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Department of Agriculture also included a host WIDER ISSUE Raw milk is
of other deliberately misleading “facts” about The raw milk issue is symptomatic of a
raw milk. much wider issue in Irish food, a persistent the ultimate
Those producers who are brave enough to move towards industrialization and sterility in expression
bring their raw milk to market still face many food versus a real unwillingness to recognize of our
hurdles and much uncertainty; however we now the significant role of small farmers and food
have at least fifteen farmers selling from the farm producers in the country. wonder-
gate, and a few of these are now also selling in As well as the social consequences of small- ful land and
local markets and even shops. The authorities scale direct farming, with a link between pro- our dairying
themselves seem unsure of how to handle any ducers and consumers and a wonderful sense of
of the farmers selling to local retailers, and even connection and community, a significant body of traditions.
when operators make efforts to register with local commentators realize that the drive to the bottom
health or agriculture authorities there is no clear is not viable for us as a food-producing nation,
path laid out for them. and that we must compete on quality rather than
commodity produce. Small-scale local suppli-
REGULATIONS IN PROCESS? ers provide a viable economic model for this
Five years down the road in this campaign, obviously not limited to raw milk. Sadly whilst
the government position has changed significant- the European average for direct sale of food to
ly. In 2012, the Department of Health declared consumers is at 22 percent in Ireland it sits at a
their resistance to a ban in favor of regulating meager 0.5 percent.
raw milk, so the Department of Agriculture was At the first Irish Weston A. Price confer-
forced to follow suit, though they have had three ence, held in February 2015, it was heartening
years to do this now with no progress. We can to see the level of interest in raw milk for good
only surmise that they are happy to allow the nutrition and the support for the continued sale
state of limbo which exists for farmers wishing of raw milk in Ireland from the participants.
to invest in their enterprise or enter the market. Raw milk is the ultimate expression of our
Our government’s disregard of the wider wonderful land and our dairying traditions; its
issues at play throughout has been frustrating. continued availability has the potential to provide
There are so many detailed examples of the a sustainable economic model for small dairy
constant and persistent use of phraseology and farmers. It would be a travesty if the government
half-truths designed to misinform that it is dif- does not use the opportunity it has to finally learn
ficult to be entirely hopeful that we will get a to work with small farmers and to ask, “What
good outcome from the latest position. However can we do to help these farmers get their milk to
we remain steadfast in our plea to use this pro- market safely?”
cess of defining regulations for the production Further details on rawmilkireland.com.
of raw milk as a template for how we can all
work together. Our desire is to ensure fair and Elisabeth Ryan works for Sheridans Cheese-
straightforward regulations for careful small mongers. They have been selling cheese and
farmers, which have been designed scientifically farmhouse foods in Ireland since 1995. Elisa-
to minimize actual risk. beth Ryan, who came to work with food via a
Farmers producing raw milk can command background in wine, has been with Sheridans
a far greater price than they would from the lo- for nine years looking after the wholesale side
cal cooperatives. They can also sustain a much of the business and is passionate about working
smaller scale of farming. The sense of satisfac- with and promoting local artisan produce. Along
tion they achieve from the fruits of their hard with Kevin Sheridan, Elisabeth has been active
labor is not to be underestimated—they can in getting raw milk to market in Ireland.
interact with families visiting their farm who are
greatly appreciative of their work, or they can
wave off a large bulk metal tanker on its way to
an industrial co-op.
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