Maine Town Becomes First in US to Declare Food Sovereignty

[The Straight Story]

The town of Sedgwick, Maine, population 1,012 (according to the 2000 census), has become the first town in the United States to pass a Food Sovereignty ordinance. In doing so, the town declared their right to produce and sell local foods of their choosing, without the oversight of State or federal regulation.

What does this mean? In the debate over raw milk, for example, the law opens the gate for consumer and producer to enter a purchasing agreement without interference from state or federal health regulators. According to the Mayo Clinic, a 1987 FDA regulation required that all milk be pasteurized to kill pathogens such as salmonella and E. coli. The Sedgwick ordinance declares that:

Producers or processors of local foods in the Town of Sedgwick are exempt from licensure and inspection provided that the transaction is only between the producer or processor and a patron when the food is sold for home consumption. This includes any producer or processor who sells his or her products at farmers’ markets or roadside stands; sells his or her products through farm-based sales directly to a patron; or delivers his or her products directly to patrons.

In short, the ordinance allows buyer and seller to enter their own agreement which overrides the regulation of government when dealing with transactions involving local foods.

http://sustainablecitiescollective.com/growninthecity/22295/maine-town-passes-local-food-and-community-self-governance-ordinance-becomes-fi?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Sustainable+Cities+Collective+%28all+posts%29&

[rpannier]

1. Going for the Buyer Beware

If it kills you, young children, etc
Tough sh*t

They're crazy

[NV Whino]

2. Sounds fine to me

Caveat emptor.

[Lucinda]

4. I agree.

They manage to sell and consume raw milk safely in Europe. I suspect Maine can handle it.

But let the buyer beware.

[Maine-ah]

8. I was raised on it.

I remember shaking up the glass bottle to mix the cream that rose to the top. Out of habit, I still shake my store bought milk. Store bought milk still doesn't taste right to me after all these years.

[Lucinda]

11. My mom was too. She loved fresh milk.

I have no memory of her being sick at all when I was a child. Not a single day. They ate simply growing up. No processed foods. The fresher the better. I'm moving back towards that myself.

[Maine-ah]

17. we were rarely sick as kids, and there were four of us

fresh farm foods, nothing processed. Fresh meat, diary and veggies. Well water. I didn't go to the dentist until I was 25. I had one cavity, shocked the hell out of my dentist when I told him I had never seen a dentist before. He was expecting all kinds of things wrong with my teeth. Best set he had ever seen. :)

[Lucinda]

23. I'm not at all surprised!

:)

[Scuba]

3. Teabaggism, straight from the handbook. n/t

[tekisui]

6. I have no idea if these are teabaggers, I have no reason to believe they are.

Most likely, they are some back-to-the-earth healthy folks. This is the answer to big agriculture. We should have freedom to grow and sell our own food locally.

[atreides1]

9. With Freedom comes responsibility

There should at the least be a warning on the product...stating that it does not meet State or Federal standards.

Because in our litigious society, someone will get ill and a lawsuit will be filed..at least with a warning label the buyer can make an informed decision.

[tekisui]

14. I have no problem with that at all.

[Scuba]

10. And I should have confidence that the food I buy is safe....

USDA meat inspectors - yes, post-mortem lawsuits - no.

but that's just me.

[tekisui]

15. I agree. We should also have the freedom to buy the food we want.

[Gormy Cuss]

26. More likely it's the back-to-the-land former hippie/crunchies behind it

on that part of the Maine coast, but that's just a guess.

[Lucinda]

5. Interesting. Thanks for the link.

:hi:

[KittyWampus]

7. As long as it's labeled properly. Although I might also support having to post a warning as well.

Almost like the one on cigarettes.

[Scuba]

12. Something like "Your government has no idea if this product is safe".

[Zanzoobar]

18. Like they would know

Foods get recalled every day. No food has a label that says, "The government guarantees that this food is safe".

All they can do is implement "best practices" and hope the outcomes are statistically significant.

[Maine-ah]

19. yet our government claims that many foods for us are safe

and they're not. I'll trust a good farmer first.

[Scuba]

20. I grew up on a dairy farm. I support consuming local products......

...but the idea that a group of business people can say, "we're opting out of gov't regs" doesn't flip my flapjacks.

[KittyWampus]

22. "eating raw dairy may expose you to ............ "

[Zanzoobar]

13. This will end badly for them.

The only question is who will be made the example.

[Scuba]

21. Yes, I believe yours is an accurate analyisis of what is known to date. n/t

[FLPanhandle]

16. This will help small local farms

As long as the food is properly labeled, its a great idea.

[Starry Messenger]

24. It's all fun and games until someone gets sick.

I hope we don't have to rename this libertarian paradise Roanoke in a few years.

[The Backlash Cometh]

25. I think it means they want to buy cheap, radiated Japanese food.

[eppur_se_muova]

27. So people have a CHOICE whether to buy raw or pasteurized? I call that BOBW. nt