This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Here in the United States, we have the lowest-cost, most readily available food supply in the world. However, agriculture in the United States faces some serious issues. A growing concern for many of us is that, as a people, we have become increasingly detached from the realities of our food production system, including where our food comes from, who produces it and how it is produced.
An increasing number of people want local food choices and direct, personal connections with the people who produce and prepare the food they eat. They want to have freedom of choice with respect to what they eat and where, how, and by whom their food is grown, produced and prepared.
When our food comes from huge corporate producers far from where we live and goes through many processing and marketing steps to arrive at our local grocery stores, we are forced to rely on government regulation to ensure the safety of the food supply. That's because we have no ability to judge for ourselves whether the production, transportation and marketing methods used were appropriate and safe.
Many of us, however, are beginning to recognize that if we have direct, personal relationships with those who produce and prepare our food, we can determine for ourselves whether the food we purchase is safe and wholesome without unnecessary and overly intrusive government regulation that places an unreasonable financial burden on legitimate local food production and preparation.
An ever-growing number of consumers believe they should have the right to oversee their own food supply and to make their own judgments about the reliability of those who produce and prepare their food. They want the fundamental right to engage in self-governance regarding their food choices. These are smart, well-informed consumers who do a great deal of research and are careful about what they buy and eat. They want the right to choose food grown and processed by small, local producers using sustainable farming and production methods.
This is a national trend with which most Utahns agree. A large survey conducted by EnvisionUtah, with more than 60,000 Utahns participating, established that Utahns want food freedom. According to EnvisionUtah:
"Utahns envision feeding their families with healthy, high-quality food grown in Utah. They see an abundance of locally grown products as part of a healthy lifestyle that will improve the quality of life for them and future generations. Utahns also envision being more self-reliant and less dependent on other states and countries to provide their food. They also want a future in which Utah's food industry provides jobs across the state."
Locally produced foods tend to come from small producers. Current state laws in Utah make it economically impossible for many small producers to sell their food products legally. Many existing regulations make no sense when applied to local food production.
For example, you can bake bread (or make cookies, brownies, jams, jellies, etc.) and give those products away for free, or you can sell them as part of a charity fundraiser. But if you want to sell them for profit, even on a very small scale, you must satisfy regulatory requirements that cost more than you could reasonably expect to earn. Similar suffocating regulations apply to almost every aspect of small-scale food production and preparation, including the production and processing of the raw milk, grass feed meats, eggs and poultry, honey, jams, jellies and fresh-baked goods many consumers want.
It is time for Utah's lawmakers to recognize the need for change to accommodate the demand for fundamental food freedom. A growing number of states, including Wyoming just last year, have passed Food Freedom bills, which allow safe, economically viable local food production. The time has come for Utah to pass meaningful food freedom legislation that will give consumers and producers the local food choices they want. It's time to support fundamental food freedom.
If you share this growing hunger for food freedom, we encourage you to get involved. Please visit http://utahfoodfreedom.org/.
James Mitchell received his master's degree from the Utah State University in Political Science and lives in Fountain Green with his family. Jason Sabey has been in retail corporate management/ marketing for two decades. He recently moved his family from Salt Lake to Fountain Green, and he has written a book series, "Serenity Brooke Farm: Secrets to Easy Homesteading," that will begin releasing this spring.