Dear Delegate I am writing in regards to House Bills 2448 (raw milk sales) and 2449 (herd shares). I understand HB 2448 is on the Ag Committee agenda for today (February 10). I am writing to state my support of both bills, to ask that you vote in favor of HB 2448 today, and to ask that HB 2449 be placed on the Ag Committee agenda as soon as possible. As you may already know, the Senate Ag Committee reevaluated their raw milk sales bill and instead decided to word it as a herd shares bill. It then unanimously passed the Senate Ag Committee and has moved on to the Senate Health Committee. I very much hope that herd shares can garner the same support in the House. I have a vested interest in seeing herd shares or raw milk sales legalized – I own and operate a commercial dairy farm and have done so all my life. As one of the few commercial dairies left in the state (WV was down to 80 as of the 2013 report) and one that would begin selling raw milk or running a herd share as soon as it was legalized, it is very import to the future of my dairy that these bills be passed this session. Because there are so few dairies left in the state it is difficult to find a cooperative willing to pick up the milk from my dairy. My operation is on track to become USDA certified organic in June 2015. Sadly, I am located so far from any other dairies I cannot find a co-op willing to contract to pick up the milk I produce. With the current laws in WV, I have no other way to sell my milk. Trying to operate organically at conventional milk prices is simply not possible. If raw milk sales or herd shares aren't legalized in this session, my dairy will follow many others in the state and go out of business as well. There are many, many reasons why I feel raw milk should be legalized. They include economic, nutritional, and very importantly personal freedom of choice. The only argument nay-sayers have against raw milk is the argument that raw milk is more dangerous than pasteurized milk. They can spin the CDC disease outbreak numbers in a way that sounds scary, telling you raw milk is 150 times more likely to cause illness than pasteurized milk. However, if you put the CDC's own numbers in perspective, the health risks from consuming raw milk are extremely small. A CDC report documenting disease outbreaks from 1993-2006 shows only 2 deaths attributed to unpasteurized dairy, specifically cheese, and 0 deaths attributed to fluid raw milk (reference 1). During that 14 year period, there were 930 illnesses and 71 hospitalizations attributed to fluid raw milk. Looking at more recent data, a search of the CDC Foodborne Outbreak Online Database (current through 2012; reference 2) still shows 0 deaths attributed to fluid raw milk. In 19 years, not a single death from drinking raw milk. The study references a survey performed in 1997 which found approximately 4 million people consume raw milk. With an average of just 66 illnesses and 5 hospitalizations per year that's a 1 in 60,000 chance of becoming ill and a 1 in 800,000 chance of needing hospitalized due to drinking raw milk. A more recent CDC survey conducted in 2007 found that nearly 10 million people (3% of the population) now consume raw milk (reference 3). According to the CDC data in the Foodborne Outbreak Online Database between 2007 and 2012 there were 556 illnesses attributed to fluid raw milk and 31 hospitalizations. These new numbers result in even lower odds: 1 in 72,000 chance of becoming ill and 1 in 1.3 million chance of needing hospitalized. Comparatively, in 2011 alone cantaloupe caused 33 deaths and another 4 deaths in 2012. Compared to other activities, you have a 1 in 11,000 chance of dying in a car crash (reference 4). That is 6.5 times more likely than becoming ill, but not hospitalized, from drinking raw milk. With 800 deaths a year (reference 5) among the 40 million bicycle riders (reference 6), the odds of dying in a bicycle accident are 1 in 50,000. Again, you are more likely to die in a bicycle accident than become sick (without needing hospitalized) from drinking raw milk. For all that the CDC claims raw milk is so very dangerous, the numbers simply do not back up that claim. Although the FDA will tell you raw milk does not differ from pasteurized milk, I can personally attest to the fact that it does. Drinking pasteurized milk makes me physically ill. I have no issue drinking the raw milk I produce. Some good rebuttals to the FDA arguments may be found in reference 7. However, the health benefits of raw milk are not really at issue here. The main point of making raw milk illegal was to protect the population from a dangerous product. Dairy safety and sanitations standards have come a long way since raw milk was banned in WV. Drinking raw milk now poses less of a risk than eating produce, pork, beef, eggs, poultry, or seafood (reference 8). You are less likely to get an upset stomach from drinking raw milk than you are to die from driving a car or riding a bicycle. In light of that, why wouldn't it be legal to consume raw milk? I ask you to please consider this information carefully. Do not be fooled by statements that spin the statistics in a way that just isn't true. Return to the people of West Virginia the freedom to make a choice about consuming raw milk. Thank you for your time and may God bless you. Ernie Fazenbaker Windy Ridge Dairy 2076 Gladesville Rd. Independence, WV 26374 304-864-4844 (1) http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/18/3/pdfs/11-1370.pdf (2) http://wwwn.cdc.gov/foodborneoutbreaks/Default.aspx# (3) http://www.cdc.gov/foodnet/surveys/FNExpAtl03022011.pdf (4) http://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/states/mv_total_deaths.html (5) http://www.cdc.gov/HomeandRecreationalSafety/Bicycle/ (6) http://www.gluskintownleygroup.com/downloads/The%20US%20Bicycle%20Market%20-%20A%20Trend%20Overview%20Report.pdf (7) http://www.realmilk.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/RebuttaltoFDARawMilkArticle-MAR2012.pdf (8) http://chriskresser.com/raw-milk-reality-is-raw-milk-dangerous