15/11/2016
Huon Valley Caravan Park fighting the good fight... but not winning...
Things go from bad to worse after meeting with Tasmanian Dairy Industry Authority today.
I can legally allow you to sit at my dining room table and offer you a can of coke and a cigarette but I am unable to offer you a glass of fresh (raw) milk and a scone with clotted cream according to Tasmanian Dairy Industry Authority acting chairman Mark Sayer.
A meeting was organised by Nic Street our local member of Parliament with Mark Sayer the acting chairman of the Tasmanian Dairy Industry Authority. The meeting was short and it was explained to us that we are in breach of the act by the fact we distributing fresh milk.
Mark Sayer acknowledged that Huon Valley Caravan Park is not actually selling milk. We are in trouble for the distribution of fresh milk to the public. We asked the question "are we allowed to offer a friend or family member who is sitting at our dining room table a cup of tea or coffee made with our fresh milk, he said "legally we are not allowed." So by law I can offer them a can of coke and a cigarette but not a glass of fresh milk' he said "that is correct." We asked the question "does this apply to anyone who has a house cow" and he said "yes they are also in breach of the law if they offer fresh milk to others."
We have been left shocked and dismayed after the meeting, surely there was something that could be done. We were told there is simply no room for negotiation on the matter.
Mark Sayer the acting chairman of the Tasmanian Dairy Industry Authority did go on to say that he once lived on 5 acres in Western Sydney and did have a house cow that they milked so they could enjoy fresh milk. The legislation of the consumption of fresh milk in Australia is just so restrictive. The government have made the decision for you regarding any fresh milk or fresh milk products you may wish to sample, they simply do not allow you a choice to make the decision for yourself when it comes to fresh milk or fresh milk products like cheese, yoghurt, cream or ice-cream.
There are only three countries in the world that prohibit the consumption of fresh milk, they are Australia, Canada and Scotland. Why does Australia think their scientists are so much more knowledgeable about this issue? The dairy industry continually quote Food Standards of Australia and New Zealand and yet fresh milk is available for sale in New Zealand.
Somehow I think this is one fight we are not going to win, how can you put your argument across when there is no room for negotiation?
Let us all pretend that our food comes from the large supermarket chains, where no carrot or potato has ever had dirt on it and that no animal is harmed for the consumption of meat or that milk actually come from the udder of a cow. Wouldn't it be a crime if you actually saw a real farm in action or heaven forbid actually wanted to see first hand where our food comes from. This is exactly what Huon Valley Caravan Park is all about.
There are skills out there regarding old fashion food production that we need to keep alive, how can we do this if we are over governed and forbidden? What is next, will they stop us from killing our own meat on farm to feed our families and make us buy it from the large supermarket chains on plastic trays wrapped in plastic? When is the last time you would have seen an old fashioned butcher shop with a side of lamb or beef hanging on a butchers hook and not on a plastic tray? We owe it to our children to let them experience food production firsthand.
The bottom line is the government think they have the right to take away your freedom of choice and more than anything this is what makes it so wrong on so many levels.
