Hi All
I see alot of threads about milk, so thought would start a discussion so those who want milk can post here.
Please be aware of the law that relates to selling or buying milk:
Good place to start:
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/nz.arm
Because there are laws concerning the buying and selling, please be carefull of what you say in public forums. I know of a couple of instances where farmers have been fined or shut down because they either advertised a delivery service, they sell more than the legal daily limit, or groups are sharing milk runs.
Protect our farmers that support our raw milk supply, talk to the farmer you collect milk from they will tell you the "law" they are to abide by.
Check with individual farms if they want the fact that they sell milk published to the public, or kept word of mouth (private messages on public forums).
Message me if you want contacts for Milk in Helensville or just outside of Papakura.
read this great article.
Selling milk at the farm gate is a growth industry. But it is the health opportunities from unpasteurised and non-homogenised milk that drive Mike Chapman and David O'Donnell, who sell organically produced milk.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/4792248/Selling-milk-as-it-was-meant-to-be
Replies
I hope this is not seen as (too much) self advertising but I run the Milk Map on my company webpage. http://cottagecrafts.co.nz/dnn/MilkMap/tabid/66/Default.aspx (please remove if this is not allowed here). The idea here is to make contact between raw milk buyers and sellers. We do not sell via the website.
We also sell raw Goats and Cows milk off the farm.
The reason why I post here is to tell you that most raw milk producers have no idea about the law and thew rules. This is my experience. I meanwhile send everybody who wants to be added to the milk map a information file with an overview. Also for the reason to make people aware of the fact that in New Zealand the sale of Raw milk is virtually (!!!) impossible. This is my opinion! I say virtually because of course the government departments tell you that it is allowed. But they of course know that going through the RMP process and the cost involved for compliance and auditing makes the sale of raw milk for smaller producers financially impossible.
We do sell milk off the farm which is not intended for human consumption. We put a sticker on the container which says this. Now the thing is, as long as people don't tell me that they use it for their family or for making cheese I can't be made responsible if they do so. As soon as someone asks for raw milk to drink I am not allowed to sell it to them for this purpose. So don't tell me! Easy!
But the other issue I see is that everybody works around the regulations and not against them. This leads to the situation that nobody stands up and nothing gets changed. How many people are aware of the new Food Bill 2010? How many people of the few who are aware of it know what is in it? Will we still being able to sell 5 liters of raw milk off the farm after the Food Bill 2010 became law? It is in its 2nd reading through parliament now. How many people know that the new Food Bil 2010 will change the entire food system in New Zealand? Do yo know that there will be a shift from the location based system, i.e. council licenses a food premise at a certain location to a risk based system managed by NZFSA? Risk Based System! Does it ring a bell? Risk Management Program? Thousands of $$$ of auditing costs each year for a producer. And what do we do against it? Nothing!
So at the moment we might be able to work around the regulations. We are just holinng on selling raw milk. What will happen in the nearest future?
Look what happens in the US. Why? Well, what was actually the reason why the NZ government needed to change the current food safety bill? Was it broken? Did it need fixing? I don't think so. I think it actually worked quite well in most parts. So how comes that the NZ Government changes their Food Safety system in sync with the US one? And by the way, the US one is in sync with thew World Trade Organisation which is interested in - well - trade! And the US system treats all food on American soil the same. Even imported one. I guess I won't have to say more, will I?
As long as nobody stands up and says we don't want this we will get it. And I do not see many people standing. I tried and got shouted down. This happens if one person strands up. Just imagine we would be many.
People are walking to parliament for the seabed and foreshore. Who is walking to parliament for our right to eat healthy food?
Cheers
Peter
Where can we find out more about the food bill and what it's implications are?
If possible easy to read, I've had a quick search but not found anything easily understandable.
Hello Lisa, did you just say "Easy to read?" You are joking, aren't you? Why would they write something like this easy to read? Sorry! This is written for politicians and lawyers. Not for us! Just imagine we would understand what's going on.
I actually bought the text and read most of it. Yes I know, I should get a life! But running a business which most likely will be impacted made it necessary to know what lies ahead.
Here is the full text (updated after first reading): http://www.legislation.govt.nz/bill/government/2010/0160/latest/DLM...
Here you can find the list of submissions: http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PB/SC/Documents/Evidence/Default.htm...
I sespecially want to point out the two submissions from Biddy Fraser: http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PB/SC/Documents/Evidence/4/f/b/49SCP... and http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PB/SC/Documents/Evidence/5/e/2/49SCP...
Biddy got into trouble after she appeared on Country Calendar. She was closed down by NZFSA after they found that Biddy didn't have a Risk Management Program. She is now back open but only because of some publicity her case brought for her.
Cheers
Peter
Great link!
I know, they regulate raw milk but young children/adults can drink energy drinks or eat sugar laiden food which will make them sick and die at early ages of diabetes etc, more people die or get sick around the world from modern foods and sugar related illness than have died or got sick from raw milk.
Angie
Angie, you forget that the goal of the government is to make money which means to keep the big corporations happy. You can't make money with a healthy nation! Energy drinks bring in money in the form of corporate taxes. Same as milk from big corporations.
Cheers
Peter