The Wyoming Food Freedom Bill (HB108) is before the Wyoming Legislature this session. It has easily passed the House with a vote of 45 in favor and 13 opposed and is now awaiting a hearing before the Senate Agriculture Committee.

What is the purpose of this bill? If passed and signed by the Governor, it would allow the direct sale of Wyoming farm, ranch, and home grown and/or processed foods without government regulation so long as there is only a single transaction between the producer and the final end consumer. In other words, no middlemen. 

Here is a link to the bill so that you can read it in full or scroll down the Bill Listing to HB0108 and click on "Introduced" -
http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2013/Introduced/HB0108.pdf

I ask for your assistance in helping this bill pass through the Senate committee, the full vote on the Senate floor and if successful there, then to get Governor Mead's signature.

TAKE ACTION

1. Please contact the Senate Agriculture committee members and request that they support the bill and send the bill to the full Senate for a vote.

Here is the contact information for the Senate Ag Committee members -
http://legisweb.state.wy.us/LegislatorSummary/CommitteeMembers.aspx?strCommitteeID=05

2. Also, please contact your Senator from your district and, if you like, all of the Senators and ask them to support the Wyoming Food Freedom Bill.

Here is the contact information for the Wyoming State Senators -
http://legisweb.state.wy.us/LegislatorSummary/LegislatorList.aspx?strHouse=S&strStatus=N

3. There are many ways to let your Senators know your opinion -
 http://legisweb.state.wy.us/lsoweb/Participate.aspx

Some of the talking points you might use:

1. It should be our right to choose where and from whom to buy our food.

2. The ability to support rural and local food systems strengthens Wyoming's economy.

3. Food security - having locally raised food if a catastrophic event should occur. Supermarkets only a a couple of days worth of food on hand.

4. Local food tastes better. Crops and meats are harvested at their peak. Imported food is older, having traveled on trucks, planes and trains, then sat in warehouses before it get to us.

5. Local food is safe. There's a unique kind of assurance that comes from looking a farmer in the eye at the farmers market or driving out to the ranch to see how your beef is being raised. Local ranchers aren't anonymous and they take their responsibility to the consumer seriously.

6. Local food builds community.

Thanks for your support and thanks for getting involved in local foods! Please let me know if you have questions or if you have ideas on how to promote this bill.

Regards,

Frank