Milk Does a Regulator Good

The Christian County Health Department just did what regulators are best at: protecting us from ourselves because we are all stupid and can’t make our own decisions. The Springfield News-Leader reports that Christian County has banned the sale of raw milk within the county. We here at the Show-Me Institute have written about raw milk before. According to the Springfield News-Leader, the county’s health board (not the elected county board of commissioners, just the appointed health board) went even further than state law required (not that I agree with the state law in the first place) and issued a wide-ranging ban of the sale of raw milk at markets, even though it is perfectly legal to consume raw milk if you do it at your own house.

In my opinion, the only law needed is that the milk in question must be clearly labeled as unprocessed, or “raw.” When that information is available, adults can make their own choices.

The News-Leader article is very good, and contains some great quotes. And by “great,” I mean “infuriating.” Check out the nanny state in action:

The board said allowing unregulated dairy farmers to sell to the public was not in the interest of the public they are charged to protect. Without regulations or testing, no one would know if the raw milk was safe.

Check out the local health department version of “we had to destroy the village in order to save it”:

Though consumption of raw milk is legal, board member Aaron Grier said the ban could help people get more informed about the farm where they’re buying it.

We have to ban it so we can we be sure you want it! And here is where they went even further than state law in making certain that people in Christian County don’t get to make decisions that affect themselves:

However, the board voted to ban all raw milk sales and distribution, including Grade A permitted raw milk, which can be sold to end-consumers, under state law.

I presume that the elected county officials have the capacity to overrule the appointed board. I hope that the citizens of Christian County bring these concerns to the elected board, and I wish them luck in changing this absurd decision.