An Act to Amend the Maine Food Sovereignty Act
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 1947
Committee: Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
Sponsors: FAULKINGHAM, HICKMAN, BOYER, GRIFFIN, LANDRY, POIRIER, QUINT, SAMPSON, WILLIAMS, BRAKEY
Amends: 7 MRSA §282, 7 MRSA §283, 7 MRSA §283-A, 7 MRSA §284, 7 MRSA §287, 7 MRSA §288, 7 MRSA §289

Legislative Document
No. 1947
H.P. 1251
House of Representatives, May 16, 2023
An Act to Amend the Maine Food Sovereignty Act
Reference to the Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry suggested and 
ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative FAULKINGHAM of Winter Harbor.
Cosponsored by Senator HICKMAN of Kennebec and
Representatives: BOYER of Poland, GRIFFIN of Levant, LANDRY of Farmington, POIRIER 
of Skowhegan, QUINT of Hodgdon, SAMPSON of Alfred, WILLIAMS of Bar Harbor, 
Senator: BRAKEY of Androscoggin.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  7 MRSA §282, as amended by PL 2021, c. 625, §§1 and 2, is further amended 
to read:
§282.  Definitions
As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms 
have the following meanings.
1.  Direct producer-to-consumer transaction.  "Direct producer-to-consumer 
transaction" means a face-to-face transaction involving an exchange of food or food 
products at the site of production of those food or food products directly between a food 
producer and a consumer under mutually agreed-to terms.
1-A.  Consumer.  "Consumer" means a person who acquires food or food products 
directly from a food producer under mutually agreed-to terms.
2.  Food or food products.  "Food or food products" means food or food products that 
are grown, produced, processed or prepared for human consumption, including, but not 
limited to, vegetables, fruit, milk or milk products, meat or meat products, poultry or 
poultry products, fish or fish products, seafood or seafood products, cider or juice, acidified 
foods or, canned fruits or vegetables or any combination of those items and that are 
provided in a direct producer-to-consumer transaction under mutually agreed-to terms.
2-A.  Food producer.  "Food producer" means a person who provides in a direct 
producer-to-consumer transaction food or food products that the person grows, produces, 
processes or prepares.
4.  Traditional foodways.  "Traditional foodways" means the cultural, social and 
economic practices related to the production and consumption of food. "Traditional 
foodways" includes customs of food production, preservation, preparation and 
presentation; hunting, gathering, fishing, foraging, buying and selling of food; uses of food 
products other than for eating; and food folklore.
Sec. 2.  7 MRSA §283, first ¶, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 314, §1, is amended to 
read:
It is the policy of this State to encourage food self-sufficiency for its citizens. The 
department State shall support policies that:
Sec. 3.  7 MRSA §283, sub-§4, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 314, §1, is amended to 
read:
4.  Self-reliance and personal responsibility.  Promote self-reliance and personal 
responsibility by ensuring the ability of individuals, families and other entities to prepare, 
process, advertise and sell foods directly to customers intended solely for consumption by 
the customers or their families; and
Sec. 4.  7 MRSA §283, sub-§5, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 314, §1, is amended to 
read:
5.  Rural economic development.  Enhance rural economic development and the 
environmental and social wealth of rural communities.; and
Sec. 5.  7 MRSA §283, sub-§6 is enacted to read:
6.  Right to food.  Protect and respect, by not interfering with, the right to food as 
declared in the Constitution of Maine, Article I, Section 25.
Sec. 6.  7 MRSA §283-A is enacted to read:
§283-A.  Advancement of food sovereignty principles
The Legislature finds that advancing the principles of food sovereignty will further the 
preservation of rural life and values set forth in section 1-B and protect and respect, by not 
interfering with, the individual right to food as declared in the Constitution of Maine, 
Article I, Section 25. Food sovereignty:
1.  Focuses on the people. Centers the right to sufficient, healthy and culturally 
appropriate food for the people of the State in food, agriculture, livestock and fisheries 
policies;
2.  Values food producers. Values all those who grow, harvest and process food, 
including women, small-scale farmers, herders, people who fish commercially, forest 
dwellers, indigenous peoples and agricultural, migrant and fisheries workers;
3.  Localizes food systems. Brings food producers and consumers closer together so 
they can make joint decisions on food issues that benefit and protect the people of the State;
4.  Promotes local control. Respects the right of food producers to have control over 
their land, seeds and water and protects natural resources for the people of the State;
5.  Builds knowledge and skills. Values the sharing of local knowledge and skills that 
have been passed down over generations to safeguard traditional foodways and enhance 
sustainable food production, free from technologies that undermine bodily health and well-
being; and
6.  Works with nature. Focuses on production and harvesting methods that maximize 
the contribution of ecosystems, avoid costly and toxic inputs and improve the resiliency of 
local food systems in the face of drought and other extreme weather conditions.
Sec. 7.  7 MRSA §284, as amended by PL 2021, c. 625, §3, is further amended to 
read:
§284.   Authority
Pursuant to the home rule authority granted to municipalities by Title 30‑A, section 
3001 and by the Constitution of Maine, Article VIII, Part Second, pursuant to the authority 
granted to plantations by Title 30‑A, section 7051, and notwithstanding any provision of 
law regulating food in this Title or Title 22 to the contrary, except as contained in section 
285, a municipality or plantation may adopt ordinances regarding traditional foodways and 
direct producer-to-consumer transactions and the State shall recognize such ordinances by 
not enforcing those laws or implementing rules with respect to those direct producer-to-
consumer transactions that are governed by the ordinance.
Pursuant to the authority granted to county commissioners by Title 30‑A, section 7505 
and notwithstanding any provision of law regulating food in this Title or Title 22 to the 
contrary, except as contained in section 285, a county may adopt ordinances regarding 
traditional foodways and direct producer-to-consumer transactions within one or more 
unorganized territories within that county and the State shall recognize such an ordinance 
by not enforcing those laws or implementing rules with respect to those direct producer-to-
consumer transactions that are governed by the ordinance.
Sec. 8.  7 MRSA §287 is enacted to read:
§287.  State enforcement prohibited
Except as provided in section 285, the State may not enforce any provision of this Title 
or Title 22, including any rules adopted pursuant to the provisions of this Title or Title 22, 
take an enforcement action of any kind against or interfere in any way with any activities 
authorized pursuant to a local food ordinance, including, without limitation, a food 
producer's conducting authorized activities or direct producer-to-consumer transactions as 
authorized by section 284.
Sec. 9.  7 MRSA §288 is enacted to read:
§288.  Application
The provisions of this chapter apply to any local food ordinance adopted by a 
municipality, including those local food ordinances adopted prior to October 31, 2017.
Sec. 10.  7 MRSA §289 is enacted to read:
§289.  Ordinance construction
To advance food sovereignty principles and the policy of the State as set forth in this 
chapter, this chapter may not be construed to require a specific form or framework of any 
municipal ordinance regarding traditional foodways and direct producer-to-consumer 
transactions authorized pursuant to section 284, to require specific language to be contained 
in those ordinances or to prohibit a municipality from establishing definitions different than 
those specified in this chapter.
In accordance with Title 30-A, section 3001, subsections 1 and 3, any ordinance 
regarding traditional foodways and direct producer-to-consumer transactions authorized 
pursuant to section 284 must be liberally construed to effectuate the purpose of that 
ordinance.
SUMMARY
This bill amends the Maine Food Sovereignty Act to:
1. Provide or amend definitions of "consumer"; "direct producer-to-consumer 
transaction"; "food or food products"; "food producer"; and "traditional foodways";
2.  Require the State, instead of the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and 
Forestry, to support policies that encourage food self-sufficiency for its citizens and to 
further encourage self-reliance, personal responsibility and rural economic development 
and protect and respect, by not interfering with, the right to food;
3.  Establish food sovereignty principles;
4.  Prohibit the State from enforcing any law or rule, taking an enforcement action or 
interfering in any way with the activities authorized by a local food ordinance, except those 
state laws or rules that involve the State's meat and poultry products inspection, registration 
and licensing program;
5.  Apply the provisions of the Maine Food Sovereignty Act to all local food 
ordinances, including those in place before the Act was enacted; and
6.  Specify that the Maine Food Sovereignty Act does not require the use of specific 
language or definitions in municipal food ordinances.