WASHINGTON — A group of US senators recently introduced the Livestock Owned by Communities to Advance Local (LOCAL) Foods Act, which would update the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) of 1906 to better support small-scale meat producers in rural areas.

The new legislation was introduced by Sens. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.).

Details from the senators explained that the small number of USDA-inspected slaughterhouses in certain areas create bottlenecks for producers, especially small-scale producers that compete for time in slaughterhouses with larger processing companies. The LOCAL Foods Act would amend personal-use and custom exemptions to allow producers to sell live animals to consumers. The consumer would then be free to hire someone or slaughter and process the meat themselves.

“Regulations tailored toward large-scale farms have made it harder for smaller farms to sell in their own communities,” Welch said. “Keeping our small-scale producers competitive means cutting through red tape to help them compete with companies that have massive operations. This bill will update federal guidelines to better support Vermont-sized producers, keep our food local and strengthen our food systems.”

In 2013, Vermont adopted an on-farm slaughter law comparable to the Food Safety and Inspection Service’s (FSIS) guidelines, which allow owners to slaughter livestock on the farm where it was raised while upholding food safety standards. However, even with the state law, USDA retains the authority to eliminate Vermont’s on-farm slaughter inspection program if the state does not meet those federal standards.

FSIS issued guidelines in 2018 to create an avenue for producers to sell their products locally and without inspection. The guidance allowed livestock owners to slaughter livestock or have an agent slaughter livestock on the farm. 

The senators stated that the LOCAL Foods Act was endorsed by the Farm Action Fund, Farmers and Ranchers Freedom Alliance, Farm-to-Consumer Defense Fund, Kentucky Black Farmers Association, National Family Farm Coalition and Rural Vermont.