Maine’s ordinance succeeded, he and Retberg say, because the state has a strong home rule provision in its constitution.
It’s still not clear how quickly local sovereignty will spread both inside Maine to towns and to other states, as it is an educational process to get townspeople not involved in farming to understand the ordinance, and other state constitutions may not be as friendly to local control.
However, other states have made moves to boost direct farmer-to-consumer sales. Neighboring New Hampshire, for example, has a homestead exemption that allows home kitchen-made foods to be sold at the home or farmers markets. And the statewide Wyoming Food Freedom Act allows certain direct food sales transactions.
In a written statement to Food Quality & Safety, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) writes, “The Under Secretary for Food Safety has requested that Maine State authorities clarify how the new law will affect compliance with the FMIA [Federal Meat Inspection Act] and PPIA [Poultry Products Inspection Act] before the law takes effect in September 2017. Once the information is received and analyzed, FSIS will determine if further action is required to ensure that public health is protected.”
I work for a Health Department is small city in Massachusetts. For many years small produce growers have been able to sell fresh, uncut produce with no permits or inspections. Also non-potentially hazardous foods like jams and jellies, made in a home kitchen are allowed.
Ah, yes, the “it’s very inexpensive to get a state license, which includes various tests” argument. Right. The license is $25, but the facility that has to be built to get the license? Add a few thousand.
I buy from local farmers and I know exactly how they produce their food. I can go into their barns, into their kitchens, into their gardens and see it all. That is not possible with big commercial enterprises, and most laws are written to protect big agra and stomp out the small farmer. I’ve been at public hearings with Hood and Maine Cheese Guild, and their concerns are not about safety, but about territory, i.e. how will this affect their sales.
Kudos for LePage for signing this bill into law!