One of the biggest topics of 2025 for farmers, consumers and healthcare providers in North Carolina was whether raw milk should be legal to sell for human consumption. The battle, which has been going on for years, could well resurface during the 2026 legislative session.

Raw milk has not undergone pasteurization, which is a process of heating the milk to a high temperature for a certain amount of time to kill pathogens like tuberculosis, which for centuries was frequently caused by drinking milk from cows with tuberculosis.

Public health officials say foodborne illnesses like salmonella can also spread through consuming unpasteurized milk. Symptoms of these can include vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. They can be especially severe in children.

Some people, however, say raw milk is healthier — a theory that’s been debunked by hundreds of studies — or that it tastes better. Others argue it’s an issue of personal liberty, claiming consumers have a fundamental freedom to decide what they and their families consume.