Take Action!

OCA and Allies Fight Back Against FDA and
Food Inc.'s Attempt to Criminalize Raw Milk

Boston Raw Milk Drink In

Raw milk enthusiasts, dairy farmers, and a cow gathered at Boston Common on May 10, 2010for a "Raw Milk Drink-In" at the State House for a press conference in advance of a 10 am hearing at the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR).

The raw milk rally was organized to address MDAR attempts to restrict the delivery of raw milk to thousands of consumers throughout Massachusetts. Earlier this year, the MDAR issued a cease and desist order to four raw milk buying club drivers who were delivering the milk to customers to urban and suburban areas of the state.

From the Archives

Massachusetts Raw Milk Farms Threatened as State Moves to Make Buying Clubs Illegal

The State of Massachusetts is proposing new language to be added to the regulations that govern the sale of raw milk, which would make it illegal for consumers to entrust another individual to purchase milk from the farm for them. This is aimed at the buying clubs that have made raw milk available and accessible to hundreds of families over the years.

The purchases made through these clubs have been instrumental in helping to sustain dairy farms and these clubs have saved thousands of gallons of gas by essentially carpooling milk.

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Contact Your Legislators!

Don't Let Massachusetts Ban
Raw Milk Buying Clubs

We are urging people to contact their legislators to express their opposition to this proposed change. (To see who your representatives are, see here.) Educate your senators and representatives with the following information:

• MDAR supports the sale of raw milk at the farm and regulates it to ensure its safety. There is no valid public health reason to distinguish between a person going to the farm to purchase milk for themselves, and having someone else bring it to them.
• Raw milk for sale at the farm must meet the exact same testing requirements for pasteurized milk sold in grocery stores, yet there are certainly no restrictions on buying pasteurized milk for others.
• These clubs have been in operation for years, some of them very publicly. MDAR has certainly known about them. During that time there have been absolutely no public health problems. That kind of success should be rewarded with an expansion of markets, not a reduction.
• The clubs do not sell or distribute milk - they do not maintain an inventory, mark up their product, or offer it for sale to the public. They are acting as agents of individual consumers who contract with the private club to provide a service.
• The proposed change is so broad that it would make it illegal to pick up a gallon of milk for your neighbor.
• Buying clubs save gas and the environment, just like carpooling.
• Buying clubs support the farmers, which means protecting jobs, preserving farmland and helping the economy.

No state in the nation has acted in this way to make milk buying clubs illegal. It is short-sighted and counter-productive on the part of Massachusetts officials to try to do so, as it will harm dairy farms and likely result in consumers purchasing milk from dairies that are not licensed to sell raw milk. Milk from these dairies is not tested by MDAR to ensure that it meets the standards for human consumption, and a regulation that would result in people drinking milk from these farms is unacceptable.

The proposed change would have negative effects on other farms and farm products as well, as the clubs often also purchase produce and other products from neighboring farms for their members. With milk being the main product for these clubs, if they are no longer allowed to purchase milk for their members they may well also stop buying other products.

 

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