Allow Raw Milk in Framingham

We, the undersigned wish to express our disappointment that the actions taken by the Board of Health in the form of requirements for local dairy farmer Doug Stephan’s sale of raw milk to interested community members have prevented this sale and placed undue burden on him in the running of his local business.

Sufficient evidence of his operation’s safety as a raw milk dairy, interest in potential customers in his product and the vital importance of supporting the dairy as a local food source combine to justify ending added regulations or stipulations of any kind that prevent his sale of his milk and threaten the viability of his dairy as a small, local farm.

It may be that not all of the undersigned wish to purchase raw milk from Mr. Stephan. Rather, we represent the voice of the community of Framingham which has shown itself to be confident of the milk’s safety and very concerned about the impact the regulations from your Board have on Eastleigh as a small local business. We are aware of the importance of Eastleigh Dairy to the self-sufficiency of Framingham, and therefore ask that you listen to our thoughtful and informed statement and cease to place any further restrictions upon Doug’s Stefan’s sale of raw milk.

We also object to the requirement that Doug collect the names, addresses, emails and phone numbers of all who purchase milk from him.