Local Food Columbus » Policy and Regulation
Support the Next Generation of Sustainable and Organic Farmers and Ranchers!
Support the Next Generation of Sustainable and Organic Farmers and Ranchers! Tell USDA to Stop Delaying Implementation of the CRP Transition Option for Beginning and Minority Producers! Change happens at the transition. An aging farmer population, a new generation of farmers desperate for access to land, 4.2 million acres of land about to come out of the Conservation Reserve Program, and a growing consumer demand for food grown by sustainable and organic producers, together present a tremendous opportunity to transform our food system. … Read entire article »
Filed under: New Farmers, Policy and Regulation
USDA Hearing on the Leafy Green M.A. in Columbus
As food safety concerns continue to be topics of discussion among growers and policy makers, I thought I would pass along this following information. There will be a hearing in Columbus on Oct. 6, 2009. Details are below. … Read entire article »
Filed under: National, Policy and Regulation
Illinois Passes Locally Grown Food Law
Governor Pat Quinn recently signed into law legislation that will help put more Illinois-grown food on Illinois tables. The law is designed to increase demand for locally grown food by building a reliable market for it at state agencies and facilities that receive significant state support. Read the Article … Read entire article »
Filed under: National, Policy and Regulation
Upper Arlington may ease ban on chickens
The City of Upper Arlington is considering changes to it’s zoning code to allow for some backyard hens. Read the Full story at: ThisWeek Community Newspapers Upper Arlington … Read entire article »
Filed under: Policy and Regulation, Urban Chickens
Grandview Heights to Consider Allowing Chickens
Grandview Heights City Council is considering an changing the ordinance to allow for a few backyard hens. Some of the provisions in the most recent version reveal the councilmembers’ skitishness over the issue. Included in the proposal are a $25 annual permit fee and a limit of only 10 permits issued citywide. The fee seems unnecessarily burdensome given that the owners already have to build a special ensclosure and henhouse for their few pet hens. Do other pet owners have to pay a fee to keep a parrot, for example, a comparably sized bird? The limited number of permits shows how apprehensive municipal leaders are about even such a small number of hens. There is also a noise stipulation that “Perceptible noise from chickens should not be loud enough at the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Policy and Regulation, Urban Chickens
H.R. 2749: Food Safety Enhancement Act passes the House
On July 30, 2009 H.R. 2749 passed with a few amendments. Read the text of the bill and ammendments. It seems that the last minute amendments … Read entire article »
Filed under: Policy and Regulation
ODA New Cottage Rules
It’s official. The new Ohio Dept. of Ag Cottage food rules were released. The rules now allows for a variety of new foods to be home produced, without the need for an inspected commerical kitchen. This opens up opportunities for small food producers to expand into new areas with little overhead cost. It also expands new products available to consumers at farmers’ markets and similar venues. The new rules are available in (pdf document) at the ODA web site: New Cottage Food Rules. The current food saftey rules ORC 3715 can be found here. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Farmer's Markets, Local Food Processing, Policy and Regulation
Waxman Food Safety Bill Introduced
On Wednesday, May 27, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Henry Waxman (CA-30) released a discussion draft of his food safety bill, the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009. The bill is largely based on provisions in H.R. 259, the Food and Drug Administration Globalization Act of 2009, introduced by Representative Dingell earlier this year. House Energy and Commerce Committee staff has said they plan to mark up the Waxman food safety bill and report it out of Committee during the month of June and prior to the July 4 congressional recess. Read the draft bill. We will comment on this bill after analysis. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Local Food Processing, Policy and Regulation
Legislative Update – Federal Food Safety Bills
The following is an excerpt from a post in The Ethicurean. H.R. 875 is not likely to make it out of committee. The article points out a couple of other bills that are likely to get more traction and have scarier ramifications for small farmers and producers. Make sure you read the excellent position statement and information by Main Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. Food safety is all the rage this year in Congress, and rightfully so: between tainted jalapenos, spinach, peanuts, and pistachios, the food supply needs some major help. Everyone seems at the ready with their own version of the solution. But as I feared in a previous post on produce safety, many of the proposed solutions are expensive, technologically complex, and may not actually work. Perhaps the worst of the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Policy and Regulation
Cottage food expansion gets support at public hearing
On Wednesday, May 13th the ODA held the public hearing on expanding the list of “Cottage” foods (see that article). A number of farmer’s market managers and vendors spoke in support of the rule change. No one spoke in opposition. Several witnesses spoke of the economic benefits of new small businesses that can now start in the home kitchen with little capital and grow sustainably. The rule will expand opportunity for small farmers to produce the more profitable value-added products, previously reserved for those with access to a commercial kitchen. Officials at the ODA are optimistic about the passage of the rule. Patti Haden, of Ohio Proud, in a memo shortly after the hearing, said “The new rule should be in place by mid-June, 2009.” We will be following this story and … Read entire article »
Filed under: Farmer's Markets, Local Food Processing, Policy and Regulation
