RICHMOND, Virginia (PNN) - January 11, 2013 - A bill introduced by Virginia Delegate Robert Bell that would dramatically expand the state's Cottage Food and Right-to-Farm laws is now before the Virginia House agriculture committee.
The bill would expand the list of covered foods that can be sold from the home or the farm and permit the direct-to-consumer sale of foods like meat that have been viewed by regulators to be potentially hazardous. Specifically, according to the official summary, it would permit direct-to-consumer sales "by a farm operation employing 10 or fewer people or by a private home" of virtually any otherwise legal food, including but not limited to foods made with "any fruit, grain, herbs, honey, meat, milk, mushrooms, nuts, poultry, seafood, or vegetables."
Currently, the state's Cottage Food law (like many around the country) permits only the sale of a limited number of low-risk foods like dried herbs, vinegar, popcorn balls, cotton candy, dried pasta, roasted coffee, and trail mixes.
The only additional requirement the bill mandates is that sellers label the product "with the producer's name and address, the product's ingredients, and a disclosure statement indicating the product is not subject to Virginia's food safety laws or regulations."
Passage of the bill would provide a much-needed shot in the arm for farmers, entrepreneurs, and their supporters in the state.
"I am hopeful this bill will expand consumer choice in Virginia, and make it easier for producers to directly provide their products to potential customers," said Bell.
Others agree.
"HB.135 will keep more of the food dollar in the state and will be a boon for artisan food producers restricted by the current Virginia food laws," said Pete Kennedy, president of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund.
"The passage of the Food Freedom Act will generate a boom in the local economy," said Bernadette Barber, who runs Virginia Food Freedom. "People want fresh and local - this is the only way they can get prepared foods conveniently from people they know and trust."
The bill also follows the defeat in the state last year of the so-called Boneta Bill, which was a major blow for Virginia's small farmers.
The farm freedom bill was named for Virginia farmer Martha Boneta, who was fined by Virginia regulators in 2012 for a host of alleged infractions, including hosting a birthday party for a friend’s daughter on Boneta's farm without a permit and “advertising a pumpkin carving.”
In response, Boneta's supporters sought unsuccessfully to expand the definition of the state’s existing Right to Farm Law.
Bell's bill would do that and more.
Critics of Bell's bill will no doubt point to possible food safety issues the bill may raise.
But it is important to remember that government inspections don't guarantee food safety.
