For many years, raw milk has been legal throughout the state of New Mexico with one exception: Albuquerque, the largest city in the state. Nearly 560,000 people live in Albuquerque, and it is home to over a quarter of the population of the entire state. Families living in smaller cities all across the state such as Las Cruces, Silver City, Santa Fe, Taos, and Los Alamos have been able to buy raw milk in grocery stores. Yet the families of Albuquerque were denied easy access to raw milk and had to drive outside city limits in order to get this most essential of foods. It was time for change.
Enter Lissa Knudsen, a cheesemonger and breastfeeding advocate with a passion for creating healthy foods. Lissa set out on a mission to legalize raw milk in Albuquerque. As a Public Health graduate student focusing on lactation, Lissa recognizes the innumerable immunity boosting benefits of raw milk. She also supports local artisanal cheesemaking as an important part of building local character with nourishing, unique foods.
For over half a year, Lissa worked diligently to build the connections and support needed to bring raw milk legalization to fruition. She advocated for raw milk with the City Council and Mayor Keller, enlisted the help of the Raw Milk Institute, organized public support, and kept pushing to bring raw milk legalization to the forefront. The Mayor’s office went all in, with Diane Dolan (Government Affairs Manager) working to overcome the longstanding opposition to raw milk within the city government.
Because of the diligence of Lissa and Diane, Albuquerque’s new Raw Milk Ordinance was introduced to City Council in the Finance and Government Operations (FGO) Committee in October 2023. The Ordinance removes Albuquerque’s raw milk prohibition, allowing for easy access to raw milk in grocery stores and farmers markets. Local raw milk dairy farmer Erica DeSmet stole the show by joining the web-meeting while being out in the pasture with her favorite cows. The Ordinance barely squeaked through the FGO Committee on a 3-to-2 vote, and then it was off to the full City Council for consideration.
De Smet Dairy operates just south of Albuquerque in Bosque Farms, NM (image from New Mexico Magazine)
Finally, this week, the Albuquerque City Council was slated to vote on the Raw Milk Ordinance. Five hours into the meeting, after 10pm at night, the City Council finally reached the Raw Milk Ordinance agenda item. Lissa and The Mouse Hole Cheese Shop gave compelling comments alongside Mark McAfee and Sarah Smith from Raw Milk Institute, all urging the City Council to allow raw milk in Albuquerque. There was only a small show of opposition, from a vegan City Council member, and then it was smooth sailing to victory with a 7-to-2 vote! The final step to enactment is for the Mayor to sign the Bill; we are encouraged by the fact that it was the Mayor who proposed this legislation to the Council.
The barriers to raw milk in Albuquerque have now been broken down. Just as in other places where raw milk has been legalized, it required diligence, persistence, and passion in order to make it happen. No longer will Albuquerque be a raw milk desert. Instead, families and farmers can mutually thrive with low-risk raw milk.
