As you probably know, local small-scale producers are a rare commodity in the fractious world of agribusiness. The reasons for this are numerous, but perhaps the single most salient reason is that government regulation makes an already difficult living all the more difficult. The layers of licenses, restrictions, certifications, and protocol at all levels of government is truly dizzying, enough to push old-time producers into retirement and to keep the young from trying their hand.
Below is text from a piece in the Tucson Weekly that demonstrates just one example of how misguided authority can hinder small-scale producers:*
The Tucson Weekly, 3 January 2008
Does the government have the right to influence how you spend your food dollar? The Pima County Health Department thinks so. The Pima County Health Department has decided to set its sights on local farmers' markets imposing a capricious set of convoluted requirements upon small producers. One health department official spent an entire morning serving "notices of violation" to a majority of one market's producers. These "violations" and comments ranged from the infinitesimal to the absurd, highlighting an agency with either too much time on its hands or an ax to grind. Tellingly, not one of these "violations" had anything to do with public health or safety:
- The official was willfully naive, asking how it could be that a "rancher was allowed at a farmers' market?"
- The official stated that every vendor would have to get a separate license for every market attended, to the tune of $68 each.
- Vendors were cited for not having a "valid seasonal permit."
It seems evident that the department's sole objective in sending out this "sweep" was to harass and intimidate a popular and growing sector of the food market.
Farmers' markets are gaining acclaim precisely because they offer an alternative to an industrialized food chain and a place where people can directly interact with those who produce their food. These markets are guided by their own stringent set of requirements. If each week sees yet another massive food recall in the highly regulated industrial food chain, why should we believe that regulation at the micro level directly between food producers and their clients is going to be any more successful?
Pima County intimates that the public cannot make their own decisions about the food they choose to feed themselves and their families. In large-scale, depersonalized food distribution, this may indeed be the case, but when it comes to markets where farmers and ranchers have a direct and meaningful relationship with those who consume the food they produce, government can only be a hindrance.
Cochise County has already gone through a long spate of similar bureaucratic meddling with small producers, and it seems the malaise has spread here as well. A Pima County representative recently told a vendor applying for a business license, "We're coming after you guys." This is not a positive development. Pinal County applies the same state code in a much more cordial fashion, and has not resorted to these ham-fisted tactics. Is Pima County's overly aggressive application of the law a case of budgets being determined by "violation" counts? Might it be a new revenue generator in the form of new applications and fees? Are there perhaps "pressures" from commercial retailers?
Those who come to farmers' markets are rejecting the typical food outlets that are highly regulated by government. The effects of over regulation are evident enough in our industrialized food chain: "natural," "organic" and "free-range" labels that have been rendered meaningless by big-business lobbies, regular recalls (see the November 2007 recall of 96,000 pounds of beef), a pervasive sense of disjointedness and a lack of community connections.
People ought to be able to buy goods, produce, dairy products and beef directly from the people who produced them without government interference. The notions of seasonal licenses, commercial kitchens and the regulation of farmers' markets as if they were Wal-Marts are absurd.
Please urge your local representatives to push to exempt direct sales between producers and consumers from government oversight. You do not need them to tell you what you can and cannot eat.
Paul and Sarah Schwennesen Double Check Ranch
* In April of 2008, the Arizona State Legislature passed into law HB2334 which exempts direct beef sales from the kinds of taxes, licensing and restrictions mentioned above. Score one for the small guys!
Health Department Dispute
- Tucson Weekly, Jan 3, 2008 (Describing the issue)
- Tucson Citizen, Jan 10, 2008 (Follow-up piece describing the attempts to conciliate)
- Tucson Weekly, Jan 10, 2008 (What role for regulation? Note: it's grass fed, not grain fed!)