Check out our new website dedicated to raw milk in Texas!
We have an important opportunity to expand access to raw milk in Texas! At the summer meeting before the Department of State Health Services, we were able to convince the Council to stop the enactment of proposed regulations that would have further restricted access to raw milk and invaded consumers’ privacy. Not only did the Council reject the proposed regulations, but they invited us to submit our own proposal to allow farmers to deliver raw milk to consumers! A group of producers and consumers has submitted a proposal to the agency.
Read the letter to the agency here Read our proposed regulatory language here Read our raw milk fact sheet here Read excerpts from the more than 450 letters we received in support hereUpdate: November 9, 2009
Thank you to everyone who wrote letters and came to the agency meeting to support increased access to raw milk in Texas! Last week’s meeting went extremely well, and we are cautiously optimistic about the future.
Dr. Ted Beals started the information session with a great talk about the safety of raw milk. Although the agency epidemiologist followed with many statements about how all milk should be pasteurized, she had little data to support the claim. In fact, the only “outbreak” in Texas linked to raw milk consisted of 2 adult men who got sick in 2000.
After the formal presentations, the Council opened the session up for public comment. Judith McGeary set forth FARFA’s proposal, emphasizing that it maintains the direct farmer-to-consumer nature of raw milk sales and includes protections such as temperature standards for transportation. We offered copies of all of the scientific studies cited in our fact sheet and presented the Chair with copies of 450 letters of support from Texans. Health professionals, farmers, a market organizer from Sustainable Food Center, and consumers all spoke articulately and passionately in favor of improving access to healthy, safe raw dairy. They were reinforced by a crowd of raw milk supporters who listened closely, as did the Council members.
Both during and after the meeting, several Council members expressed support for allowing delivery and sales at farmers markets. The next step is to move our proposal into the formal rulemaking process. This is a long, slow process, so please be patient. And stay tuned for more action steps!
For more information about raw milk, visit RealMilk.com
