Why legalizing raw milk sales will significantly boost local, rural economies

Sunday, March 18, 2012 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
Tags: raw milk, rural economies, farmers

(NaturalNews) Did you know that the average conventional dairy farmer today earns only about $1.50 for each gallon of milk he sells to the general pasteurized market, while the average raw milk dairy farmer typically fetches between $4 and $8, or more, per gallon on the health-conscious market? A new report published by Rural Vermont explains how raw milk sales in that state generated more than $1 million in gross revenues last year for local farmers, a clear indicator of why legalizing raw milk is vitally important for reviving the rural economy both in Vermont and across the nation.

The report highlights that since the passage of Act 62 in Vermont back in 2009, a bill that expanded raw milk sales in the state by allowing individual farmers to sell up to 40 gallons per day, Vermont's rural economy has seen a significant prosperity boost. Despite the bill's arbitrary and ridiculous 40-gallon-per-day limit on raw milk sales, which also requires customers to come directly to the farm to buy raw milk or have it delivered to their homes on a pre-paid basis, the raw milk market is thriving in Vermont, which means rural farmers who sell it and their communities are also thriving.

You can read the full report here:
http://www.ruralvermont.org/issues-main/farm-fresh-milk/

Government elimination of both small farms and public access to raw milk has helped destroy American economy

Historically, the American landscape at one time was dominated by family-scale farms that produced raw milk and other farm goods for local and regional markets. Profits from the sale of such goods remained largely with the farmers that produced them, and also extended into local economies for the betterment of local communities. This model, uninhibited by the heavy hand of unreasonable regulatory tyranny, fostered food freedom for all, and constituted the very fabric by which our nation prospered at the rural level.

Fast-forward to today, and most of these family-scale farms have been deliberately driven out of business or consolidated by social engineers in government that have restructured the food economy to favor large-scale producers and processors, who end up snagging most of the profits at the expense of the farmers themselves. And as far as milk is concerned, state and federal laws regarding processing and pasteurization have forced virtually all dairy farmers to submit to a corrupt system that essentially ends up bankrupting them. This, of course, is why thousands of dairies all across the nation go out of business every year, leaving rural economies devastated.

Be sure to read the comment posted by "Steven Judge" in response to the following article, which gives great insight into the dairy industry and what has happened to the nation's rural economy as a result of the political restructuring of food policy: http://www.addisonindependent.com/?q=node/8464

But all this can change, and the course of America's agricultural demise reversed, if the people will stand up and resist the tyranny. The success already seen just in Vermont, where raw milk laws are not even ideal and are still very restrictive, proves that the American economy would thrive if raw milk sales were legal everywhere.

Rather than be forced to operate within the government's food system, which steals from farmers the majority of their profits, dairies that are allowed to sell raw milk, especially at the retail level, can easily more than quadruple their profits, which also means that a whole lot more money stays in the local economy. Just think of how this one policy change could revolutionize the American economy? (http://www.realmilk.com/rawmilkoverview.html).

Sources for this article include:

http://vtdigger.org

http://www.realmilk.com/rawmilkoverview.html

http://www.foodsafetynews.com