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Exciting news! The first ever Congressional debate and vote on raw milk happened in the U.S. House of Representatives last week.
Unfortunately, Rep. Thomas Massie’s (R-Ky)’s amendment to the Farm Bill, intended to overturn a 1987 ban on interstate sales of raw milk, was defeated.
So what’s next? We push the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to exempt raw milk farmers from regulatory enforcement if they provided a clear warning label and instructions for milk pasteurization.
TAKE ACTION: If your member of Congress voted against Massie’s amendment to allow interstate sales of unpasteurized milk, send him or her a letter that provides more information on why consumers should have the freedom to buy raw milk.
If your Member of Congress voted to respect your right to drink raw milk, send him or her a letter to say “thank you, now please take the next step.”
On the side of the road in an unmarked white van, the award-winning investigative journalist Nelufar Hedayat, known for her global stories about women’s rights and cultural issues, such as The Traffickers, meets an undercover reporter working for the animal advocacy organization Compassion Over Killing. The unidentified man shares secret clips from his time spent on a dairy farm in the Northeast.
In Canada, it’s illegal to sell or give away raw milk, a law that’s enforced in many provinces. In Ontario, distributing raw milk was long considered to be a regulatory offense punishable by fines, but as of January 2018 an order issued by Ontario’s Superior Court calls for anyone who distributes or sells raw milk in the area to face years in prison. Members of one area food co-op believe the Ontario injunction violates their constitutional right to access raw milk, and they’ve filed a motion to have the injunction stayed.
Researchers have found that cows fed a 100 percent organic grass and legume-based diet produce milk with elevated levels of omega-3 and CLA, and thus provides a markedly healthier balance of fatty acids. The improved fatty acid profile in grass-fed organic milk and dairy products (hereafter, 'grassmilk') brings the omega-6/omega-3 ratio to a near 1 to 1, compared to 5.7 to 1 in conventional whole milk.
We were furious when the Trump administration’s U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reversed Obama’s decision to ban chlorpyrifos, a pesticide that causes neurological damage, especially in children.
We were equally dismayed when Trump’s U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) proposed rolling back animal welfare standards for organic production.
But as long as Trump has his scissors out, there is at least one piece of “red tape” we wish he would cut: The U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA) ban on raw milk.
The Real Food Consumer Coalition has drafted a legal petition asking the FDA to let raw milk dairy farmers distribute unpasteurized milk in interstate commerce, as long as it bears a warning label and instructions for safe handling.
We’re asking our networks to support Real Food’s petition by asking the FDA to lift its ban on raw milk.
TAKE ACTION: Tell Trump to Lift the FDA’s Ban on Raw Milk!
The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) mission statement describes their effort to “partner with all citizens of Wisconsin to grow the economy by promoting quality food, healthy plants and animals, sound use of land and water resources, and a fair marketplace.” However, DATCP behavior is far from consistent with their virtuous mission statement. Instead, the DATCP has used intimidation, threats of raids and seizures, and a command and control technique to enforce their regulations of farm producers and butchers in the state of Wisconsin.
Montana has become the 43rd state to legalize raw milk distribution, doing so through a method that no other state has adopted. Montana residents can now get legal access to raw milk through purchasing securities, giving them ownership interest in a dairy animal or dairy animals.
Last month, Maine’s Governor Paul LePage signed into law a bill that gives municipalities the power to regulate direct farm-to-consumer sales within their own borders. It’s the third so-called “food freedom” bill—also often called “food sovereignty” bills—to successfully make its way into state law in the U.S.: the first one was signed in Wyoming in 2015, and the second in North Dakota this past April.
So, you're familiar with the problems associated with conventional pasteurized milk and you've started buying (and paying more for) organic milk instead. If you think you're doing your health a great favor, you may be shocked to find out some organic milk brands contain omega-3-rich oil made from corn syrup-fed algae.
