Attending Hearings on Making Raw Milk Legal in Louisiana

Tricia and Benjamin took another home school field trip this week - this time to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to the State Capitol.  There was an Agriculture committee hearing in the House of Representatives to hear discussion on whether or not it should be legal for farmers to sell raw milk in Louisiana.  If this passed out of committee it would go before the House for a vote.  Louisiana is one of nine states in which it is illegal to sell raw milk and proponents were trying to change that.

We thought it would be a great learning experience for Benjamin to get to see how government works and how people can make their voices heard.  They arrived at the Capitol Building at 8:30.  Benjamin took a few pictures of the capitol.

State Capitol Building

They met with groups of other people who were interested in the outcome and some were prepared to speak before the committee. They had signs made up and many brought cookies and raw milk for the committee members to snack on.

Raw Milk Lovers on the steps of the capitol building

In deliberations proponents spoke about the benefits of drinking raw milk.  Raw milk has not been pasteurized so the beneficial bacteria, enzymes, nutrients, and vitamins are all still available.  It is also about freedom as producers and consumers should be able to come together without the government coming in between them.

Opponents spoke of the fears due to the possibility of food borne illness.  Good points were brought up to try to allay those fears, such as the totally legal sale of Raw Oysters in the State.  Approximately 15 people die each year from illnesses after eating raw oysters, but you can still walk into most any restaurant and eat raw oysters to your heart's content.  There are dangers with most anything, but we don't normally ban everything that has safety concerns - we put in best management practices to minimize the danger.  

Benjamin in Action!

The committee meeting was held in a smaller conference room, but Benjamin did get an opportunity to see proceedings in the House Chamber room with votes taking place.

All in favor, say "Aye!"

In the end after much discussion, a vote was taken and the measure passed, 9 to 6. This bill will now be voted on in the House Chamber in the next week or so.  If it passes there, it goes before the Senate committee.  If it passes there, it goes before the Senate Chambers to be voted on for a law.  We'll be watching this one closely, but regardless, it was a great learning experience for Benjamin to see the process of how bills become law.

As a side note, I pulled up the old Schoolhouse Rock, "I'm just a Bill" video on Youtube and showed it to Benjamin.  It does a good job of showing this whole process, but on the Federal level.  We grew up watching those on Saturday morning and I can still remember most of them.