Two new bills passed by the Wyoming State Legislature will add to the Wyoming Food Freedom Act (WFFA) and allow for the sale of additional food items under the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH).
The two new bills, sponsored by Representative Tyler Lindholm and Senator Dan Dockstader, will allow for the sale of rabbits and fish, products that were previously not allowed by the WDH.
“The purpose of the Wyoming Food Freedom Act is to allow for the sale and consumption of homemade foods, and to encourage the expansion of agricultural sales by farmers markets, ranches, farms and home based producers,” According to the act.
The added legislation will also call for the “thousand bird exemption,” a rule modeled after federal legislation , which limits butchers and producers to the sale of no more than 1000 chickens.
“You also have to use your own chickens and chicken products,” Lindholm said. “I do not think that legislation should kneecap anyone in their operations.”
Lindholm said the WFFA will allow consumers to purchase foods with a better understanding of where the food came from.
“The biggest aspect of the bill is that producers and consumers now have the means to communicate with one another to give a sense of community,” Lindholm said. “Some of that has been lost over the last few decades.”
The two bills passed the House without any opposition, Lindholm said.
“My piece of legislation, which added rabbit and fish, I know made it through without any votes of opposition and cleaned up some of the language in the legislation,” Lindholm said. “After working through it for the last three years, we realized what worked and what did not.”
However, Lindholm said that this will not be the final addition to the WFFA.
“If I have my way, we are going to see more additions to the legislation in the future,”Lindholm said. “My plan is to allow for the sale of beef, but there is probably going to need to be additional research by the USDA for that to happen.”
The WFFA is has inspired similar legislation in other states.
“It’s turned into a model act where Wyoming has proven that this is a viable way to turn your local food economy free, and it’s become popular with other states,” Said Lindholm.
