RAW BUTTER

NHFC and NHFA are honored to join health and food freedom organizations to support the legal efforts to free up interstate commerce of raw butter, by joining in an Amicus brief in the Appellate case of McAfee; Farm-To-Consumer Legal Defense Fund v. United States FDA, United States Court of Appeals for The District of Columbia Circuit, January 18, 2022.  The Amici; Weston A. Price Foundation, Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance, Red Acre Center, Food Freedom Foundation, National Health Freedom Coalition, and National Health Freedom Action, are a coalition of organizations committed to advocating for consumers’ free choice as to what foods individuals may consume. These organizations are raw dairy advocates who have witnessed first-hand the raw butter ban’s consequences.

Four years ago, Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FCLDF), along with their member Organic Pastures Dairy Company, filed a petition to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requesting that it permit the interstate sale of raw butter. The FDA bans the interstate sale and transport of raw milk and raw dairy products, including safe and delicious raw butter. They argued that the FDA lacks the legal authority to include butter in the interstate ban, as this would change the legal standard of identify of butter.  They also argued that the chemical and biological properties of raw butter make it a safe product with very low pathogen growth according to agency data and that raw butter is a nutrient-dense, value-added product that can be beneficial to a dairy farmer’s bottom line.

FTCLDF and Organic Pastures Dairy Company did not hear back from the FDA and eventually had to sue them in federal court to get a decision on their petition. After four years, the FDA denied their request.  They are now suing to ask the federal court to overturn the FDA’s decision.

Since 1992, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has required butter sold in interstate commerce to be pasteurized because of a single district court decision that did not even discuss raw butter. Pub. Citizen v. Heckler (Pub. Citizen II), 653 F. Supp. 1229, 1241 (D.D.C. 1986). Despite raw butter’s undeniable contributions and importance to society, the federal government bans its sale in interstate commerce. Raw butter’s unique qualities make it safe for consumption while retaining the benefits of being raw.

If FDA is going to ban a food for safety reasons, then it should do so only after a thorough and extensive investigation. FDA has failed to do this for raw butter to the detriment of consumers.

If this Court affirms the district court, American dairy farmers may continue to be at risk of criminal prosecution for the simple act of selling raw butter. Or worse still, for transporting raw butter across state lines for a family dinner.

The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FTCLDF) is a leader in the food freedom movement and “believes consumers have the right to buy products directly from farmers, but the government disagrees. The government has instead chosen to build a veritable wall of laws. These laws prohibit the sale of nutrient-dense foods, torment farmers with unannounced inspections and piles of paperwork, and make it harder for farmers to do what they do best: farm.”