For some time now, we have been engaged in the movement to allow more access to raw milk. We have been drinking it for several years and about 8 months ago, started slacking off since it is incredibly difficult to get out to the small dairy farm to buy it. But we ran back a few month later when we all were back in the cycle of recurring colds, rashes, aches, etc. We were better off with raw milk. Naturally we were anxious to see how the Government responded to the consumer demand for better access to raw milk. Here is the response:
Following
the public consultation and an extensive review, the Government has announced
its new policy on the sale of raw milk to consumers. The new policy will
allow farmers to sell raw milk directly to consumers, either from their farm or
via home deliveries. There will be no limits on the amount farmers can sell to
a consumer, or the amount they can sell overall. However, raw milk can only be
bought for personal and household consumption, and can not be on-sold.
The new policy,
which will apply from 1 March 2016, recognises the strong
demand for raw milk from both rural and urban consumers. However, given
the food safety risks associated with consuming raw milk, farmers who want to
sell raw milk to consumers must meet strict conditions, including specific
production, transport and labelling requirements, in order to manage these risks.
Farmers will also
be required to register with MPI and must be independently verified on a
regular basis to ensure they are meeting their requirements to minimise and
manage food safety risks where possible. All farmers who sell raw milk to
consumers will have to meet the same requirements, regardless of the amount
they sell.
Sounds good doesn’t it? The reality is that farmers will have to
meet the ‘same requirements’ as dairy farmers. Great except that most dairy
farmers who sell their milk are large scale operations and can afford equipment
costing upwards of half a million dollars and staff to regulate temperatures,
etc. The whole purpose of raw milk is that cooking milk destroys good bacteria.
I don’t need to even touch on labelling, transport, etc. We buy
our milk directly from the farmer, bring our own jars and don’t label anything.
We can see that it is milk without any words to tell us so.
Since the milk cannot be ‘on-sold’, it obviously is for private
consumption only. The small raw milk farmer should not have to comply with the
same stringent requirements of major suppliers such as the massive dairy herds
that make up Fonterra.
Anyway, as of 1 March 2016, I guess we’ll be going back to the
generic, processed, cooked milk that has failed so spectacularly to help keep
us healthy. The Government has really stepped up to the plate in response to
the ‘strong demand for raw milk from both the rural and urban consumers. I
would say that it is a lose-lose situation except even I can see that the large
dairy conglomerates win, win, win.
