Why Does Flagstaff Need A Food Freedom Ordinance?

By Elisha Dorfsmith

While collecting petition signatures for Flagstaff Liberty Alliance’s proposed Food Freedom Ordinance, I am often asked why there is a need for an ordinance like this in the first place. Many people in Northern Arizona have been growing, trading and selling their products at Farmer’s Markets for years with no trouble or harassment from authorities.  Why try to fix something if there is not a problem?

The purpose of this post is to give a little background to the ordinance and explain why it is so important that the City of Flagstaff and Coconino County support food freedom.

Food Safety Modernization Act

On January 4, 2011 President Obama signed the highly controversial Food Safety Modernization Act. The FSMA was lobbied for and had strong support from giant corporate food companies like Monsanto, General Mills and Kraft Foods. Opposition came from consumers and small independent and organic farmers who claimed it would destroy their businesses and way of life.

Read the Food Safety Modernization Act HERE.

Read more at Flag Liberty Blog