[p2p-research] New laws in Michigan

[Samuel Rose]

Michel,

I will report on it.

Thanks Matt!

replies to Alex:

On Tue, Aug 3, 2010 at 2:25 AM, Alex Rollin <alex.rollin at gmail.com> wrote:
> Laws like these, that require safety protocols, are often designed in such a
> way as to make home based preparation of food for distribution too costly
> without cooperation.

Most of the efforts I am personally involved in encourage cooperation.
I think it's safe to say that regulations or not, cooperation in food
systems tends to trump non-cooperation. That is, if you are talking
about participants in food systems cooperating

This set of laws in Michigan is definitely an improvement. Previously
in Michigan, in order for *anyone* to prepare and sell food, they had
to do it in a health dept inspected kitchen which could not be in any
way attached to or near their house. This meant they either had to pay
to build a new building, or had to pool money with others to create
"community kitchens".

In this state, there are many people in rural areas that will benefit
greatly from the passing of this law.

> I worked for a network of kitchens for a bit 10 years ago that allowed folks
> to access the required cooking equipment, approved and licensed by the
> county and state, so they could prepare foods for distribution.





> This was good for certain things, but it was not designed in such a way that
> people could bring, say, 5 or 6 tons of tomatoes for processing.
> Similar laws regarding milk, allowing the sale of raw milk, were passed in
> California recently.  This has been very good for cheese making, but does
> not actually enable cheese makers to sell the cheese.  Only farmers to sell
> the milk.


Yes, even the existing laws that Matt emailed to the list will not
really afford high volume processing. In the areas that i work in, I
avoid high volume growing and processing and work instead to create or
fill high paying niches that high volume producers and processors
would overlook. This is the biggest area of growth, with no
competition from large producers usually, and participants can operate
without directly competing with each other. Also, there are many
income streams that can be had from the byproducts of food production.
The goal is to help participants realize multiple ways of either
generating revenue, or meeting needs in a way that sustains their
operations (usually involves collaboration and cooperation).

> A
>
> On Tue, Aug 3, 2010 at 6:52 AM, Matt <matt at digiblade.com> wrote:
>>
>> Yeah, I figured Sam would be especially pleased. Let’s hope this is the
>> beginning of a national trend.
>>
>>
>>
>> From: Michel Bauwens [mailto:michelsub2004 at gmail.com]
>> Sent: Monday, August 02, 2010 9:58 PM
>> To: p2p research network
>> Cc: Matt; Samuel Rose; Steve Bosserman
>> Subject: Re: [p2p-research] New laws in Michigan
>>
>>
>>
>> hi Matt, this is superb news, and I would welcome any report on it for our
>> blog ...
>>
>> On Tue, Aug 3, 2010 at 9:59 AM, Matt <matt at digiblade.com> wrote:
>>
>> Michigan's newest laws relating to the sale of home grown foods. I haven't
>> had time to keep up with it, but my fellow growers there seem to be very
>> happy with it.
>>
>> This afternoon, Gov. Jennifer Granholm is to sign into law two cottage
>> food
>> operation bills that will allow individuals to make or package certain
>> foods
>> in their kitchens instead of having to use a commercial food operation as
>> they do now.
>>
>> Baked goods, jam and jellies, candy, vinegar, dried fruit, herbs and mixes
>> made in your kitchen could all be sold publicly provided they are properly
>> labeled to reflect that they are homemade and identify all ingredients
>> under
>> guidelines provided by the state.
>>
>> The new measures will allow people to sell their goods publicly at farmers
>> markets, roadside stands, county fairs, flea markets and festivals without
>> a
>> state Department of Agriculture license. An individual residence could
>> make
>> up to $15,000 gross annually from such sales, which could help some
>> families
>> with good bakers and cooks make ends meet or spur the creation of
>> entrepreneurs.
>>
>> Matt
>>
>>
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