testified via closed-circuit
television against banning cow-shares in Colorado.
Larson said the legislature most likely will have to construct some
kind of cleanliness and bacteria-content standards for raw milk
sales, because it clearly isn't going to stop in Colorado.
Had the board of health banned cow co- ops, Larson said, "All they
were going to do is push it underground." 5-23-04
Raw milk a go in Colorado
DENVER (Jun. 1, 2004)—Rocky Mountain Farmers Union (RMFU) is applauding the
recent decision by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to deny a
rule change that would have prohibited people access to raw milk from their own cows.
“RMFU is a long-time supporter of consumer rights, including the rights of this group of
consumers wishing to buy raw milk through ownership of ‘cow shares,’ and we have
supported them since this issue came up,” said John Stencel, RMFU president.
Colorado law prohibits the sale of raw (unpasteurized and unhomogenized) milk to
consumers, saying the law is in the interest of public health. To bypass this regulation,
consumers and producers have established a time-tested system whereby the consumer
buys shares and helps pay for expenses in a farmer’s dairy cow herd.
Proponents of raw milk point to studies saying that pasteurization and homogenization
destroy nutrients and beneficial enzymes.
“I have seen many patients with food allergies who are unable to tolerate pasteurized
milk, yet have no difficulty with milk in its natural (raw) state,” said Dr. Deborah Hall,
M.D., Greeley, Colo. “This is because pasteurization, which kills bacteria, also destroys
the lactase enzymes normally present in unadulterated (raw) milk.” The proposed rule
change that was debated and defeated would have prohibited consumers who have
invested in farmers’ cow herds from drinking the milk unless it were pasteurized.
“RMFU strongly supports a consumer’s right to choose, as well as the farmer’s right to
produce what his customers want and what will provide him with higher returns,” said
RMFU Executive Director Ben Way, who testified at the hearing on behalf of the farm
organization, which represents over 22,000 family farmers and ranchers in Colorado,
Wyoming and New Mexico.
Among the consumers attending the hearing, which attracted an estimated 300 people in
Denver and via closed circuit television in Durango and Ft. Collins, were those like
RMFU member David Lynch, who operates Guidestone Farm, near Loveland, Colo.
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