Stephen, 6, and David Sutlet, 3, of Kenna eat cookies and drink raw milk on the steps of the state Capitol Wednesday in protest of the governor’s veto of the raw milk bill.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A group consisting of more than two-dozen raw milk advocates gathered outside the state Capitol on Wednesday, handing out samples of the unpasteurized product as a form of civil disobedience.
Armed with homemade signs and cookies, a bullhorn, yellow “Don’t Tread on Me” T-shirts and a cooler filled with fresh milk, the group spoke out against Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s veto of Senate Bill 30 earlier this month.
The bill would have permitted the consumption of raw milk in West Virginia through herd share ownership agreements.
“We really feel like it’s not really a small food issue, it’s a freedom issue,” said Tinia Creamer, an outspoken raw milk proponent and owner of Wayne County-based Lucas Farm, which is home to 20 goats and one cow on 23 acres.
Creamer, who brought mason jars filled with goat’s milk to the Capitol, noted that Tomblin’s veto would significantly affect Windy Ridge Dairy, an organic farm located in Preston County.
In the aftermath of the bill’s veto, Windy Ridge Dairy owner Ernie Fazenbaker told the Daily Mailhe would have to close his business, which has been operating for 30 years. Creamer called the veto a “death sentence” for Fazenbaker’s farm…
