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Defending the rights and broadening the freedoms of family farms and protecting consumer access to raw milk and nutrient-dense foods.

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Defending the rights and broadening the freedoms of family farms and protecting consumer access to raw milk and nutrient-dense foods.
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the weston a price foundation

June 2, 2015

Dear Friend of Real Food,

The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.
- Thomas Jefferson

If vigilance is the price of freedom, the work of the Farm-to-
Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FTCLDF) and its members has been a
beacon of vigilance helping restore basic food freedoms to people
across the United States.

I ask you today to start, continue or expand your level of support
for this tireless defender of food freedom.

This year marks a first:  Farm-to-Consumer members in Wyoming helped
pass the first Food Freedom legislation in the history of the
nation.  Members in Maine are working hard to follow suit.  FTCLDF is
supporting these efforts at all levels and in multiple ways: through
counsel, financial support, and publicity.

Without your financial backing, Farm-to-Consumer can’t spread
the seeds of food freedom, and the government won’t respect our
fundamental right to choose whom we get food from.

Remember, it was just a few short years ago that the FDA claimed that
there is no fundamental right to choose what foods we consume, logic
that a Wisconsin judge soon also applied in a ruling against food
freedom.  Farm-to-Consumer is helping reverse those words, one state
at a time.

A prime goal of FTCLDF is to make raw milk sales legal in every 
state. The regulatory climate throughout the U.S. has taken a 
positive turn since FTCLDF launched in 2007; indeed, 2015 was the 
best year ever for raw milk legislation in the history of the Farm-
to-Consumer and the best year in a very long time for food freedom 
for our nation as a whole.

We still have a long way to go in safeguarding the most basic 
freedom--our freedom to eat the foods of our choice, from farmers and 
artisans of our choice, without government interference, but 2014 and 
2015 have seen immense progress.

Here are some Farm-to-Consumer activities from the past year:
• Worked in support of member Frank Wallis for successful passage
of the Wyoming Food Freedom Act, which Governor Matt Mead signed
into law on March 3. The new law legalizes the unregulated direct
producer-to-consumer sale of all food, other than meat products,
that are produced on the farm or in home kitchens. The only
requirement is that producers inform consumers that they are not
licensed or inspected by the government. The new Wyoming law has
energized the foods rights movement, and we expect a number of
states to introduce similar legislation in 2016.

• Provided funding for a Minnesota case which represents the
judicial equivalent of the Wyoming Food Freedom Act. The
Minnesota Constitution protects the right of farmers to sell
and peddle the products of the farm without a license. Farmer
member Dave Berglund--who sells raw dairy products, among other 
foods--is claiming that the provision exempts farmers selling
the products of the farm direct to consumers from any government
regulation. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture is seeking
to enforce an administrative inspection warrant against Berglund.
A favorable ruling would be consistent with the historical
context of the constitutional provision, which passed at a time
when the government did not regulate farm-to-consumer direct
sales.

• Worked for successful passage of raw milk bills in South Dakota
and Utah. The South Dakota bill eases the regulatory burden
on producers while the Utah legislation legalizes herdshare
operations for micro-dairies.

• Funded grassroots activism and lobbying in Maine in support of
food freedom measures at the state and local level. Thirteen
Maine towns have now passed the Food Sovereignty Ordinance,
exempting local producers selling direct to consumers from
licensing and regulation. FTCLDF provided funding for a lobbyist
to help member Heather Retberg and others in their efforts to
pass a statewide version of the Food Sovereignty Ordinance and a
“Right to Food” amendment to the Maine Constitution.

• Served as an information clearinghouse for raw milk, cottage-food
and food freedom legislation in numerous states, such as Montana,
Illinois, Connecticut, Idaho and Virginia.

• Worked to protect and uphold exemptions Congress granted small-
scale producers from burdensome regulation by FDA pursuant to
the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).  FSMA remains a major
threat to food freedom of choice.

• Worked to oppose federal legislation that would grant fast track
authority on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP)--a
trade pact that would enable corporations to interfere with food
regulation at all levels of government.

• Litigated cases in Michigan to uphold the state Right to Farm
Act (RTFA); FTCLDF General Counsel Gary Cox is currently
handling four cases. Recent actions by the state department
of agriculture have weakened the protections the RTFA provides
urban and suburban families to raise livestock. FTCLDF funded a
lobbyist to help the Michigan Small Farm Council in its work to
strengthen the RTFA.

• Provided advice and consultation through Interim Executive
Director John Moody on the set-up and administration of private
food buyers clubs around the U.S. More than ever, consumers are
seeking out private models of food distribution that are free of
government regulations.

• Provided advice and counsel on zoning disputes. FTCLDF has
received an increasing number of such cases during the past few
year. The rezoning of agricultural land to strictly residential
use is a major problem in many areas around the country. Gary
Cox is representing oyster farmer Anthony Bavuso and others in a
court challenge to the York County, Virginia Board of Supervisors
which rezoned property so that agriculture and aquaculture land
use is no longer permitted.

• Provided legal counsel to farms seeking redress from pesticide/
herbicide drift. FTCLDF is currently handling three overspray
cases; this is another area where we can level the playing field
for those that can’t afford the great expense of litigating these
types of cases. The work of General Counsel Gary Cox in securing
settlements for farmer members was recently highlighted in Modern
Farmer.

• Started a program of financial support for activists working on
local food legislation and policy around the country. Aside from
Maine, FTCLDF directly funded efforts in Virginia, Idaho and Utah
and hopes to significantly expand this program in the future. We
are planting seeds that grow into “grass-roots” activists across
the nation.

As a true grassroots organization, Farm-to-Consumer receives the bulk
of its revenue from membership fees and private individual donations--
none from government funding. Any “corporate” donations to FTCLDF come
from businesses that support family farms and the local food movement.
 
To protect our precious grass-based farms, backyard gardens and
chickens, and our supply of raw milk and other nutrient-dense foods,
we need the sound of marching feet--that means tens of thousands of
members of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund.

That’s why I am a proud FTCLDF member and I hope many others will join
me in creating a strong defense for our farmers.

Please use the enclosed form to donate and join or renew your
membership in FTCLDF.  If you prefer to make a tax-deductible
donation, please call the Fund office at 703-208-3276.

With thanks in advance for your support and generosity,

Sally Fallon Morell

 

                              Sally Fallon Morell
                              President, Weston A. Price Foundation

P.S. Be sure to check out the selection of donor gifts, including the new Nourishing Traditions Cookbook for Children!

Download the full letter here

Defending the rights and broadening the freedoms of family farms and protecting consumer access to raw milk and nutrient dense foods.

Copyright © 2007-2018 · For more information: email: [email protected] · Phone: (703) 208-FARM (3276) · Falls Church, VA

Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FTCLDF) The content of this website is intended for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended to be nor should it be construed as either a legal opinion or as legal advice. Articles posted here do not necessarily represent the views or the position of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund.