Here’s next step for Fresno raw milk farmer and role with new Health Secretary RFK Jr.
A raw milk dairy farmer from Central California could soon be headed to Washington, D.C., now that Robert F. Kennedy has been confirmed as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
RFK Jr. is a customer of Raw Farms, founded by Mark McAfee and based in Fresno and Kings counties.
Kennedy’s team first reached out to McAfee last year about a potential advisory role at the Food and Drug Administration to help draft a national policy and standards for raw milk.
The FDA is one of the agencies under the umbrella of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Shortly after the Senate approved Kennedy’s nomination on a 52 to 48 vote Thursday, McAfee sent the new HHS secretary a congratulatory email.
“I told him that I’m standing by and ready to go,” McAfee said. “His team told me that we are supposed to meet the first week in March.”
As one of the leading raw milk producers in the country, McAfee said he is looking forward to changing the narrative about drinking raw milk.
For decades, the FDA has advocated against drinking raw milk, saying it poses a health risk because of the potential presence of harmful bacteria and viruses.
McAfee’s dairy, despite being a leader in the industry, has dealt with contamination setbacks including several product recalls since 2006.
But raw milk drinkers, including Kennedy, are not swayed by the warnings or risks and have boosted consumption of Raw Farm milk by double digits.
“He is a happy customer of ours who has been drinking raw milk for his gut and immune system, and he wanted that for everyone,” McAfee said.
McAfee has put together an eight-page proposal that, in his words, is a draft for a vision of raw milk in America based on his 26 years of experience as a dairy operator.
“I sent it off to him and from what I understand, it has been well received,” he said.
This story was originally published February 14, 2025 at 10:00 AM.
