Maine has become the first state in the nation to enact a “food sovereignty” law allowing local communities to exempt locally grown and -sold foods from some state regulations. The Act to Recognize Local Control Regarding Food Systems, signed into law by Gov. Paul LePage in June, permits local ordinances to bypass state rules to allow locally produced food to be sold directly to consumers within municipalities without being licensed or inspected by the state. The act does not apply to food sold or processed outside of its community of origin. Food sovereignty advocates blame costly state and federal laws…
Author: Kathy Hoekstra
Kathy Hoekstra
Kathy Hoekstra is a Michigan-based freelance journalist and a national regulatory advisor for The Heartland Institute. Kathy formerly served as an investigative reporter at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a non-profit free market think tank headquartered in Midland, Michigan. Kathy's writing has been published in Watchdog.org and The Detroit News.