Raw Milk In Massachusetts: Analysis, June 7 2010

Last month saw a raw milk drink-in on the Boston Common, followed by a Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) hearing about raw milk buying clubs (but it wasn't, really). For a full recap, see here.

Many folks who wanted to attend the hearing were denied access, because the hearing room was inadequate. The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) has called on Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley to investigate what they see as a serious violation of the state's open meetings law. The OCA press release is here. Their letter to Attorney General Coakley is here.

Winton Pitcoff of the Northeast Organic Farming Association sent out an email yesterday detailing some conversations he had had with Soares. These details do not seem to be available on any web page [UPDATE: they're available here], so I excerpt Pitcoff's email at the bottom of this post.

Raw milk in Massachusetts is still very much in the news.

In the meantime, based on what I've seen and read, I may understand more of what has been going on in the statehouse.

I don't think that the MDAR or Commissioner Scott Soares has any beef (so to speak) with raw milk or with raw milk buying clubs. Until January, the MDAR has known about these clubs, and has ignored them. (It is silly to suggest that MDAR might not have known about them.) In my opinion, neglect was absolutely the appropriate policy: the clubs are far outside of the jurisdiction of the MDAR.

In January, faced with formal letters from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH), the MDAR felt that it had to do something, in order to keep the peace within the state government. Cease-and-desist letters followed, along with a proposed hearing. The events around the hearing demonstrated to everyone that the MDAR could not adopt new regulations without unleashing a huge public outcry (and due to their mishandling of the situation, they got an outcry anyway).

In conclusion:

It's nice to think that MDAR is an ally of raw milk, in theory at least, and that there might be some level of raw milk access that they are willing to defend. But five months ago, we had many raw milk buying clubs; now, the largest and most visible of these clubs are gone. Access to raw milk has been restricted, and farm revenues diminished. This is a tide that must be reversed.

(Thoughts, comments, disagreements, arguments welcome.)

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Excerpt from NOFA's June 6 email:

No Additional Raw Milk Hearings
MDAR says buying clubs still illegal

In response to an inquiry from the NOFA/Massachusetts Raw Milk Network, Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) Commissioner Scott Soares said that the department will not hold additional hearings on raw milk regulations at this time, and the regulations as they are currently written will stand during what he said he expects to be a lengthy process leading up to any changes. Soares indicated that as a result of internal review and comments that have been collected regarding this issue thus far, adequate examination will exceed the current resources and capacity of the agency. "In the interest of providing sufficient attention to matters associated with raw milk," said Soares, "the agency will indefinitely postpone any further public work around regulatory changes that were proposed in April." (See here for details about that proposal).

In a June 3 phone call with NOFA/Massachusetts Raw Milk Network coordinator Winton Pitcoff, Soares said that discussions will continuewithin the Department about how to best maintain access to safe raw milk in MA, and NOFA/Mass staff and raw milk farmers will have opportunities to participate in those discussions. Any decisions to pursue regulatory changes would be publicly announced and hearings would be held.

"It remains illegal for businesses engaged in milk distribution to operate without a milk dealer license," said Commissioner Soares. Soares said that no buying club has yet applied for a milk dealer license, and that the Department would have to examine how to handle such a request. Soares added that the Department has not pursued further action against any buying clubs and that the Cease and Desist letters sent to clubs earlier this year were meant to alert those groups that they were operating illegally.

Soares said that as the Department continues its examination of the regulations, "everything is on the table. We will consider extended sales and what it would take to make those sales safe." He reiterated MDAR's commitment to on-farm raw milk sales, and said that there have been no discussions to eliminate or further restrict such sales.

Proposed changes to the regulations that do not pertain to buying clubs -- dilution levels of chlorine in water used to sanitize caps, flooring in milking parlors, etc. -- are still being reviewed "in the context of the comments provided" and to confirm alignment with the federal Pasteurized Milk Ordinance, said Soares.

The NOFA/Massachusetts Raw Milk Network has obtained copies of all of the email and written comments submitted to MDAR during the April/May comment period. Approximately 285 comments were submitted, with all but one of them indicating opposition to the proposed additional restrictions on raw milk sales. The lone letter in support of tighter regulations came from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (see NOFA's response to that letter here).

MDAR posted 'FAQ's About Buying Raw Milk in Massachusetts' on its website following the May 10 hearing.

The NOFA/Massachusetts Raw Milk Network remains committed to ensuring access to raw milk for consumers and will continue to work with state agencies and officials toward expanding that access. There is demonstrated demand for raw milk from consumers and farmers have proven they can produce raw milk safely. Massachusetts' 27 licensed raw milk dairies sell more than 80,000 gallons of milk a year to customers around the state and steward more than 3,500 acres of Massachusetts farmland. Sales of raw milk are an invaluable tool for preserving dairy farms, at a time when the dairy industry is in crisis and farms are closing at an alarming rate. Allowing expanded access to raw milk through such avenues as home delivery and farmers market sales will help further strengthen these farms.

Boston Raw Milk Rally, Drink-In, and Hearing Wrap-Up

Last week there was a raw milk rally and drink-in on the Boston Common, followed by a public hearing with Commissioner Scott Soares of the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR).

Mainstream press covered the events (Boston Globe; Fox News).

I believe the most important testimony in the hearing came from Harvey Schwartz, a Boston-area attorney and raw milk drinker. He urged Commissioner Soares to reconsider the course that the MDAR has charted with respect to raw milk buying clubs. (The MDAR is simultaneously claiming that they are already illegal, and trying to create a regulation making them illegal.)

Schwartz spoke of the legal notion of agency. He stated that the buying club arrangement was a principal/agent relationship. He observed that under Massachusetts state law, you can contract an agent to perform all sorts of transactions for you, including writing checks, executing legal documents, buying cars, buying real estate, making end-of-life decisions, and buying vodka, cigarettes, and prescription drugs. And you can have an agent buy a cow full of milk for you. Or an entire farm, including its contents. So why should it be illegal specifically for an agent to buy you a gallon of milk?

Schwartz's argument convinced me that the legality of buying clubs in Massachusetts will ultimately be confirmed. It may just be a question of finding someone who's willing to challenge the law, and someone who's willing to foot the legal bill. I don't think it will be hard to fill these roles.

For those of you who like to have the whole picture, below is a wrap-up of the event, with lots of context (because I love context).

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Selling raw milk is one of the best (and indeed only) ways for a small dairy farm in New England to stay in business. Raw milk drinkers pay $6-$10/gal directly to farmers for raw milk, while processors pay farmers only $1-$2/gal. People have been buying milk on-farm for many years in Massachusetts. They have also formed raw milk associations and buying clubs of various sorts. One motivation has been that most of the people are in the east of the state, while most of the milk is in the west. A milk-drinker who wanted raw milk could give their money to someone who would go to the farm to buy it for them. In some cases, these arrangements were informal, with groups of friends taking turns driving to the farm. In other cases, small businesses were formed to do the errand, generally charging a fee to cover the cost of operations and to support a small staff. These buying clubs extended the reach of raw milk sales considerably, and saved many driving miles, too.

In December, Commissioner Soares sent a letter in support of Eastleigh Farm's bid for a license to sell raw milk in the town of Framingham, Massachusetts, citing the above observation about the economics of small dairy in Massachusetts. Soares has historically been a faithful ally to Massachusetts farms; indeed, part of the state purpose of the MDAR (on their website) is "[w]orking to keep Massachusetts agriculture economically and environmentally sound". 

In February, the MDAR started sending cease-and-desist orders to some of the more visible Massachusetts buying clubs. The clubs receiving these orders seem to have complied.

It's not clear what prompted these orders, if anything. There was no public health crisis or outbreak. David Gumpert, a leading expert on raw milk policy, shares his thoughts here. Importantly, many of the dairy farms rely on the business provided by buying clubs. The farms are in financial danger without the clubs.

In April, the MDAR published a notice announcing a hearing for public comment on some proposed changes to the regulations governing raw milk in Massachusetts. Among other things, these proposed changes appeared to make it illegal for anyone to distribute raw milk anywhere but on its farm of origin. I wrote about this here. Interestingly, the MDAR claims that even at present, raw milk sales are only legal on-farm; yet if this is indeed the case, then the reg changes should be unnecessary. Boston Localvores address this point in greater depth here.

The MDAR's move caused quite a stir in the raw milk community. A pre-hearing rally was scheduled, and key raw milk activists made plans to fly in from out-of-state.

The MDAR hearing would take place Monday, May 10, at 10AM.

At 5:10PM on Friday, May 7, the MDAR announced that they were withdrawing the proposed changes regarding the distribution of raw milk, and that they would not hear public comment on the withdrawn changes; instead, they would hear comment only on some other, much more technical changes having to do with disinfection procedures for bottle caps, composition of barn floors, and so on.

Reactions to the MDAR's last-minute change were mixed, as I wrote here. NOFA, for instance, saw this as a sign that the people had been heard. David Gumpert saw it as a sign that the people had been denied the chance to be heard, and the government would try to go ahead with its original plans regardless.

The morning of the rally was clear and crisp. Local and national raw milk advocates gathered on the Boston Common, along with a bluegrass band, and most importantly Suzanne, a cow from Eastleigh Farm farmer Doug Stephan's herd. Suzanne was certainly the first cow to have grazed on the Boston Common in a long time. An impromptu press conference was held, we milked Suzanne, and we drank some milk.

We walked the few blocks to the municipal building where the hearing would take place. The room was inadequate for the number of people who wanted to attend the hearing; many were turned away. Beyond that, the room was not configured well. Comments were taken at one end of the long room, and there was no microphone or amplification system, so it was difficult to hear at times.

The MDAR heard perhaps five or so comments on the proposed changes regarding milk caps, barn floors, etc. After that was done, they agreed to hear comments on the withdrawn changes.

The hearing lasted about three and a half hours, which was twice as long as originally planned. Commissioner Soares, his staff, and the public all showed great patience, even during a sometimes emotional hearing.

Many, many people offered their comments, many of them quite insightful. I offer grateful acknowledgment to them all, and I regret that I cannot reproduce the comments here. Anyone who is interested can get a full transcript by calling 617-626-1700 and asking for a transcript of the MDAR public hearing of May 10, 2010, regarding raw milk. If you are curious, I would encourage you to do so.

Commissioner Soares said that the MDAR would review the public comment, and announce its plan of action within the next 30 days. Needless to say, I am curious to see what will happen!

Raw Milk Rally Tomorrow In Boston; Last-Minute Changes

There will be a hearing on the subject of raw milk tomorrow, Monday, as described here: 10AM, 100 Cambridge Street second floor, Boston MA, USA.

There will also be a rally tomorrow before the hearing, starting at 8AM, on the corner of the Boston Common near the Park Street T station. I heard a rumor that a cow was coming to the rally! Bring cameras, cow bells, cow outfits, and shiny distracting things. I may bring some raw milk to drink and share, in violation of the formerly proposed regulations.

Formerly? The nominal purpose of the hearing has changed, as of Friday, mere days before the hearing (without statutorily-required due notice). The reg changes that would have affected raw milk buying clubs have been taken off the table; this hearing will only deal with some other, less interesting issues.

Some believe that this change of purpose indicates that "the people have been heard" (NOFA Massachusetts). Others take it as a sign that the MDAR is planning to do an end-run rather than going up the middle (David Gumpert), and that, to mix a metaphor slightly, we should not trust the MDAR officials any further than we can throw them.

I'm afraid I belong to the latter camp. The MDAR's handling of this situation has been shifty on at least two grounds, and there's no reason to think that things will get any better.

To read more, check David's blog. Lots of good insight.

Massachusetts Raw Milk/Food Freedom Hearing In Boston, May 10

If you are in favor of

• the right to decide for yourself what foods are healthy for you, and not have it decided by corporations; and
• the continued existence of small dairy farms in Massachusetts

then it's vital that you come to this public hearing and make your presence felt and your voice heard.

What: Mass Department of Agricultural Resources hearing regarding proposed changes to raw milk regulations which would make it illegal for me to give raw milk to someone. 

When: Monday, May 10, 2010, 10AM

Where: 100 Cambridge Street second floor, Boston MA 

Why: There's no law against drinking it (yet), so there should be no law against buying it and giving it to someone who is themselves qualified to buy it.

For more details, read on.

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Raw milk regulations in the US vary from state to state. In Massachusetts, where I live, farmers can be licensed to sell raw milk, and they sell it on their farms.

This is a huge boon to small dairy farmers in Massachusetts. By adhering to stricter production and sanitation standards, farmers are able to sell their milk raw, direct to consumers for anywhere from $6-$12 per gallon. Their only alternative is to sell it to big distributors for between $1 and $2 per gallon, or occasionally as much as $2.50.

For years, much of this milk has been sold through buying clubs, informal or formal, anything ranging from a small group of friends who take turns going to the farm, to a small business that charges delivery fees. For years, no one has become sick in Massachusetts from raw milk. Small farms have relied on these buying clubs to help them get raw milk to the folks who want to drink it—especially folks who might live far away from the farm, or might not be able to drive themselves to the farm for whatever reason.

The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources has proposed new regulations that would outlaw buying clubs of any kind, by making it illegal for me to go to a farm, buy raw milk, and give it to someone else. So I could not buy some for my neighbor, or for someone who doesn't drive, or is disabled. Or even give a glass of it to someone who stops by my house. The proposed regs are here. Paragraph 27.08A says:

No person shall sell, distribute, provide or offer for consumption to the public any raw milk elsewhere than on a dairy farm where that raw milk was produced provided that to such farm a Certificate of Raw Milk for Retail Sale has been issued by the Commissioner. For the purposes of these Regulations the term “offer for consumption” shall include any sampling of milk by the public or offering of samples to the public.

Think about it for a minute: What other products in this country are governed by similarly contextual regulations? Not alcohol or cigarettes; I can buy alcohol and cigarettes and give them to anyone who is qualified to buy them—no matter if they are diabetic, emphysemic, whatever—even though alcohol and cigarettes are clearly some of today's biggest killers. I can buy all the supermarket cakes I want, too, and give them to my diabetic grandmother, even though these cakes contain significant amounts of trans-fats, sugar, and food coloring.

I know…guns! Actually, no, not really. I am free to sell or give my guns to others, so long as everyone involved is qualified to own them, and so long as all relevant paperwork is filed.

Can anyone think of an example of a product with similar regs surrounding it?

Is raw milk more dangerous, and more deserving of regulation, than guns?

There has been no sign of tainted raw milk in Massachusetts for over a decade (or longer, depending how you count). Can the same be said for pasteurized milk? Tomatoes? Peanuts? Spinach? Ground beef? (Hint: The answer is no.) Are there regulations restricting me from giving my friend a hamburger with a slice of tomatoes on it?

Scott Soares, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, has historically been an ally of small farms in Massachusetts. In fact, in a recent hearing regarding the granting of a raw milk license to a farm in Framingham, Soares went to the trouble of writing a letter in support of the license. He could instead have chosen to do nothing, or he could have written a letter in opposition; but he wrote a letter in support. He understands as well as anyone the economics of raw milk sales on small dairy farms—he discussed these economics in his letter.

Why has he changed his tune?

It could be due to pressure from the dairy industry. David Gumpert presents evidence and makes a good case for this theory in his blog, here, raising some questions about the transparency of Soares' dealings. Gumpert's account is worth a read; and if I were in Soares' shoes, I would respond to it as quickly and as plainly as possible.

Why is the dairy industry anti-raw milk? Because the more the public and the press discuss and debate the virtues of raw milk, the more the severe shortcomings of pasteurized-homogenized milk become visible. And raw milk is a product that large dairies cannot produce because their herding and sanitation practices are inadequate, a fact that I'm sure they'd rather not have everyone discussing. In short, raw milk is a public relations disaster for Big Dairy.

Sadly, it is no longer surprising when industry and government are cozy. To anyone who is still shocked by this, I'd recommend watching Food, Inc. For an excellent summary of the movie, check here.

To read "Why this raw milk debate matters", including an interesting question about just exactly what the current regs and laws DO permit and restrict, visit my friends the boston localvores here on their blog.

To read what the Northeast Organic Farming Association has to say about the reg change and hearing, click here.

The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund has as their purpose "[d]efending the rights and broadening the freedoms of family farms and protecting consumer access to raw milk and nutrient dense foods. ". Here's what they say.

Again, Gumpert's blog on the subject is here.

And here is a link to the MDAR website, the proposed regs, and the Notice of Public Hearing.

See you on May 10.

(This post is entered in Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade)

Raw Milk Interviews: Winton Pitcoff of NOFA; Terri Lawton of Oake Knoll Ayrshires

If you're new to my blog, you might easily conclude that I'm interested in only kimchi and raw milk. Which I don't recommend combining.

I can see why you might come to this conclusion. It's not true, I assure you.

Nonetheless:

Here's an excellent interview with Winton Pitcoff, who heads the Raw Milk Network for the Massachusetts chapter of the Northeast Organic Farming Association:

http://localisbetter.org/2010/02/15/raw-milk-in-mass-part-1/

And one with Terri Lawton of Oake Knoll Ayrshires, the only remaining dairy of any kind in Norfolk County, Massachusetts:

http://localisbetter.org/2010/02/19/raw-milk-in-mass-part-2/

Terri offers a perspective on the strict regulation of the sale of raw milk in Massachusetts:

Do you think it’s unfair that raw milk can only be sold on the farm where it’s produced [in Massachusetts]?

I think it’s wild that a person can go to any store and buy cigarettes or alcohol. Certainly cigarettes are known to have no additive effect to anyone’s health. And whether or not raw milk does—and a lot of studies that say that it does—but regardless of whether it does, it’s certainly not as inherently harmful as smoking cigarettes or chewing tobacco. There’s no problem with selling any kind of tobacco at any kind of store. I think that’s pretty outrageous. If that’s allowed, there shouldn’t be any problem allowing raw milk.

She has a good point.

How to Get Raw Milk in Massachusetts

Folks ask me where/how to get raw milk in Massachusetts.

Here are some options:

• Get yourself to a Massachusetts farm that is licensed to sell raw milk. This is the easiest option. The closest farm to Boston is Oake Knoll Ayrshires At Lawton's Family Farm in Foxboro. I blogged about it here. You have to schedule an "orientation", so that they can meet you, and then you have to call a day ahead whenever you want milk, so that they know how much milk to get from the cows! They only have 10 or so cows. Besides milk, they sell a few other products. NOFA lists other Massachusetts raw milk farms here. Besides Oake Knoll, I've been to Upinngil Farm in Gill: also Ayrshire cows, great milk, and cheap!
  
  
• Pick up some raw milk on your next trip to Maine or Connecticut. Make sure to bring a cooler or an insulated bag. For extra points, bring an ice-pack of some sort, or ask for ice at the store—some stores will give you ice for free. I've purchased raw milk at Rosemont Market on Munjoy Hill in Portland, Maine, and at the giant Whole Foods in Portland. Also, I've never been, but my friend recommends Golden Harvest Market, in Kittery, Maine.
  
  
• Join a buying club. One of the most popular is Just Dairy. Just Dairy carries a fantastic variety of farm fresh products, but their membership fees are high if all you want is some milk now and then. Mr. Tarzan is a new buying club that I blogged about here. Unfortunately, Mr. Tarzan's geographic scope is somewhat limited, at least for now. There are periodic rumors of new buying clubs emerging in JP and in Cambridge, but I don't know if they've gotten any traction.
  
  
• Start your own buying club. All you need to do is get a bunch of people together, take turns driving to a farm, and figure out the finances and logistics to everyone's satisfaction. Harder than it sounds; but there's definitely demand for it. And if it goes big, there's no reason you can't pay yourself for your time.
  
  
• I have heard that there are dairy cow share programs in Massachusetts. I don't know exactly what the authorities think of this, so I won't provide any details.
  

As far as other raw dairy products go:

• Raw milk cheese is legal, so long as it is aged at least 60 days before sale. (This is a federal law.) Roughly speaking, hard cheeses are old, and soft cheeses are young. So raw cheddar is easy, while raw brie and farmer's cheese are problematic. I did have some brined raw feta a while ago that was fantastic. It may have been under brine for more than 60 days, but I'm pretty sure it violated the spirit of the law. I'll have to try making some myself.
  
  
• My understanding is that you can't (legally) buy raw cream, raw butter, or any other such "processed" raw dairy in Massachusetts.

That's what I know. Please comment if you have additions, corrections, questions, or whatever.