Dairy producers and dairy processors have found another issue on which they agree. The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), which represents manufacturers, are jointly opposing the proposed Interstate Milk Freedom Act of 2014. Sponsored by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), the bill would repeal a long-standing ban on the sale of unpasteurized milk across state lines. Currently, states regulate the sale of raw milk within their borders.

“If this measure passes, those most vulnerable to dangerous pathogens—children—are the ones who will suffer the most. The benefits of consuming raw milk are illusory, but the painful costs of illness and death are very real,” says Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF.

Connie Tipton, president and CEO of IDFA, says milk products currently enjoy a high degree of consumer confidence, but that expanding the sale of raw milk could undermine that confidence.