Maine Farmers Lose Fight to Deregulate Raw Milk Production

Got FDA approved milk? If you sell milk in the state of Maine, you better.

That’s because earlier this week, Maine lawmakers failed to pull together enough votes to trump Governor LePage’s veto of a bill set to deregulate small-scale production of raw milk – making it possible for small farmers to produce 20 gallons or less of milk daily without the approval of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

On Monday, LePage vetoed the bill, but by Tuesday afternoon, the Senate had voted 17-16 in favor of canceling out his opinion. However, it just wasn’t enough votes to meet the two-thirds majority requirement.

Those that oppose the bill say that maintaining regulations on milk production is the only true way to protect consumers from getting sick by drinking unpasteurized milk. The FDA strongly frowns upon the sale and consumption of the dairy product in its raw form.

Still, there is no use crying over spilt milk... not yet. Governor LePage said in a statement that he supported the spirit of the bill but didn’t like the idea of raw milk being sold at farmer’s markets. He added that if lawmakers could find a way to amend the bill to restrict sales to the farm, he would support it wholeheartedly.

“The ‘on farm only’ approach would reduce risk to overall public health because consumers would know the farmer who produced the milk, see and inspect the farm and hold the producer accountable for food-borne illnesses that are associated with unpasteurized milk,” said LePage.