Farming is abundant across Colorado, including the state鈥檚 dairy industry. One issue of contention that has arisen in recent years is raw milk and what鈥檚 called the 鈥渇ood freedom movement.鈥�
KUNC鈥檚 Dylan Simard spoke with Jennifer Brown with the Colorado Sun about
Firstly, raw milk is essentially cow milk that is not pasteurized, meaning it's not cooked to kill harmful bacteria and other enzymes. Most milk you see in grocery stories is pasteurized. Brown traveled to Pueblo County to see firsthand where raw milk comes from.
鈥淚t's pretty much the opposite of, you know, a mass commercial dairy where all the cows are lined up and machines are milking them,鈥� Brown said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a much smaller operation. Cows are eating grass out in a pasture and kind of leading lovely lives out on the plains out there producing this fresh milk.鈥�
The thing is 鈥� it鈥檚 illegal to sell raw milk in Colorado. It has been since about 1987, and the federal government says it鈥檚 illegal to sell raw milk across state lines. Brown found out Colorado has some of the strictest laws in the Mountain West about selling raw milk.
鈥淐ertainly, all the states that touch us [Colorado] you can go to a retail store such as, you know, Whole Foods or Sprouts or whatever, and you could purchase raw milk and it would have a label,鈥� Brown said. 鈥淭he only way you can get raw milk legally in Colorado is if you are basically the farmer, like you own the cow or the goat or the sheep or whatever animal we're talking about.鈥�
Brown said Colorado has gotten around this by making herd shares available. That鈥檚 when customers can buy shares and own a piece of a herd and therefore get some milk.
Gov. Jared Polis has expressed support for legalizing raw milk, and there鈥檚 a movement across the west called the 鈥渇ood freedom鈥� movement, which focuses on intuitive eating and limits government involvement in regulating what you can eat or drink.
鈥淲e have seen some laws in Colorado in recent years about local meat processing, selling backyard eggs, and being able to sell homemade goods from your kitchen,鈥� Brown said. 鈥淲e haven't seen any changes to the law on raw milk for a long time.鈥�
Coloradans do have strong feelings on the subject. Brown said she鈥檚 talked to advocates who drive hours out of their way to pick up raw milk. They rave about the taste, how rich it is, and claim it has enzymes in it that help them digest their food. That鈥檚 not to say that raw milk is better for you. mentions hospitalizations that are rooted in consuming raw milk.