Photo credit Great-Grandma Greta, 1970s. Albuquerque, NM
Albuquerque city council votes for raw milk
Raw Milk Institute posted on Instagram:
BREAKING 🥳🥳🥳: RAW MILK IS NOW LEGAL IN ALBUQUERQUE! Late last night, Mark McAfee and Sarah Smith from RAWMI, alongside local advocates and cheesemongers, spoke in support of raw milk legalization at the Albuquerque City Council. Although raw milk has been legal elsewhere in the state of New Mexico for many years, the City of Albuquerque had prohibited raw milk. Last night, there was victory for legalization with a 7-to-2 vote! 💪🥛💪🥛 Finally the families of Albuquerque will be able to easily access this most essential of foods!
Raw milk sales were already legal in the state, Albuquerque was a hold out. Now residents can find several retailers in the city.
Retailers who start carrying raw milk will upgrade their status with a sushi-grade permit, which require additional inspections. Raw milk producers are currently inspected twice every six months.
Announcement from Mayor Keller
mayorkeller Today, we signed legislation that allows the sale of raw milk within the City’s jurisdiction. This will not only help local vendors sell dairy products at our farmers’ markets and stores, but it can also make a big difference for our families. My nephew Jackson is one of many people who benefit from the nutritional elements of raw milk, and his experience inspired me to pursue enacting this policy.
de_smet_dairy What a wonderful day for Burque!!!
Today myself, @mouseholeaba, @polksfolly, and some other huge raw milk lovers headed up to help Mayor Tim Keller’s office to
- Share some delicious and nutritious whole raw milk and whole raw chocolate milk
- Share an AMAZING charcuterie board with hand picked raw cheeses from @mouseholeaba
- And sign the final bill in to law that CABQ stores are now legal to retail sale raw milk
A huge shout out to @mayorkeller and @klarissajpena for their continued support and commitment to the people of CABQ to let them have full freedom when it comes to food!
Opposition
From the Albuquerque Journal:
Diane Dolan, government affairs manager for the city of Albuquerque, said if every grocery store in Albuquerque decided to sell the product, it would cost an estimated $15,000 per year in staff time to inspect and permit the facilities. But, Dolan told the Journal, the city is anticipating that many grocery stores won’t take advantage of the changes.
Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn, who voted against the measure with Councilor Isaac Benton, said claims that the raw milk industry is more humane and environmentally friendly than traditional dairy production are misleading.
“Cows are cows,” Fiebelkorn said. “They all produce methane. Methane is a problem for climate change.”
She also pointed to the high cost of raw milk, which she said can run three times that of a regular gallon of milk.
“This is just a money-making opportunity for the dairy industry,” Fiebelkorn said.
I’ll remind you, the “dairy industry” votes against us and is the first to draw forces to combat raw milk policy improvements. Have a look at the typical suspects opposing Iowa’s raw milk legalization earlier this year.
How to find raw milk in New Mexico
Congratulations to Albuquerque residents.
De Smet Dairy is the biggest dairy stocking markets and co-ops with raw A2 cow milk in Albuquerque and Las Cruces. They’ve been around for a while, based out of Bosque Farms.
There are a few others, including goat dairies, scattered around the state.
Find raw milk in Santa Fe
Find raw milk in Taos
