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Last week, Vermont House passed a bill that would expand sales of raw milk through Community Supported Agricultural Organizations (CSA) and farm stalls. Passing the law would take a further step toward rejecting the federal ban plan in practice and effect.
Representative Heather Subrenant (Democrat) and a coalition of Democrats have submitted House Bill 218 (H218), On February 9. The legislation will expand existing raw milk sales by amending the law to allow sales through farm stalls and Community Supported Agricultural Organizations (CSA’s), as long as raw milk is sold within 30 miles of the producer. The farm wing manager or the Canadian Space Agency will be required to keep a list of clients and transactions for one year.
This would build on The expansion of raw milk sales passed in 2019.
The Agriculture and Forestry Committee approved the bill on March 17, and the House of Representatives passed it in plenary Friday.
Impact on the federal ban
Food and Drug Administration officials insist that unpasteurized milk poses a health hazard due to its susceptibility to contamination from cow dung, which is a source of Escherichia coli.
“It’s the FDA’s position that raw milk should never be consumed,” agency spokeswoman Tamara said Ward in November 2011.
The FDA’s position is more than a matter of opinion. In 1987, the Federalists applied 21 CFR 1240.61 (a), provided that: “It is not permissible for any person to cause his delivery to interstate commerce or to sell or otherwise distribute or keep it for sale or other distribution after shipment in interstate commerce, that is, milk or dairy product in the form of final packaging for direct human consumption unless the product is Pasteurized. “
It’s not just the Feds banning the transport of raw milk across state lines; They also claim the authority to ban unpasteurized milk Within the borders of the state.
“From HHS … impose bans within states [on unpasteurized milk] Also, ”Food and Drug Administration officials wrote in response to A. Farm-to-consumer legal defense fund A lawsuit against the agency over the interstate ban.
The Food and Drug Administration clearly wants a complete ban on raw milk and some insiders say it is only a matter of time before the feds try to impose an absolute ban. Armed raids by FDA agents on companies like Rawsome Foods in 2011 and Amish farms over the past few years also suggest that this scenario may not be far-fetched.
When states allow raw milk to be sold within their borders, they take an important step toward repealing this federal ban scheme.
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As we have seen with marijuana and industrial hemp, domestic bans become ineffective when states ignore them and pass laws encouraging the prohibited activity anyway. The federal government lacks the enforcement authority necessary to maintain its bans, and people would voluntarily take the small risks of federal sanctions if they knew the state would not intervene. This increases when the state actively encourages the market and removes the federal ban in effect.
We’ve seen this very evident in the states that have legalized industrial hemp. When they allowed production, farmers began growing industrial hemp, even in the face of a federal ban. Despite facing the prospect of federal prosecution, some growers were still willing to step into the void and begin growing the plant once the state removed the barriers.
Likewise, removing state barriers to the consumption, sale and production of raw milk will undoubtedly stimulate the creation of new markets for unpasteurized dairy products, regardless of what the feds claim the ability to do.
It could eventually lead to the removal of the interstate bans as well. If all 50 states allowed raw milk, markets within the states could grow so easily that domestic sales would render the federal ban on interstate trade pointless. And history suggests that the feds just don’t have the resources to stop people transporting raw milk across state borders – especially if several states start legalizing it. The rapidly growing markets will overwhelm any attempts to impose federalism.
What’s Next
H218 will now move to the Senate, where it will first need to exit the committee in order to continue the legislative process.
Source: Tenth Adjustment Center
Amanda Bowers is a longtime Jill-of-all-trade game with TAC. She has worked in outreach, local classes, research, blogging, and more.
