Thanks to Forest for forwarding this article about a town in Maine fighting back against onerous state and federal agriculture regulations. Sedgwick, Maine passed an ordinance which empowers locals to grow and sell food amongst themselves without interference from what they say are unconstitutional regulations.

The federal Food Safety and Modernization Act, which passed in January, inspired this reaction plus similar ones in other Maine towns, Georgia, North Carolina, Utah, and Wyoming, according to Tenth Amendment Center. Our earlier coverage describes why this legislation was considered bad for small farms. The Tester amendment was a step in the right direction and was opposed by big agribusiness, but this editorial explains why the amendment didn’t go far enough.

Maine farmer Bob St. Peter puts it succinctly:

“Small farmers and producers have been getting squeezed out in the name of food safety, yet it’s the industrial food that is causing food borne illness, not us.”