Our friends at Rural Vermont are petitioning the members of the U.S. House and Senate Agriculture and Appropriations Committees to add clarifying language to the Federal Meat Inspection Act.
The House Agriculture Committee has just created a portal for direct stakeholder feedback. This portal can be used to urge members of the committee to clarify language for on-farm slaughter, and make sure the new language is prioritized in the upcoming Farm Bill.
“While we think on-farm slaughter is currently allowed under the Federal Meat Inspection Act, we support this clarification of language and think it would be beneficial to get this language passed,” says Alexia Kulwiec, Executive Director of Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund. “If you are someone who slaughters and processes red meat on your farm, or a customer who buys this type of direct-from-farm product, we urge you to sign the petition, and also send your comments through the new portal.”
The new language would further confirm state laws that are based on this federal exemption and allow livestock owners to have an agent slaughter their livestock on the farms where the livestock was raised and to access their meat without state or federal meat inspection.
Rural Vermont has provided answers you can use to the pertinent part of the form that can be accessed here.