 It has come to our attention that the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), a national non-governmental organization that claims to represent the interests of American farmers, is right now attempting to covertly eliminate the freedom of South Carolina farmers to sell raw milk at the retail level. One of only a few states that currently recognizes the freedom of individuals to buy and sell raw milk legally, South Carolina is basically being accosted by this Big Ag front group, which will attempt to eliminate raw milk freedom in the Palmetto State at a special meeting to be held on Friday, January 25, 2013, at 12:00 pm. According to an insider alert we just received, the South Carolina Dairy Advisory Committee (SCDAC) will consider a proposal made by AFBF, which is strongly and vocally opposed to individuals having the freedom to buy and sell raw milk, to eliminate an existing state statute that recognizes the freedom of South Carolina farmers who are properly permitted to sell raw milk at the retail level. In its place, AFBF wants SCDAC to implement policies that reflect its own biased views towards raw milk, which for all intents and purposes would ban the sale of raw milk for human consumption throughout the state. 'Delegates approved a new policy that states only pasteurized milk and milk products should be sold for human consumption,' states the heinous proposal that AFBF is pushing SCDAC to adopt. 'Delegates approved the measure in light of the potential risks to public health and food safety posed by consumption of raw milk.' Science reveals raw milk is safe Based on AFBF's track record of lobbying, it is hardly surprising that the organization would side with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in clinging to a completely unscientific and outdated view of raw milk safety. After all, AFBF is the same organization that back in 2012 aggressively opposed reasonable restrictions that would have limited the use of antibiotics in factory-farmed animals, erroneously claiming that doing so would somehow negatively affect public health (when quite the opposite is true). Now, AFBF is making similar inaccurate claims with its surreptitious attack on raw milk in South Carolina. Based on data published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), raw milk is linked, at most, to causing only 42 sicknesses nationwide every year. And most of these cases cannot definitively be linked to raw milk -- they are merely assumed to be the cause of illness, as the government has a unabashed and completely irrational bias against raw milk. But even if all 42 of these annual cases could be conclusively linked to raw milk, the overall risk associated with raw milk consumption would still be ridiculously low, as roughly 10 million Americans consume raw milk on a regular basis. The federal government's own data proves that Americans are 35 thousand times more likely to get sick from many other foods legally sold at grocery stores than they are from raw milk ( http://www.westonaprice.org/press/government-data-proves-raw-milk-safe ). Take Action Since the meeting takes place in less than 24 hours, it is crucial that the health freedom community band together as one to immediately oppose this assault on raw milk. selfnews readers are urged to contact both David Winkles, Jr., President and CEO of the South Carolina Farm Bureau , and Bob Stallman, President of AFBF, and urge them not to infringe on the freedom of South Carolinians to buy and sell raw milk. In your calls and emails, be sure to explain to these gentlemen that: 1) Raw milk is a safe food, rich in living enzymes and beneficial probiotic bacteria, that can actually improve health. People have been safely consuming raw milk for millennia, and many countries today allow raw milk sales without issue, including in Europe where raw milk vending machines can be spotted on street corners. 2) Scientific data supports the safety of raw milk that is properly regulated. 3) A movement away from regulated raw milk will adversely affect the citizens of South Carolina who rely on it for health. 4) If raw milk is made illegal, other potentially unsafe avenues like underground sales will quickly emerge, similar to what occurred during alcohol prohibition. You can contact David Winkles, Jr. at: dwinkles@scfb.org (803) 936-4211 You can contact Bob Stallman at: bstallman@fb.org Remember to be polite, but assertive, in your correspondence. With enough push-back, we can stop this blatant attack on raw milk from succeeding. But we must act now to show these bullies that we are paying attention, and that we will not succumb to their attempts to steal even more food freedom from Americans. 