| | Use Email Petition & Contact Legislators Restore Legality of Herdshares in West Virginia with SB 30 The West Virginia herdshare bill (SB 30) passed the Senate on February 20, 2015 and has moved to the House of Delegates.
Herdshares were outlawed through regulation, not legislation, by the State Department of Health; the Department also prohibited the sale of raw milk even as pet food. It's also illegal simply to "offer" raw milk for free.
SB 30 is a bi-partisan bill that would restore property rights to West Virginians. It began as a bill to allow sales of raw cow's milk but was changed in the Senate committee to a more favorable bill allowing shared ownership of any milk-producing animal. Click here to read the version forwarded to the House committee. Act Now! The vote is today, Thursday, February 26, at 3 p.m.! Help to get this bill passed: Use the email petition and follow up with a phone call or email! Please pass this alert on and ask others to do the same.
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Action #1 - Use Email PetitionAsk the WV House Health and Human Services Committee to Support SB 30 Please use this email petition to email all members of the Committee to urge them to vote yes on SB 30! Also, please be courteous as this helps to build good relations with the legislature.
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Action #2 - Call or Email LegislatorsAsk the WV House Health and Human Services Committee to Support SB 30 Please follow up the email petition with a phone call or email, as time permits. The vote is scheduled for TODAY, Thursday, February 26. Again, please be courteous as this helps to build good relations with the legislature.
Find contact information for the West Virginia House of Delegates Health and Human Services Committee listed here. |
Talking Points- Allowing herdshares will boost the rural economy and increase farmers' incomes; raw milk can be the gateway to sales of other farm products such meat, poultry, eggs and produce.
- The state is losing revenue to surrounding states like Ohio and Pennsylvania where West Virginians go to obtain raw milk.
- It's a freedom of choice issue; the consumption of raw milk is legal but state residents have no legal way to exercise this right unless they own dairy animals and board them on their own property; sales of raw milk, distribution through herdshares, and even giving away raw milk is illegal in West Virginia.
For more information, visit www.wvrawmilk.com and track the bill at www.legiscan.com/WV |
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Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit [EIN 20-8605130], defends the rights and broadens the freedoms of family farms and artisan food producers while protecting consumer access to raw milk and nutrient-dense foods. Learn more About Us or read the FTCLDF 2013 Summary.
Donations to the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund are always appreciated though not tax-deductible. Prefer to make a tax-deductible donation? Contact us by email at [email protected] or call 703-208-FARM (3276). |
Please forward this alert to others who are concerned about protecting locally-sourced nutrient-dense foods and preserving sustainable small family farms and artisan food producers as well as defending the rights to sell and to access the foods of one's choice from the source of one's choice. |
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