Maine has passed a joint resolution declaring Maine State Food Sovereignty. State representative Aaron Libby writes that while a Joint Resolution has no political power, it “can and will send a message to the Federal government that we disapprove of their over regulation.”
JOINT RESOLUTION EXPRESSING THE SENTIMENT OF THE LEGISLATURE FOR FOOD SOVEREIGNTY
WHEREAS, according to the Declaration of Independence, all people "are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness"; and
WHEREAS, food is human sustenance and is the fundamental prerequisite to life; and
WHEREAS, the basis of human sustenance rests on the ability of all people to save seed and grow, process, consume and exchange food and farm products; and
WHEREAS, it is our obligation as elected representatives of the people of Maine to protect the fundamental freedoms as enshrined by the Constitution of Maine and the United States Constitution and to protect agricultural, ecological and economic diversity and sustainability for a free and healthy society; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED: That We, the Members of the One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Legislature now assembled in the First Regular Session, on behalf of the people we represent, and in recognition of our State's proud agricultural heritage, take this opportunity to oppose any federal statute, law or regulation that attempts to threaten our basic human right to save seed and grow, process, consume and exchange food and farm products within the State of Maine.
WHEREAS, according to the Declaration of Independence, all people "are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness"; and
WHEREAS, food is human sustenance and is the fundamental prerequisite to life; and
WHEREAS, the basis of human sustenance rests on the ability of all people to save seed and grow, process, consume and exchange food and farm products; and
WHEREAS, it is our obligation as elected representatives of the people of Maine to protect the fundamental freedoms as enshrined by the Constitution of Maine and the United States Constitution and to protect agricultural, ecological and economic diversity and sustainability for a free and healthy society; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED: That We, the Members of the One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Legislature now assembled in the First Regular Session, on behalf of the people we represent, and in recognition of our State's proud agricultural heritage, take this opportunity to oppose any federal statute, law or regulation that attempts to threaten our basic human right to save seed and grow, process, consume and exchange food and farm products within the State of Maine.
The FDA is in the process of creating food safety regulations for the Food Safety Modernization Act, which will go into effect gradually. The joint resolution is a response to the US Senate’s passage of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (See the CT NOFA blog entry from June 1, 2011). Maine has taken a proactive stance to preserve local food regulations, with four towns first passing local food sovereignty laws. This joint resolution raises the question of local and state power in determining their own agricultural and food policy.
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