What Happened
A town in Maine was the latest to exert “food sovereignty,” in which municipalities look to expedite the process of getting local products to market.
Background
Local food growers typically face challenging state and federal regulations. That’s because commercial farming roles are often applied to small growers, who often don’t need to comply with—or can’t afford to meet—those requirements. And most states haven’t delivered regulatory changes that would allow local food growers to bring products directly to consumers.
That’s changing, as municipalities look for ways to expedite the “farm-to-table” process. The trend is driven, in part, by small farms—producing milk, poultry, jam, or other items—that want to work more closely with residents to bring products directly to consumers. It’s also driven by residents, who are seeking greater say in regulating food producers in their towns.
The Trend
Six towns in Maine are among the latest communities to add self-governing “food sovereignty” ordinances. The ordinances provide local residents “unimpeded access to local food,” protecting access to farmers’ markets and any other food stand or event where local food is featured.
The local ordinance even prevents state or federal law from interfering with the provision.
Within the past year, other towns in Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, California, and elsewhere have passed similar ordinances. Some not only provide for food sovereignty, but allow local farms to sell “food shares” to residents in multiple communities, thus guaranteeing the farmer a built-in market prior to the growing season.
Next Steps
The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund is helping towns to pass similar ordinances, and are working to leave the regulation of small farms to the communities in which they reside. The states, however, are concerned with food safety, and likely won’t cede control easily. In fact, the state of Maine is arguing that the local ordinances will not hold up in a court of law, as they are superseded by existing state and federal regulations.
In a parallel narrative, towns in New York state last year took it upon themselves to ban the natural gas process of “fracking” (hydraulic fracturing) from their communities. Concerns about groundwater contamination and chemical pollutants had many municipalities challenging the state’s opinion regarding who can dictate drilling bans. Recently, New York Governor Mario Cuomo announced new regulations regarding natural gas fracking, allow regions of the state to ban it outright.
Additional resources on farm-to-table ordinances include:
- The local food ordinancefor Sedgwick, ME
- Appleton, ME’s food ordinance is on page 125 of this report
- This interactive maptracks food sovereignty ordinances across the U.S.
- Louisville, KY’seffort to bring more local food into city schools, restaurants and markets.
- Read More on this topic.