Good progress was made for the proliferation of raw milk in 2021.
- Texas allows raw milk deliveries
- Alaska recognizes herdshares
- Maine passes Right to Food amendment through referendum
- The Canadian Artisan Dairy Alliance (CADA) is established
Here’s a quick rundown with some links.
Texas allows raw milk deliveries
Texas only permitted raw milk sales on the farm. To get raw milk, you’d have to go to the farm for the farmer’s sale to be legal.
In 2021, The Texas Department of State Health Services changed their rules to allow raw milk deliveries. This opens the door to arranged drop-offs and online sales to any location in the state, making it possible for farmers to provide raw milk to the large swaths of Texas without raw milk.
Herdshares were also recognized as lawful.
Read more at Texas Real Food’s article: What do the latest raw milk guidelines mean for Texas?
Alaska recognizes herdshares
The legality of Alaska’s herdshares were originally decided by enforcement. They existed, but they were more or less being allowed to exist, so the ground they stood on wasn’t so strong.
Now, herdshares have been recognized as lawful in the state of Alaska through the passing of House Bill 22.
Rep. Geran Tarr of Anchorage had this to say:
Herd Share Programs currently only exist in regulation and through working with the Farm Bureau, the Farmland Trust and dozens and dozens of farmers, we came up with this idea of how to strengthen the Herd Share Program that would be to put the Herd Share Program in statute and additionally expand the opportunities through Herd Share Programs by allowing for value added products.
Read the law here on The Alaska State Legislature website.
Maine passes Right to Food amendment through referendum
60% of Maine voters approved by referendum a Right to Food addition to their state constitution. Article 1 Section 25 now reads:
Section 25. Right to food. All individuals have a natural, inherent and unalienable right to save and exchange seeds and the right to grow, raise, harvest, produce and consume the food of their own choosing for their own nourishment, sustenance, bodily health and well-being, as long as an individual does not commit trespassing, theft, poaching or other abuses of private property rights, public lands or natural resources in the harvesting, production or acquisition of food.
Read more: Maine voters pass Right to Food amendment through referendum
The Canadian Artisan Dairy Alliance (CADA) was established
The Canadian Artisan Dairy Alliance began their work in 2021 under this mission statement:
To advocate for legal access to healthy, safe, unprocessed milk and milk products, provided by our local farmers or artisan cheesemakers. This high quality milk must come from ethically treated, healthy, pastured, dairy livestock. CADA uses research, education and advocacy to work towards this goal.
Listen to: Canadian Artisan Dairy Alliance co-founder, Eva Kralits, featured on the Ethical Agriculture Podcast
Visit the Canadian Artisan Dairy Alliance website to get involved.
