The Right to Food – Maine

How does the Maine state constitutional amendment work? How did it get passed? And what is the difference from the local food sovereignty ordinances that over 100 towns in Maine have now passed?

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Below is a video from our 2023 Symposium “The Attack on Food and Agriculture and How to Fight Back.” Heather Retberg is a farmer from Maine, who was instrumental in working to get a State Constitutional Amendment protecting food sovereignty. In this video she describes the process of working on this significant piece of legislation.

The Amendment to the Maine State Constitution reads:

Section 25. Right to food.
All individuals have a natural, inherent and unalienable right to food, including the right to save and exchange seeds and the right to grow, raise, harvest, produce and consume the food of their own choosing for their own nourishment, sustenance, bodily health and well-being, as long as an individual does not commit trespassing, theft, poaching or other abuses of private property rights, public lands or natural resources in the harvesting, production or acquisition of food.

Source

Some towns in Maine have put in place food sovereignty ordinances to protect the right of producer-to-consumer transactions. The Maine Municipal Association, a legal association that includes many small towns as members, even posted a sample ordinance. (backup)

Example Food Sovereignty Ordinances from Maine Towns:

View the latest list (current count: 113 towns) at Local Food Rules.

View Local Food Rules sample ordinance. (backup)

Albion (backup copy)

Isle au Haut (backup copy)

Palermo (backup copy)