http://www.naturalnewswire.com/2007/01/maryland_health.html

Maryland Health Officials Sued Over Cow-Share Ban

Maryland Farmer Argues Violation of Rights

Washington DC, January 6, 2007 /Natural Newswire/ -- In a recent
regulatory change to ban cow-share agreements, whereby participants
may consume the raw milk of their own dairy cow, Maryland officials
exceeded their statutory authority and violated the rights of Maryland
farmers and consumers wishing to engage in such agreements, according
to documents filed in Frederick County court today.

Maryland farmer Kevin Oyarzo, represented by Paul Walter, Esq. of the
Baltimore law firm Tydings & Rosenberg, has asked for a declaratory
judgment against the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
to rescind the regulation, adopted on August 1, 2006 as an emergency
amendment to the Maryland Health Code.

According to Walter, "The amendment makes consumption of raw milk
illegal, which was never the intention of the regulation. It is not
illegal for a farmer or the owner of a cow or goat to drink the milk
from his or her own animal. Such a restriction-which has never been
contemplated or proposed in any state-would require legislation and
cannot be implemented by bureaucrats seeking to define a cow-share
agreement as a 'sale.'"

"Agreements whereby a farmer pastures cattle or other livestock for a
fee, called agistments, have a long history in English law," says
Walter, "and are recognized as legitimate contracts in the state of
Maryland. By defining an agistment agreement as a sale, the defendants
exceeded their statutory authority."

Support for the law suit comes from the Weston A. Price Foundation of
Washington, DC, which promotes pasture-based farming and the
consumption of natural foods for their health benefits. "Raw milk is
available from the farm and in retail establishments in Pennsylvania
and through numerous cow-share programs in Virginia," says Sally
Fallon, President of the Foundation. "Why should Maryland residents
travel to Pennsylvania or Virginia to obtain raw milk when they could
support Maryland farmers with cow-boarding agreements?

"Maryland residents have a right to enter into cow-boarding agreements
just as raw milk consumers have done in those states where regulations
prevent the sale of raw milk. The complaint filed today seeks to
restore that right to Marylanders."

Contact: Sally Fallon, President
The Weston A. Price Foundation
(202) 363-4394
info@westonaprice.org, safallon@aol.com