On May 16th, Representative Ron Paul asked,

“If we are not even free anymore to decide something as basic as what we wish to eat or drink, how much freedom do we really have left?”

Presidential candidate Ron Paul was talking about the FDA ban on the sale of raw milk (non-pasteurized) for human consumption across state lines. The ban began in 1987, but the FDA didn’t really begin enforcing it seriously until 2006 — when the government began sting operations and armed raids of dairy farmers and their willing customers.

The New American reports:

“Even if the FDA were correct in its assertions about the dangers of raw milk, its prohibition on interstate raw milk sales would still be, as Paul termed it, ‘an unconstitutional misapplication of the commerce clause for legislative ends’ …

Saying he is outraged by the FDA’s raids on peaceful dairy farmers and their customers, Paul has introduced legislation to allow the shipment and distribution of unpasteurized milk and milk products for human consumption across state lines, in effect reversing the FDA’s unconstitutional ban on such sales.

A Daily Finance article cited by Dr. Joe Mercola addresses the issue of safety:

On occasion, people do get sick from raw milk. But the number of people sickened by raw milk compared to other foods does not seem to warrant the FDA’s focused, expensive campaign….

No government regulations of interstate commerce in peanuts, kale, or cantaloupes have been suggested, despite the much greater number of people sickened by consuming these foods.