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For Bowie resident Liz Reitzig, weekly grocery shopping is serious business. Each week she drives four hours round-trip to pick up seven gallons of raw milk from a dairy farmer in Pennsylvania. She has to make the trek because the sale of raw milk is illegal in Maryland, but Reitzig is working to change that.

Reitzig, 28, the president of the Maryland Independent Consumers and Farmers Association, testified before the Health and Government Operations Committee of the Maryland General Assembly on March 17 in favor of a bill that would allow Maryland farmers to operate "cow shares," or shared agreements with buyers to allow the sale of raw milk.

On top of cutting her driving time, the passage of House Bill 1080 would also support the local dairy industry, Reitzig said.

"I'd really like to be able to have the choice to be able to support a Maryland farmer," she said.

The bill would allow Maryland residents to essentially buy shares of a cow and then purchase and consume the cow's raw milk. The bill is sponsored by Dels. J.B. Jennings (Dist. 7) of Baltimore County, Don H. Dwyer Jr. (Dist. 31) of Glen Burnie, Jolene Ivey (Dist. 47) of Cheverly, Nicholaus R. Kipke (Dist. 31) of Anne Arundel County and Christopher B. Shank (Dist. 2B) of Washington County. The committee has not voted on the bill yet, and no date has been scheduled for a vote.

Reitzig began drinking raw milk about five years ago after friends and family began telling her it brought on health benefits, such as a stronger immune system. One of her four children was allergic to milk but was able to stomach raw milk without a problem, she said. Her sister, who was also allergic to pasteurized milk, had the same experience. After years of drinking raw milk, she said she sees fewer illnesses in her children than others.

"The kids are rarely sick, and when they are it's for shorter period of time," Reitzig said.

The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is opposed to the bill, stating the consumption of raw milk can be hazardous.

"There are pathogens in raw milk. We're talking about listeria, E. coli, salmonella, that are naturally present in a cow's stomach," said Ted Elkin, MDHMH deputy director for food protection.

Consumption of those bacteria can lead to food poisoning or even death in serious cases. Salmonella was the bacteria found in some peanut butter earlier this year that lead to nationwide recalls of food products containing peanut butter.

While adults may be able to make their own decision on whether or not to buy raw milk, Elkin said the health department worries especially about children who do not have a choice what their parents feed them.

"Our concern again is the population who seems to be affected [by food-borne illnesses]. They most often are people who are very young, very old or with compromised immune systems," he said.

However, Reitzig said neither she, her four children nor her husband, Ken, have ever gotten sick from drinking raw milk.

"I don't know one person who has gotten sick from fresh milk," she said. "We know our farmer, we trust our source. He feeds it to his children, too."