Raw Milk Could be legal again in Maryland

***TAKE ACTION***

Hearing Scheduled for Cow Share Bill in Maryland!

UPDATE: The hearing was January 28th and was a huge success. We still need calls and emails to the committee. Please keep them coming! See below.

Official press release here

Please plan to attend

House Office Building, Room 241
6 Bladen St., Annapolis, MD 21401

1:00pm January 28 2014!

Directions: Lowe House office Building Annapolis MD

Prior to the hearing, on January 22 2014 from 9:00am-1:00pm supporters will host a virtual lobby day (the real lobby day is canceled due to weather and poor road conditions) to ask legislators to support the bill.  Additional details for the lobby day, see the facebook event.

Please keep emailing and calling committee members!  This is essential! Make sure to include your address!

Questions or to submit written testimony for the hearing, please contact John Murphy jdm2147 at gmail.com

Posted 1/14: The Maryland General Assembly is considering lifting the ban on raw milk by reinstating cow shares which have been criminalized since 2006. This bill would do wonders for Maryland farmers who wish to engage directly with eager consumers wanting raw milk from their own animals. This legislation, once passed, would repeal the ban on cow shares (and goat) and allow people to contract directly with the farmers of their choice for raw milk.

Please support this by taking action, below and sharing with others!

A bill legalizing RAW MILK via cow shares in Maryland is in the Health and Government Operations Committee. Please call and ask Delegates to SUPPORT HB3
Delegates Jim Hubbard and Nic Kipke have introduced a bill, HB 3, legalizing cow shares, it is in committee right now.  Your calls matter more than you would believe!!  Please contact the committee members immediately to express your support of HB3.

Background:  In April of 06, The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene issued a change to the existing regulations in MD to redefine a cow share as a sale of raw milk specifically to make cow shares illegal.  Until then, cow shares were a viable means of Maryland consumers to obtain raw milk from Maryland farmers.  We have been working for years to gain our full right to purchase raw milk from the producer of our choice.  Reinstating the right to contract with farmers in a cow share is a great first step.  With this law in place, we will once again have the choice to support Maryland farmers by engaging with them for our raw milk needs.

ACTIONS
1. Call or email the members of the House Health and Government Operations Committee and ask them to SUPPORT cow share bill HB3 (contact info below) When you call or write, please emphasize that you’d like the choice to be able to obtain your milk from within state.  Please also explain the amount of money you are currently spending in other states because of the ban on raw milk in MD. Make sure to include your address!

2. Call and email Delegate Jim Hubbard and Delegate Nic Kipke and thank them for sponsoring the legislation:

James Hunnard james.hubbard@house.state.md.us Phone: 301-858-3103

Nic Kipke nicholaus.kipke@house.state.md.us Phone: 410-841-3421

You can use the wording below as a guide for your email  (please add your own words expressing why you care about access to fresh milk with a focus on choice and economics)

“Please support bill HB3, introduced by Delegates Hubbard and Kipke. I support the right of farmers and consumers to engage in contract.  The passage of this legislation will create untold economic opportunity for Maryland farmers.  Thank you for your support.”

Please include your address in all emails!

Full text for HB3

Talking points

• Maryland Dairy farmers have lost millions of dollars to PA raw milk producers.
• The Maryland dairy industry needs to find another way to earn income. Maryland has lost hundreds of dairy farms over the past 20 years. They need another form of income to give them options.
• There is access to raw milk in 35-40 states. Maryland is behind the curve in access to raw milk.
• The consumption of raw milk is legal in Maryland. Why do consumers need to cross state lines to exercise a right they have?
• Access to raw milk can provide other income opportunities for Maryland farmers and small farm prosperity.
• Raw milk has a good overall track record for safety.
• Rural economies have been declining over the past few decades. This is a way to strengthen rural economies once again and see them prosper.

CONTACT INFO:

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Liz Reitzig

Food is the Foundation of Liberty. Nourishing Liberty is where we plant seeds for ideas to grow and flourish A place to be inspired by each other, to join together in peaceful activism, to build community.

Wherever you are in your personal journey toward clean living and local food, thank you for joining me in mine. I look forward to sharing it with you.

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