For Food Freedom Foundation (FFF) supporters, 2024 was a year that saw continued efforts at the state level to expand access to locally produce food while deregulating its production and sale. At the federal level, however, the nefarious campaign to reduce the consumption of nutrient-dense foods (such as meat, poultry and dairy) also continued with the onset of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) “pandemic” in dairy cattle; towards the end of the year, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) ordered that testing raw milk begin in six states even though there is no evidence linking HPAI in milk with any human illness.
Throughout these turbulent times for our food system, FFF remains committed to its vision of supporting, protecting and helping establish local food systems around the country that champion freedom of food choice, unregulated farm-to-consumer direct commerce, small-farm prosperity, and more self-sufficient local food economies. In the short term, FFF is working to help create as favorable a regulatory climate as possible for small farmers, local artisans, and their patrons; the ultimate goal is unregulated local food producer-to-consumer direct commerce. FFF works towards these aims primarily through supporting the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FTCLDF) and other like-minded organizations involved in public interest litigation over the production and sale of local food. In 2024, FFF provided funding for two FTCLDF cases that could potentially have a national impact.
Public Interest Litigation
First, FFF provided a grant for litigation in a Right to Farm case in Michigan [Webster Township v. Morning Star Ventures, LLC -- Cottonwood Farms]. On paper, Michigan has the best Right to Farm Act (RTFA) in the country; under it, as long as a farmer is in compliance with applicable generally accepted agricultural management practices (GAAMPs) and makes minimal sales of farm products [in the past, one Michigan court said a sale of a dozen eggs would suffice], the farmer is protected under the RTFA regardless of zoning. Unfortunately, local governments and Michigan courts have not always honored the intent of the RTFA and it is not as protective a law for homesteaders and small farmers as it should be.
Cottonwood Farm is a 5-acre farm jointly operated by five Catholic families in Washtenaw County. Even though Cottonwood is in compliance with the applicable GAAMPs and does sell some products of the farm, the supervisor in Webster Township declared that the farm could not have livestock on its land; what's worse, the property was zoned agricultural! A lower court upheld the supervisor’s ruling that the farm needed five continuous acres to have livestock (a small part of the land is under easement) and that the farm was not engaged in commercial activity. FFF is helping with funding to appeal the lower court decision. The Cottonwood Farm litigation is a case of town government overreach and willful ignorance of the RTFA. It is the kind of case that should get national attention and be part of the pushback against government interference with the right of people to grow and raise their own food and, more broadly, to enjoy the property rights granted by law.
In 2024, FFF made a further grant in support of the lawsuit filed by FTCLDF on behalf of Kenduskeag Kitchen against the Maine Department of Health (MDH), litigation that could set a favorable precedent for both the Maine Food Sovereignty Act and the Right to Food Amendment in that state’s constitution. The Food Sovereignty Act legalized the unregulated sale of food from producer to consumer in towns that have passed local food sovereignty ordinances. The Maine constitution has enshrined the right to grow, produce, consume and acquire the foods of one's choice.
Kenduskeag Kitchen is a producer of prepared meals in that town, which has passed a food sovereignty ordinance. Kenduskeag Kitchen and one of its customers are seeking a court order enjoining the MDH from interfering with the producer’s business. MDH is attempting to severely restrict the scope of the food sovereignty ordinance by claiming the producer needs a commercial kitchen permit to sell from his home kitchen because, among other reasons, the producer did not make all the ingredients that are in the prepared meals. The expenses involved in obtaining the permit would be cost prohibitive for Kenduskeag Kitchen.
The producer is contending that the food sovereignty ordinance exempts the business from any regulation; the customer is claiming that MDH has violated his constitutional right to acquire the foods of his choice. The judge has ordered mediation which should take place in January 2025. The Maine Food Sovereignty Act and the Right to Food constitutional amendment are the gold standard for those seeking to pass food freedom laws in other states; a favorable decision strengthening either law could have a ripple effect beyond Maine’s borders.
EID Litigation Fund
On November 5, 2024, USDA issued a regulation mandating the use of electronic identification (EID) for cattle and bison in interstate commerce. The mandatory EID rule threatens to vertically integrate the cattle industry—something that occurred long ago within the poultry and hog industries. This is just the first step for the government; in a press release on the new rule, USDA stated it is “committed to implementing a modern animal disease traceability system that tracks [all] animals from birth to slaughter…”
In response to the mandatory EID requirement, FFF has established a litigation fund to support lawsuits to stop implementation of the rule. So far, at least one lawsuit has been filed to halt enforcement of the rule. The importance of this litigation cannot be overstated; efforts to repeal the rule in Congress have not gotten traction. The cost of complying with the new rule has the potential to put many farmers and ranchers out of business and significantly reduce the supply of beef. FFF also continues to monitor any legislative developments to stop mandatory electronic ID for cattle. For details and updates, visit www.foodfreedomfoundation.org/stopEID.
Education
FFF also provides education and information on the state of food freedom and on the viability of local food systems, small farms, and artisan food producers. In 2024, FFF presented at a symposium titled, Attack on Food and Farmers and How to Fight Back, with a talk on “Regulatory Obstacles to Raw Milk and Meat: Efforts to Overcome Them” covering the state-by-state erosion of the interstate ban on raw milk shipments and the policy and legislative efforts to free up small farmers and processing facilities from the burdensome requirements of the Federal Meat Inspection Act. The symposium was billed as “a unique opportunity to learn how the U.S. food supply is being quietly transformed, and how you can preserve your ability to obtain foods of your choice for your family." It also covered topics such as the history of centralizing farming and the control of food, the poisons in industrial farming, reducing available farmland, and how government regulation has been used against farmers.
FFF continued its sponsorship of the Rogue Food Conference (RFC) in 2024. RFC has been successful in creating and empowering farmers and homesteaders through educating attendees on how to successfully navigate onerous regulations on small farms. Events in 2024 were held at Polyface Farm in Swope, Virginia, and in Fort Worth, Texas.
While IRS regulations limit the amount of lobbying a 501(c)(3) nonprofit like FFF can do, we can still educate the public on the substance and importance of legislation before state Houses and Congress. In 2024, a version of the Processing Revival and Intrastate Meat Exemption (PRIME) Act, legislation that FFF has promoted and educated its readers on, was included in the House version of the Farm Bill. The provision in the Farm Bill would have established a pilot program allowing the intrastate sale of custom slaughtered and processed meat direct from farmer to consumer. FFF continues to monitor the Farm Bill, including any developments in a section in the House Farm Bill that would grant immunity from liability to pesticide manufacturers.
The demand for foods like raw milk and grassfed beef is growing like never before. This year Louisiana became the 47th state to legalize raw milk sales and/or distribution; efforts are being made in at least two of the three remaining states to make raw milk distribution legal through legislation in the 2025 session. Arizona passed a cottage foods bill earlier this year allowing the sale of meat food products by home kitchens.
Through the official narrative on matters as such as bird flu and climate change, the ruling establishment continues to try to limit access to foods such as raw milk, meat, poultry, and eggs. At the same time, the pushback is on at the state level to expand market access for small farmers and local artisans to sell and distribute healthy food.
With your participation in the fight for the future of food freedom of choice, it remains a goal of FFF to have sufficient funding to support FTCLDF and other like-minded organizations in their battles to protect access to healthy, locally produced food, and to ensure people have a legitimate chance to opt out of the failed industrial food system.
Please support our efforts by making a tax-deductible donation. You can detach the form below and mail it in the enclosed envelope or make payment online at FoodFreefomFoundation.org via PayPal or with a debit or credit card. If you have any questions, please call 1-828-222-0613 or send email to info@foodfreedomfoundation.org.
We appreciate the generosity of FFF supporters continuing to fund our work protecting the rights of small farmers, local artisans, and local food consumers.
