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Home>Get Involved >Information Alert>06 APR 2005

Raw Milk in Arizona

April 6, 2005

Hello raw dairy consumers,

We've been sidelined by something totally unexpected. The United Dairymen of Arizona (UDA) just rescinded their decision to permit the bottling of raw milk by their members. We are trying to avert legal action. If you want to continue being able to buy organic raw milk in Arizona, this is what needs to be done. Thank you. Will you help?

Where We Need Your Help ... The United Dairymen of Arizona (UDA) does care about their public image. What can you do?

Telephone calls, faxes, letters, visits and picketing to Keith
Murfield, President; Scott Benson, CFO; The Executive Committee and Board of Members of:

United Dairymen of Arizona
(Broadway & Hardy)
2008 South Hardy Drive
Post Office Box 26877
Tempe, Arizona 26877
Phone: 480.966.7211
Fax: 480.829.7491

Stating:

• Why you need raw milk and raw dairy products?
• How raw milk and raw dairy products have helped you.
• Why you can't consume pasteurized dairy products.
• Emphasize the lack of availability and costliness of having raw dairy
  shipped because you need it.
• In-state production would improve their public image
• Wouldn't it be a politically correct move to support growing numbers getting back to nutrient-dense, natural food sources?

For those needing to know the rest of the story...

What You Need to Know ... Our farmer, like most small farmers, belongs to a co-op who buys their milk. That co-op is the United Dairymen of Arizona or the UDA. In order to be part of the co-op, farmers have an exclusive marketing agreement with the UDA. No milk can be sold to anyone without the permission of the UDA. While the milk never leaves the farm, we had arranged with the UDA for the raw milk that is bottled, to be counted and reported to the UDA by the farmer. Then, we are billed for it.

The Problem ... The farmer received a newsletter Wednesday, the 30th stating in two sentences that the UDA 21-person Board of Members had decided 25 March 2005 to disallow any milk from the UDA to be sold for bottling raw milk or making raw dairy products. Neither the farmer of Creme de la Moo was contacted. We continued bottling and distributing. The farmer was called on Friday, April 1st telling him if he continued to bottle, the UDA would sue him. (Our farmer, Phil Roberts, has served on the Board for over 10 years, no one contacted him, included him in the meeting or would return his calls after he learned of their decision.)

What's been done to rectify the situation ... We have been advised by our attorneys and Aajonus in California who has been fighting these battles for many years. While we have legal precedent to hold the UDA to their original agreement, we are trying to resolve this amicably. We met with the UDA this morning to plead our case. Wse have met:

1. Their liability concerns
2. We've informed them that the people who need raw milk 90% of the time can not drink pasteurized milk.
3. We've implored them to be reasonable given that this is a
   misunderstanding notwithstanding the liability we have with our investors and contracts with stores.
4. We've shared with them the myriad diets, authors and entities now advocating organic raw milk.
5. We've given them a 14-page report, "A Very Brief History of Milk as Medicine" (raw milk, of course) that was used to help overturn Los Angeles County's 38-year ban on Grade A Raw Dairy.
6. We've informed them that each batch of milk is being tested prior to bottling. Mark McAfee of Organic Pastures in California has been doing this and has had his milk on the market for 4 years without incident.
7. We've informed them if they won't permit this, then someone will come along and do it without them. Wouldn't they rather be a part of it and improve their public image by making it available?
8. Finally, we've asked that they will grant us temporary permission until the board can review the new evidence for the necessity of organic raw dairy availability in Arizona.

We hope to have temporary permission to continue bottling tomorrow until the board reconvenes. With your help, we should have that and get the board to reverse their decision by the end of the month.

Thank you so much.

Judi Dawn
Creme de la Moo
(480) 275-8227

and
Lynn Wright, WAPF

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