04/09/2019 / By Ethan Huff
Throughout most of the country, it’s actually a “crime” to sell farm-fresh food and other homemade edibles to others without the government’s permission – which is typically contingent upon paying hefty fees and wading through lots of bureaucratic red tape. But in West Virginia, those fees and red tape are now a thing of the past.
Senate Bill 285, which was passed on March 7, 2019, and is set to take effect 90 days later, amends the Code of West Virginia to allow for the sale of homemade food items that are exempt from large-scale licensure, permitting, inspection, packaging, and labeling laws – just so long as such products bear a simple label explaining that they’re homemade, and that clearly list ingredients, warnings about possible allergens, and contact information for their producers.
Following the lead of Wyoming, South Dakota, and Utah, all of which have passed similar food freedom laws, West Virginia decided that highly-restrictive regulations designed for large-scale food producers unfairly penalize and place at a disadvantage home growers, most of whom have minimal resources to purchase “permission” from the government to sell their goods.
This new law will now allow them to sell their food either online or in person without licenses or inspections, with no limits on how much food they can legally sell – save for meat-containing items, which are subject to minimal restrictions.
“So far, Wyoming, [South] Dakota, and Utah say there hasn’t been a single report of foodborne illness from anyone selling food under the new laws,” explains Zero Hedge, quelling the fears and concerns of those who might try to say that allowing home sales of food without government intervention represents a “threat” to public health.
For more great news like this, be sure to check out the latest at FoodFreedom.news.
Wyoming, South Dakota, Utah, and now West Virginia have all taken major steps towards once again becoming free states, just like our Founding Fathers intended. If we’re all truly free Americans protected by the Constitution and Bill of Rights, then the governments that work for us have an obligation to protect our interests – including the right to buy and sell without interference.
When governments insist upon the contrary – to heavily restrict our ability to buy and sell, to the point that we’re disallowed from engaging in commerce in order to make a living – that’s when tyranny rears its ugly head. And unfortunately, this is the oppressive paradigm in which the vast majority of Americans still find themselves.
“It’s sad that allowing people the freedom to choose what they put in their own bodies is such a novel concept,” comments Zero Hedge about the issue. “But we’re happy to see this law passed.”
It’s also time for all states to de-prohibit other natural substances like raw milk, for instance, or cannabis (marijuana), both of which remain outlawed in some states, while simultaneously being legal in others.
If supposedly free Americans aren’t allowed to grow things, consume things, and buy and sell these same things without facing potential jail time, then they’re not truly free. This is the crux behind the food and health freedom movements, both of which aim to get the government out of the business of controlling people’s lives, and back into the business of working on behalf of people’s lives.
To learn more about how freedom groups like the Tenth Amendment Center are working to pass legislation like the “Intrastate Commerce Act” that would stop federal overreach into people’s personal lives, be sure to check out the Tenth Amendment Center website.
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Bill of Rights, bureaucracy, commerce, Constitution, farm, food, food freedom, freedom, health freedom, home gardening, Liberty, raw milk, red tape, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia, Wyoming
This article may contain statements that reflect the opinion of the author