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Posted June 15, 2007: A new organization
is being formed to help small farmers and growers throughout
the country make their products directly available to the
private consumer.
Called the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FTCLDF),
the organization will be launched July 4 by activating a website
(www.ftcldf.org)
and through advertising. Its purpose is to “protect
the constitutional right of the nation’s family farms
to provide through any legal means unprocessed and processed
farm foods directly to consumers; to protect the constitutional
right of consumers to obtain unprocessed and processed farm
foods directly from family farms; and to protect the nation’s
family farms from harassment by federal, state and local government
interference with food production and/or on-farm food processing.”
There is a growing need for this type of organization, demonstrated
by what farmers are experiencing around the country as they
try to sell their products.
For example, during the 2006 “raw milk wars”
in Ohio, the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) was attempting
to interfere with herd-share operations whereby owners of
cows were exercising their right to drink raw milk from the
cow they owned. Because the transaction was purely private
in nature and did not involve the “public’s health,”
there was no justification for the ODA to interfere with the
transaction. However, that did not stop ODA from pursuing
an aggressive and at times abusive program of trying to put
herd-share operations out of business. This included the case
of Carol Schmitmeyer, who temporarily lost her producer’s
license until it was reinstated by a local common pleas court
judge on appeal.
In addition, farmers in Virginia have attempted to engage
in “artisinal processing” whereby they process
a small number of bovines, poultry or lamb on their property,
yet they are now being treated unfairly by the federal government.
For example, after obtaining a license to install, construct
and operate a meat-processing facility, farmer Bev Eggleston
of Eco-Friendly Foods was informed by the USDA that the department
would no longer be inspecting Eggleston’s facility because
it was not processing enough animals. Without such inspections,
the facility can no longer can be certified. Thus, Eggleston
is not only out of business, he is in debt to the tune of
several hundred thousand dollars. Other local farmers, including
well-known pasture-based pioneer Joel Salatin of Polyface,
Inc., cannot use the facility to supply a growing demand for
locally and sustainably produced meat.
Other examples of governmental regulation acting as a roadblock
or impediment to the small farm’s ability to make a
decent living appear throughout the United States:
- The apple cider producer who is told he must pasteurize
his product in order to sell it at a farmer’s market.
- The cheese maker who is informed that website sales of
unpasteurized cheese are illegal.
- The baker who is told that her kitchen must have a license
before lacto-fermented products can be sold from the facility.
- The Indiana dairy farmer who had his product seized by
the FDA while it was on its way to herd-share owners located
in Michigan.
All of these instances, and more, are fraught with injustice
and reflect government’s attitude that industrialized
food is safer and better for the public. FTCLDF intends to
challenge these unfair and discriminatory laws and to correct
this injustice.
FTCLDF was formed as an Ohio nonprofit corporation on November
9, 2006, and is currently seeking tax-exempt status from the
Internal Revenue Service. Currently, FTCLDF consists of eleven
board members from several states, including Sally Fallon,
president of the Weston A. Price Foundation; Tim Wightman,
a dairy farmer from Ohio; Kaayla Daniel, PhD., author of the
book The Whole Soy Story; Judith McGeary, an anti-NAIS
advocate from Texas; Pete Kennedy, an attorney from Florida;
plus other individuals committed to defending the right of
consumers and farmers to directly contract with one another
for wholesome, fresh and healthy food free from governmental
interference.
FTCLDF will create business models that small farms and consumers
can adopt to ensure that they operate in accordance with the
law to keep them free from governmental interference. For
example, the fund will make available (to members only) draft
articles of incorporation, partnership agreements, herd-share
agreements, bills of sale and buyer’s-club agreements.
The fund will provide toll-free telephone access to a staff
of attorneys who will provide advice and counsel on related
legal issues. Furthermore, it will maintain a database on
the laws, regulations, court decisions and opinions that deal
with freedom of contract and the right to market directly
to consumers. Finally, the Fund is a 501(c)(4) organization
with the right to engage in political activities such as lobbying
and campaigning during elections.
FTCLDF founders hope to change a food system where, under
the guise of protecting the public health, state and federal
laws actually hinder the ability of the small farmer to provide
healthy food directly to the consumer. The fund’s leaders
will work to prevent industrial agriculture from eliminating
the small farmer. They will seek to restore non-toxic, grass-based
farms—producing life-giving foods—to the prominence
they once held in American society.
Persons interested in joining the FTCLDF can view the fully
functional website after July 4 at www.ftcldf.org
and become a member online. Once it becomes operational, the
fund’s phone number will be (703) 208-FARM [3276]. Fund
headquarters will be in Falls Church, Virginia.
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