| Hi Friend,
Late last year, the North Carolina legislature adopted a law explicitly legalizing herdshare agreements for the distribution of raw milk to people who own a share of the animal or herd. But that law is under attack through House Bill (HB) 385, which would repeal it—and leave herdshare owners and the farmers they contract with vulnerable to attacks by the Agriculture Commissioner, an avowed opponent of raw milk.
At the same time, another bill, HB 103, would actually expand access to raw milk by legalizing direct-to-consumer sales. And HB 103 will be heard by the Agriculture Committee tomorrow, Wednesday, March 27!
Please see action steps below and share this alert with your friends and family in North Carolina! |
| | | | TAKE ACTION #1
Please call or email your State Representative and urge him/her to: - keep herd shares legal and to OPPOSE HB 385 and
- to increase access to raw milk and to SUPPORT HB 103
Remember, calls are far more effective than emails, and they can take just a couple of minutes! Keep your call or email short, polite, and clear—you can simply give your name, say where you live, and ask the Representative to SUPPORT HB 103 and OPPOSE HB 385. If you have time, add a sentence or two about why raw milk access is important to you.
You can find out who your State Representative is by going to www.ncleg.gov/RnR/Representation, selecting “NC House” and entering your address.
More information and talking points about the bill are below. |
| | TAKE ACTION #2
Call the three House Agriculture Committee chairs and urge them to vote YES on HB 103; see contact info below. When you call or email the Agriculture Committee chairs, focus on supporting HB 103.
Jimmy Dixon
910-590-1740
Jimmy.Dixon@ncleg.net
William Brisson
910-862-7007
William.Brisson@ncleg.net
Larry Strickland
919-632-3200
Larry.Strickland@ncleg.net
If you're able to attend the hearing for HB 103, it's set for 1 PM, Wednesday, March 27 at:
643 Legislative Office Building
300 N Salisbury St |
| | | MORE INFORMATION
Under current North Carolina law, herd shares are legal, but the sale of raw milk is illegal. Raw milk opponents are working to make herd shares illegal through HB 385. And raw milk supporters are fighting for HB 103, to legalize direct-to-consumer raw milk sales.
HB 385 has been fast-tracked and could move quickly. We need to send a strong message of support for raw milk in order to move HB 103 forward and stop HB 385!
The raw milk opponents are the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDA&CS), the North Carolina Farm Bureau, and the dairy industry. They are trying to end the 4-month-old herdshare law in the name of food safety. Yet state government labs that test pasteurized milk for safety are refusing to test raw milk produced by herdshare farmers—showing that they are more worried about shutting these farmers down than they are about food safety.
Please act now for the sake of raw milk farmers and for the freedom to choose your own food!
Talking Points:
- How would these bills affect you? Why do you want to continue to access raw milk via herdshares? Why do you want to sell or access raw milk via farm-to-consumer sales?
- Allowing dairy farmers to manage herdshares or to sell raw milk direct to consumers could bring in much-needed income to rural farm families.
- Consumers should be free to choose the foods that they feed themselves and their families.
- Raw milk has a good track record for safety. The North Carolina Department of Agriculture could aid in the production of safe raw milk by allowing raw milk producers to use state labs to test their milk.
Read HB 103, which would legalize farm-direct sales of raw milk.
Read HB 385, which would criminalize raw milk herdshares. |
| | DONATE
If you’d like to make a donation to support the work of Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund to bring you these informative legislative updates and work to improve state laws, please donate HERE. |
| www.farmtoconsumer.org | 703-208-FARM (3276) | info@farmtoconsumer.org |
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