A letter I sent to a few state representatives regarding this Friday's debate over raw milk sales in Arkansas. Particularly this was directed at Rep. Sheila Lampkin whose vote against raw milk sales was based on her concern regarding the health of children and them being unable to make their own informed decisions. The reason I find this logic difficult to understand is apparently those making this argument have no problem taking away my ability to make an informed decision.
"Dear Ms. Lampkin,
I very much do not like to get involved with politics. I find the process of getting my voice heard over the din of people with the money and power to be louder to be frustrating and overwhelming. I much prefer to opt out. My point in telling you this is to drive home how strongly I feel about the issue I am writing to you about.
I am the mother of a young child. A child who was breast-fed the first year of his life and moved to raw milk the entire second year of his life. My child would still be drinking raw milk if I had better access to it. My child is and always has been the picture of health.
Being a new mother can be scary. You are responsible for another life. Every decision you make impacts that life. If you are like me and are slightly older as a new mother with a lot of resources available to you, you do everything in your power to research and make informed decisions regarding what is best for your child. And then you go with your gut.
I chose years ago to opt out of our industrial food system to every extent possible and my husband and I chose this way of life for our child. Choice is what I feel the raw milk debate is over. Doctors and scientists can argue pros and cons of raw vs pasteurized milk all day long. But in the end, we as individuals need to make a choice regarding which side of the fence we are on. All I'm asking for is to be able to make that choice for myself and my family.
From what I understand, we aren't talking about selling raw milk in grocery stores to customers who are uninformed regarding their purchase. We are talking about a very tiny percentage of milk being sold on the farm directly from the farmer's hands to the customers who have searched them out. And believe me, search is what you must do to find raw milk. Those customers searching for raw milk have made an informed decision based on research, unlike the mindless act of grabbing a gallon of milk out of the cooler at Wal-mart (and I have been as guilty of that act as the next person).
Please give us the opportunity to make this choice for ourselves.
Thank you.
Tara Stainton
Mother & Organic Farmer"
