Food activists and anti-regulation libertarians are fighting for their right to drink unpasteurized milk in peace, even though illnesses connected to drinking it are rising.

A recent Washington Post article reported that public health officials have found that in over a dozen cases that drinking unpasteurized milk can lead to kidney failure, with paralysis occurring in at least two. But people who refuse to trust government regulations are so thirsty for this possibly illness-inducing raw milk that they're selling and buying it illegally:

In states where raw milk remains banned, black and "gray" markets have emerged for enthusiasts seeking "moonshine milk" in the belief that bacteria-killing heat from pasteurization also kills powerful enzymes and eliminates other properties that can cure allergies, asthma and even autism.

Every day, thousands of gallon-sized glass jars filled with raw milk move from state to state, arriving at consumers' front doors through co-ops, buyers clubs and from friends and relatives who sometimes pack the milk in dry ice and ship it via FedEx.

Sometimes the only jars that buyers can find are labeled, "For Pet Consumption Only."

But it isn't just pets who are drinking this apparently delicious illegal milk, which typically costs $12 a gallon. According to the CDC, 1 to 3 percent of Americans drink it and god damn it are they're tired of smuggling it across state borders in mason jars!

The government is not listening to what consumers are asking for," said Fallon Morell, whose farm is in Maryland, where raw milk sales are banned. "People are sick and tired of industrialized food.

Nonprofits such as the Farm-t0-Consumer Legal Defense Fund have been on the forefront of the raw milk legalization movement, which has gained steam ever since Amish farms were raided by undercover FDA agents over raw milk. Not to mention these raw milk protests tend to be extremely threatening:

Outraged members of Allgyer's Grassfed On the Hill buyers club staged a protest on the Mall, drinking raw milk within view of the Capitol.

Seems effective, yeah?

So far, 40 bills have been introduced in 23 state capitals to legalize unpasteurized milk within state borders. Even though the CDC says the chance of getting sick from raw milk is 150 times greater than from pasteurized milk, many Americans are still engaging in this illegal milk trade every single day.