Raw Milk Hearing in Framingham, MA This Wednesday Dec 16

Dear Raw Milk Fans,

WE NEED YOU NOW!

There will be a hearing this Wednesday night, December 16, at 7PM, that will determine whether or not Doug Stephan is granted a license to sell raw milk from his farm in Framingham, Massachusetts, a town of 70,000 or so people 20 miles west of Boston.

The meeting will be in the Blumer Room in the Town Hall, 150 Concord St, Framingham, MA. Click here for a map and directions. There's a train that leaves South Station, Boston at 6:15PM and arrives in Framingham at 6:52PM; the town hall is a few minutes' walk from the train station. This sounds like a good option. Bring a book for the train ride. Might I suggest The Raw Milk Revolution, by David E. Gumpert?


THE MORE PEOPLE SHOW UP AT THIS HEARING TO SUPPORT DOUG, THE BETTER HIS CHANCES.

Personally, I would be thrilled to have a 30-cow raw milk dairy within 20 minutes of my house in Cambridge. The closest one right now is 40 minutes away (Oake Knoll Ayrshires in Foxoro), and is quite small—10 cows last I herd (sic). Stephan's farm would only be the 26th raw milk dairy in Massachusetts, a bellwether state on many issues.

SO IF YOU ARE AVAILABLE WEDNESDAY NIGHT, PLEASE COME TO THE MEETING!

and

SPREAD THE WORD!

Click here for the meeting agenda. There will be stuff going on at the meeting besides the raw milk hearing—but I can guarantee that the raw milk part will be the highlight!

Some additional background:

My understanding is that this is the first time anyone in Framingham has applied to the city Board of Health for such a license. As such, precedent will be set. There are three possible outcomes: the board could grant the license; the board could grant the license, but with town-specific requirements that are tougher than the state requirements; or the board could deny the license. This hearing is a very important one in Massachusetts, and could point the way for future such hearings.

Doug will make the case that his dairy farm cannot survive selling milk for pasteurization. In the past year and a half, the price paid to him by dairy corporations has dropped from $28 or $29 for a hundredweight, to $12 or $13 for a hundredweight. It costs him $24 per hundredweight to produce the milk.

Here are some articles on the issue:

http://www.dougstephan.com/includes/news_items/1/news_items_more.php?id=734&section_id=1

http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/x2071501767/Crying-foul-over-raw-milk-in-Framingham

The outcome of this case will have bearing on all of our ability to get raw milk, and to get the food we want, the way we want it, not just in Massachusetts, but around the US. Now is the time to act.