31 Mar Maine Town Declares Food Sovereignty — Why Don’t We?

The town of Sedgwick, Maine, has declared food sovereignty. According to the Food Renegade (www.foodrenegade.org), "The town unanimously passed an ordinance giving its citizens the right 'to produce, process, sell, purchase, and consume local foods of their choosing.' This includes raw milk, locally slaughtered meats, and just about anything else you can imagine. It’s also a decided bucking of state and federal laws."

Sedgwick is the first U.S. municipality to take this bold action. Several other Maine towns are poised to do the same.

How can we take this step in Austin? What would it look like here, in a city this size? How could we make it work? How do we balance personal rights with public safety?

Why isn't my friend the duck farmer allowed to sell her duck eggs at a farmers' market unless that farmer's market is an officially approved farmers' market with a public porta-potty? Why can't a bunch of neighbors form a casual little neighborhood farmers' market without getting a permit? Are these rules really helping us?

There are no easy answers to these questions. No doubt, the rules were enacted with intent to maintain standards of safety and hygiene. Is there another way other than endless red tape? Whatever happened to the old standard that always worked pretty well — a combination of personal responsibility, and trust between people?

The response that always seems to come up is "liability." When will we stop making "liability" our national refrain? It's become the catch-all stopper, the convenient excuse that keeps us from having to think outside the box or take any action.

What are your thoughts on this? Are you ready for a New American Revolution? Do we or don't we have the right to "produce, process, sell, purchase, and consume local foods of our choosing"?

I think we do. But nobody's going to hand it to us. We have to challenge the stagnated thinking that limits our food choices and hobbles healthy local commerce.

Lately I've been teaching a workshop called "Permaculture Home Ec." It covers solar cooking, household waste management, and other essential skills of personal resilience. I think that engaging our officials in a dialogue about all these food regulations is also an essential component of boosting our resilience and well-being, as individuals and as a city.

You can read the full article from Food Renegade and read my blog on personal sustainability at www.jennynazak.com