Oh, Florida, what will we ever do with you?
In Seminole County, a woman is suing a raw-milk producer Keely Farms Dairy and the retailer where she allegedly bought it, claiming that the unpasteurized milk caused a bacterial infection that killed her 20-week-old fetus. She said she’d been buying the milk for months without incident. When she noticed the label said something to the effect of “for consumption by animals,” the seller allegedly told her it was just a “technical requirement to sell ‘farm milk.’”
Soon after, her toddler reportedly drank some. Within days, he was violently ill, crippled by diarrhea, vomiting, high fever, and dangerous dehydration, according to the lawsuit. He was rushed to the hospital multiple times as doctors tried to stabilize him. Ultimately, surgeons allegedly had to operate for intussusception, a life-threatening condition where the intestine folds over itself, cutting off blood flow and risking tissue death. The procedure can require removing sections of the intestine, leaving lifelong digestive complications. Tests allegedly confirmed the worst—infections with both E. coli and campylobacter, two bacteria notorious for causing severe gastrointestinal disease and, in young children, potentially permanent bodily damage.
Florida health officials have linked Keely Farms Dairy to at least 21 bacterial illnesses across northeast and central Florida since January. Six victims were kids under age 10, and seven people were hospitalized, with at least two cases suffering severe complications. State rules say raw milk can be sold only for animal consumption and must be labeled as such—which it was. That didn’t stop people from apparently marketing it for humans, anyway.
Raw milk used to be a niche product for homesteaders and food purists. But in the post-pandemic culture wars, it’s become a conservative badge of honor—a way to thumb your nose at the “nanny state” and reject public health authority. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., our anti-science health and human services secretary, is a fan of it. And right-wing influencers pitch it as “natural” and “traditional,” dismissing government data showing it’s far more likely to carry dangerous bacteria. The Food and Drug Administration and public health warnings? Just liberal elites trying to keep you down.
Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo—one of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ most loyal flunkies—has fed that narrative. In response to this outbreak, he posted on X, “Floridians have the freedom to make informed health choices. I support the decision to consume raw milk when sought for potential health benefits and protective factors. Be aware of your source and know the risks.”
A woman seems to have lost her fetus—supposedly the ultimate conservative tragedy—and Ladapo shrugs. He talks about the “potential benefits” of raw milk but cites no evidence (hence “potential”). He tells people to “be aware” of their source, as if ordinary consumers can inspect a dairy themselves or would know what to look for. That’s the point of food safety inspections. And if even he acknowledges that “risks” are real enough to require awareness, why is he encouraging the practice at all?
Meanwhile, the lawsuit may be the only thing that challenges this nonsense. If dairies and resellers start paying out for every child hospitalized and every pregnancy lost, maybe the right’s raw-milk fad will dry up. Until then, the Florida GOP is quite literally defending the freedom to poison children.
Editor’s note: A prior version of this story included a photograph of milk from Raw Farms. Raw Farms is based in California and has no link to the incidents in Florida described in this article. Daily Kos regrets the error.
