The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund General Counsel Gary Cox provides updates on the cases he’s currently handling. Everyone represented in court by the Fund is a member of the organization.
Sixteenth Maine Town Passes Food Sovereignty Ordinance
Bingham, MAINE—July 10, 2015—On July 1, Bingham, Maine became the 16th town in that state to pass the Local Food and Community Self-Governance Ordinance (LFCSGO) when its citizens voted to adopt the LFCSGO at a special town meeting by a ballot vote of 59-8. Under the ordinance, farmers
Attack on Small-Scale Dairy in Australia
A premier organic dairy farm in Australia, Elgaar Farm, was nearly put out of business for reasons that had nothing to do with food safety. Local authorities shut down the farm claiming its traditional time-honored methods of dairy processing weren’t up to government
FTCLDF Member Reaches Settlement in Overspray Case
NORTH DAKOTA—July 2, 2015—The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FTCLDF) has settled another case, this time on behalf of North Dakota farmer member Glen Philbrick, who was the victim of spray drift. Due to the drift of chemicals over his crops, he lost more than 4,000…
Food Rights Updates: CT Raw Milk, ME Food Sovereignty & FDA Oversight in TX
Connecticut Herdshare Bill Now Law: Connecticut became the sixth state to pass legislation increasing access to raw milk in 2015 when Governor Dannel Malloy signed Senate Bill 360 (SB 360) into law on June 23rd. The bill legalizes the “transfer or exchange of raw milk between persons…
2015 Annual Appeal FundRAISER: Food Freedom Vigilance
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.
Food Police Blotter: Backyard Chickens in New Milford, NJ
The Food Police Blotter tracks the actions of government agencies in denying the right to produce, sell, obtain and consume the foods of our choice. This open letter from Jeff DelVecchio describes how it was not his local zoning department but rather the town Board of Health that prohibited him from
The People Speak: Fourteenth Maine Town Passes Food Self-Governance Ordinance
MOSCOW, MAINE—June 17, 2015—On Tuesday, June 9th the residents of the town of Moscow, Maine in Somerset County voted by ballot to adopt The Local Food and Community Self-Governance Ordinance (LFCSGO). Moscow becomes the third town in Maine this year to pass
State Raw Milk Legislation Recap
This year has been a productive session for legislation increasing access to raw milk. While there is still resistance to raw milk legislation, opposition has declined overall around the country. With deaths being attributed to the consumption of cheese and ice cream made with
Judge Rules Berglund Not in Contempt for Refusing MDA Inspection
In a ruling paving the way for a possible precedent-setting court decision on food freedom in Minnesota, Cook County District Judge Michael J. Cuzzo has denied the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s (MDA) request to hold dairy farmer Dave Berglund in contempt for refusing to