Hundreds of people registered to speak at a public hearing in Eau Claire Wednesday for a bill to remove the ban on the production and sale of unpasteurized milk.

According to the bill, in order to produce and sell the unpasteurized milk, a farmer would have to obtain a raw milk production permit from the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

The bill also contains a clause that would remove the farmer from being held liable for selling any product that contains raw milk that might make someone sick.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, statutes in Wisconsin have prohibited the sale of unpasteurized milk for more than 50 years. However, dairy producers in the state have tried to get around this through strategies like cow shares and food clubs.

“The statutes were enacted for compelling public health reasons,” a statement from the WDATCP said. “These efforts by a small number of producers have led us to take enforcement action and have brought us here today.”

Co-sponsor of the bill Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, said WDATCP should allow people to drink raw milk if they want to, and people who drink raw milk in his district are aware of the risks.

“Currently, after approximately 15 years of allowing farmers to sell raw milk, an over-staffed Department of Agriculture is stopping people from drinking raw milk,” he said. “The people who drink raw milk in my district are the more well-read health-conscious people in my district.”

Many people are very concerned over the health risks involved with the sale and consumption of raw milk, including the Wisconsin Academy of Family Physicians.

Larry Pheifer, spokesperson for the Wisconsin Academy of Family Physicians, said they are opposed to the bill, and while many issues fall to consumer choice, this is definitely not one of them.

Pheifer said he is concerned because raw milk contains harmful bacteria, including E. coli and salmonella. They believe symptoms ranging from simple nausea all the way to death can arise from consumption.

One of the main arguments against the bill is the people who make this choice will eventually become sick, and the increased costs of health care will burden the general public.

University of Wisconsin law professor Peter Carstensen said in an e-mail to The Badger Herald there are significant risks associated with raw milk, hence the requirement for pasteurization. However, an individual can argue that an adult fully informed of the risks should have the right to take the risk and drink unpasteurized milk.

Carstensen stated if the risk will cause this person to “impose costs on members of the health insurance pool to which they belong or society in general, then one can argue that this is a public health issue.”

The solution as he sees could be that an individual who consumes raw milk might have to pay an additional “raw milk rider” on their health insurance, forcing them to pay the costs of the increased risks themselves.