A West Virginia lawmaker might be reconsidering his stance on raw milk

Not The Onion!

In the weeks after passing a bill, allowing West Virginians to drink raw milk, one delegate brought the drink in to celebrate and, eventually, several lawmakers have gotten sick. Some lawmakers say it's just a coincidence and a stomach bug is going around.

Coincidence they all drank the raw milk? LOL.

Several lawmakers say a delegate who sponsored the bill, Scott Cadle (R - Mason, 13), brought in the drinks. "[Cadle] caught me in the hallway, offered a cup to me, and you want to try to be a gentleman," McGeehan said. "I had a small sip and walked away and tossed the rest of it."

The health department is investigating, but even some of the affected lawmakers are in denial:

"I highly doubt raw milk had anything to do with it, in my case," McGeehan said.

The Food and Drug Administration and the CDC warn against drinking raw milk:

Milk and milk products provide a wealth of nutrition benefits. But raw milk can harbor dangerous microorganisms that can pose serious health risks to you and your family. According to an analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), between 1993 and 2006 more than 1500 people in the United States became sick from drinking raw milk or eating cheese made from raw milk. In addition, CDC reported that unpasteurized milk is 150 times more likely to cause foodborne illness and results in 13 times more hospitalizations than illnesses involving pasteurized dairy products. Raw milk is milk from cows, sheep, or goats that has not been pasteurized to kill harmful bacteria. This raw, unpasteurized milk can carry dangerous bacteria such as Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria, which are responsible for causing numerous foodborne illnesses. These harmful bacteria can seriously affect the health of anyone who drinks raw milk, or eats foods made from raw milk. However, the bacteria in raw milk can be especially dangerous to people with weakened immune systems, older adults, pregnant women, and children. In fact, the CDC analysis found that foodborne illness from raw milk especially affected children and teenagers

Emphasis added. See the still-in-denial lawmakers suffering from the stomach illness: