STATE ACTION ALERT
UPDATE: HB 2030 Passed House Ag Subcmte (4-Y/3-N) but Failed Vote in House Ag Committee Feb. 1 (6Y/15N)
House Ag Committee Meets 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 1 – Contact Members Today!
URGENT ACTION: Ask members to REMOVE the “Cow Share Amendment”Use the online petition to EMAIL all committee members then follow up with phone calls.
Also, please post a comment at RichmondSunlight.com expressing support for unregulated foods sales direct to consumers as HB 325 originally intended.
Update 1/31/2017: House Ag Subcommittee met Monday, 1/30/2017 provisions changed and now HB 2030 is a raw milk bill
Virginia House Bill 2030 (HB 2030) would allow the face-to-face sale of food products at farmers markets or through farm-based and home-based sales directly to consumers as long as the producer informs the consumer that the food product is neither certified, regulated, nor inspected. Foods sold under this bill are to be intended only for home consumption and cannot contain uninspected meat other than poultry.
The Agriculture Subcommittee of the House Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committee is scheduled to meet Monday at 4:30 p.m., January 23, and will be considering HB 2030 (Food products; sale at farmers market, farm, or home).
Please attend and voice your support for unregulated access to foods from family farms and local food artisans in Virginia.
7th Floor West Conference Room
General Assembly Building
201 N 9th St
Capitol Square
Richmond, VA 23219 (directions)
HB 2030 was introduced by Delegate Nicholas J. Freitas to exempt from regulation foods sold in Virginia direct from producers to the end consumer. The foods covered by the bill can include items made from milk and poultry as well as other foods “processed or prepared by a private home or a farm.” Such producers will “be exempt from inspection and the inspection fees.”
HB 2030 seeks to amend the Code of Virginia to allow such direct-to-consumer sales and still preserve agency authority to investigate any “foodborne disease or outbreak” or to follow up on a consumer complaint. Passage of this bill would bring welcome relief to family farms and artisan food producers as well as boost consumer food choice. HB 2030 would also enable agency resources to be redirected toward monitoring the safety of imported foods and products manufactured in the industrial food system.
Take Action #1 – Contact Subcommittee Members
Use the online petition to EMAIL all of the subcommittee members, then follow up with phone calls to each office. Ask to speak to the delegate or his/her legislative assistant, give your comments, and ask the delegate to VOTE YES on HB 2030. Your calls are important. If you’re short on time, please make as many calls as you can.
See “Talking Points” and “Contact Information” below. The online petition service will EMAIL this message followed by your comments and initials:
I urge you to vote YES on HB 2030 to allow the face-to-face sale of food products direct to consumers in Virginia at farmers markets or through farm-based and home-based sales.
Take Action #2 – Attend Subcommittee Meeting
If you are able, please also attend the hearing Monday at 4:30 p.m., January 23, 2017.
Location:
7th Floor West Conference Room
General Assembly Building
201 N 9th St
Capitol Square
Richmond, VA 23219 (directions)
Note that the General Assembly Building is separate from the Virginia State Capitol building. Members of the Virginia Independent Consumers & Farmers Association (VICFA) will also be gathering at the state capitol (1 p.m. at the 4th Floor West Conference Room) for a lobbying event; some will also attend the subcommittee meeting to show support for HB 2030.
Talking Points
Include your own comment about any of these points in your communications with legislators and their staffers. You can add your own personal story. Explain why you are happy to buy from a person whose food is not “government approved” or what you are wanting to be able to buy and why.
- 1. The right to freedom of food choice from the source of one’s choice should be allowed. Virginia consumers are denied raw milk, homemade pies, on-farm processed meat (less stress for the animal), and a host of nutrient-dense heritage foods produced by talented home cooks and food artisans.
- 2. The freedom to opt out of government-licensed food is as important as the freedom to opt out of government-licensed medicine or education.
- 3. Selling food does not make it harmful. So far, Virginia allows complete freedom for food items to be given away. If unregulated food is as inherently unsafe as bureaucrats and industrial agriculture representatives allege, donated food for community events should be prohibited as well.
- 4. Freedom from licensure is granted to small components of otherwise heavily regulated industries (e.g., elder care, child care, home education). Recognizing the inherent accountability in face-to-face relationship-based commerce and small-scale transactions enjoys legal precedent and common sense.
- 5. Food from government-approved sources in the industrial food system typically contains approved “safe” levels of pesticides and herbicide residues, plus GMO ingredients, MSG, and rBGH; people want local alternatives.
- 6. Decentralized and locally-based food systems are less vulnerable to bioterrorism. A centralized system of massive industrial farms, with food traveling back and forth across the country, is inherently weak and susceptible to contamination on a huge scale.
- 7. Community-based commerce stimulates local economies. Dollars stay local and support viable farm- and home-based businesses, and provide superior nutrition for those who seek out local artisan foods.
Use the online petition to EMAIL all subcommittee members then follow up with phone calls.
Summary of HB 2030 – Bill Status & Other Details
Food products; sale at farmers market, farm, or home. Exempts a producer of food, including milk, products made from milk, and poultry, from regulations of the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services so long as the sale of such food by the producer is made directly to the end consumer; the sale is conducted at a farmers market or through a home or farm; the food product contains no uninspected meat other than poultry; and the producer informs the end consumer that the food product is not certified, regulated, or inspected.
- Bill text as introduced January 11, 2017
- Bill referred to the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources; placed on committee agenda for February 1, 2017.
- Bill assigned to the House Agriculture Subcommittee then passed amended as a raw milk bill on January 30, 2017
You can also post comments at RichmondSunlight.com for the bill. Please follow up with phone calls to each subcommittee member, especially any Delegate who represents you. To find your state legislators by entering your address, click here.
Contact Information – Ag Subcommittee
You can use the online petition to EMAIL all members of the Agriculture Sub-Committee of the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources. Follow up with courteous phone calls to each subcommittee member. Remember that phone calls and in-person visits are more effective than emails. Be sure to include Talking Points in your communications.
Contact information for the Virginia House Agriculture Sub-Committee:
Knight, Barry D., Chair (R-81)
(804) 698-1081 or (757) 426-6387
[email protected]
Bloxom, Robert S., Jr. (R-100)
(804) 698-1000 or (757) 824-3456
[email protected]
James, Matthew (D-80)
(804) 698-1080 or (757) 967-7583
[email protected]
Keam, Mark L. (D-35)
(804) 698-1035 or (703) 350-3911
[email protected]
Orrock, Robert D. (R-54)
(804) 698-1054 or (540) 891-1322
[email protected]
Poindexter, Charles D. (R-9)
(804) 698-1009 or (540) 576-2600
[email protected]
Webert, Michael J. (R-18)
(804) 698-1018 or (540) 999-8218
[email protected]
To email all the sub-committee members at once, you can copy and paste this list:
[email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected],
[email protected]
Use the online petition to EMAIL all subcommittee members then follow up with phone calls.
View Virginia District Map that lets you identify legislators by clicking on a location on the Virginia map or by entering an address or instead, go to RichmondSunlight.com/your-legislators
Contact Information – House Ag Committee
You can use the online petition to EMAIL all members of the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources. Follow up with courteous phone calls to each committee member. Remember that phone calls and in-person visits are more effective than emails.
Ask the Representatives to REMOVE the “Cow Share Amendment”.
Marshall, Daniel W., III – Chair (14th)
(804) 698-1014
[email protected]
Poindexter, Charles D. – Vice Chair (9th)
(804) 698-1009
[email protected]
Ware, R. Lee (65th)
(804) 698-1065
[email protected]
Wright, Thomas C., Jr. (61st)
(804) 698-1061
[email protected]
Orrock, Robert D., Sr. (54th)
(804) 698-1054
[email protected]
Pogge, Brenda L. (96th)
(804) 698-1096
[email protected]
Knight, Barry D. (81st)
(804) 698-1081
[email protected]
Edmunds, James E., II (60th)
(804) 698-1060
[email protected]
Wilt, Tony O. (26th)
(804) 698-1026
[email protected]
Morefield, James W. “Will” (3rd)
(804) 698-1003
[email protected]
Webert, Michael J. (18th)
(804) 698-1018
[email protected]
Ransone, Margaret B. (99th)
(804) 698-1099
[email protected]
Fariss, C. Matthew (59th)
(804) 698-1059
[email protected]
Miller, Jackson H. (50th)
(804) 698-1050
[email protected]
Bloxom, Robert S., Jr. (100th)
(804) 698-1000
[email protected]
Plum, Kenneth R. (36th)
(804) 698-1036
[email protected]
Bulova, David L. (37th)
(804) 698-1037
[email protected]
James, Matthew (80th)
(804) 698-1080
[email protected]
Torian, Luke E. (52nd)
(804) 698-1052
[email protected]
Keam, Mark L. (35th)
(804) 698-1035
[email protected]
Lopez, Alfonso H. (49th)
(804) 698-1049
[email protected]
Sullivan, Richard C. “Rip”, Jr. (48th)
(804) 698-1048
[email protected]
To email all the committee members at once, you can use the online petition or copy and paste this list:
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
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Services provided by FTCLDF go beyond legal representation for members in administrative and judicial court cases.
Educational and policy work also provide an avenue for FTCLDF to build grassroots activism to create the most favorable regulatory climate possible. In addition to advising on bill language, FTCLDF supports favorable legislation via action alerts, social media outreach, and the online petition service.
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