http://www.infowars.com/sedgwick-maine-is-first-town-to-declare-total-food-sovereignty-opposing-state-and-federal-laws/
There seems to be a food revolt going on in the US whether it is to demand GMO labeling, the right to produce fresh organic milk and other goods or in the case of Sedgwick, Maine declaring all local food transactions of any kind free and legal.
According to a report at FoodRenegade.com, Sedgwick is one of the first cities in the US to free itself from federal and state food regulations. Reports also say the town passed an ordinance that gives citizens the right to "produce, sell and consume local foods of their choosing" regulations be damned and this also includes fresh raw organic milk, meats that slaughtered locally, all produce and anything else. What is more, other towns in Maine are expected to do the same thing according to FoodRenegade.com.
The purposed warrant according to David Grumpert of the completepatient.com:
"This isn't just a declaration of preference. The proposed warrant added, "It shall be unlawful for any law or regulation adopted by state or federal government to interfere with the rights recognized by this Ordinance" In other words, no state licensing requirements prohibiting certain farms from selling dairy products or producing their own chickens for sale to other citizens in the town. What about potential legal liability and state or federal inspections? It's all up to the seller and buyer to negotiate. "Patrons purchasing food for home consumption may enter into private agreements with those producers or processors of local foods to waive any liability for the consumption of that food. Producers or processors of local foods shall be exempt from licensure and inspection requirements for that food as long as those agreements are in effect" Imagine that-buyer and seller can agree to cut out the lawyers. That's almost un-American, isn't it"
According to a local resident Deborah Evans the ordinance also states that:
"1) 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
2) Producers or processors of local foods are exempt from licensure and inspection provided that the products are prepared for, consumed or sold at a community social event"
For those wondering if this legal as it circumvents state and federal laws she notes here:
[W]e the radicals who concocted this mutinous act of infamy believe that according to the Home Rule provisions of our State Constitution, the citizens of Sedgwick have the right to enact an ordinance that is "local and municipal in character"
Many local farmers say this ordinance is just what the doctor ordered. Bob St. Peter told FoodFreedom.com that "This ordinance creates favorable conditions for beginning farmers and cottage-scale food processors to try our new products, and to make the most of each season's bounty. My family is already working on some ideas we can do from home to help pay the bills and get our farm going"
A resident and farm patron Mia Strong said "Tears of joy welled in my eyes as my town voted to adopt this ordinance. I am so proud of my community. They made a stand for local food and our fundamental rights as citizens to choose that food"
St. Peter who is a board member of the National Family Farm Council, a food freedom advocacy group, says that small farmers have tougher way to go especially given the economic conditions so it is vital they have the ability to sell their products freely. He said in the following:
"It's tough making a go of it in rural America. Rural working people have always had to do a little of this and a little of that to make ends meet. But up until the last couple generations, we didn't need a special license or new facility each time we wanted to sell something to our neighbors. Small farmers and producers have been getting squeezed out in the name of food safety, yet it's the industrial food that is causing food borne illness, not us"
Which so true because how many times have we seen industrial food have to recall their products due to contamination of beef products for example or other food items that have caused illness but yet they have gone after innocent farmers like the folks at Rawesome Foods in Venice, California where they had no health violations but yet still got ransacked by authoritarian thugs...
I am really happy for the people of Sedgwick, Maine, let this be an example for all of us in our quest to have the right to by the food that we want...
