A bill that would have legalized the sale of raw milk in Nevada was vetoed by Gov. Brian Sandoval. The governor cited “significant public health risks” in his veto message.
While the idea was popular in the Assembly, it wasn’t popular with public health officials and dairy groups that urged the governor to veto the bill. The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) sent a letter to Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval saying that because potentially dangerous bacteria that are often present in raw milk, legalizing it would increase the risk of serious illness for some Nevadans. NMPF President and CEO Jerry Kozak likened drinking raw milk to playing Russian roulette.
“Gambling with the health of your state’s residents – particularly its children – is a bad bet,” said Kozak in the letter. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 70 percent of those sickened in raw milk outbreaks are children. “While choice is an important value, it should not pre-empt consumers’ well-being,” he said. The dairy groups are joined in their opposition by every major health organization in the country including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Currently there is a raw milk Campylobacter outbreak in Pennsylvania and a raw milk E.coli recall in Washington. In Alaska, there have been two raw milk outbreaks linked to the same cow share in the last three months.
