<p><strong>The Livestock Owned by Communities to Advance Local (LOCAL) Foods Act (S.1212) is a commonsense, bipartisan bill that protects and expands access to on-farm livestock processing. </strong></p>
<p>The bill updates the personal-use exemption in the Federal Meat Inspection Act to align with modern USDA standards and clarify that clarify that it’s legal for non-farmers to buy a share of live animals and then hire someone as their agent to do the processing on-farm. It will protect the rights of livestock owners, producers, and itinerant slaughterers, helping smaller-scale local meat economies thrive. The LOCAL Foods Act will preserve accessibility and affordability of locally produced meat and build stronger, locally-controlled food systems for generations to come.</p>
<p><strong>The bill didn't appear in the recent Senate Farm Bill, which was officially passed out of committee in September. </strong>Now the Farm Bill heads to the floor of the Senate, where we have an opportunity to get the LOCAL Foods Act included as an amendment. Tell your Senator: support on-farm processing in the Farm Bill. <strong>Include the LOCAL Foods Act (S.1212) and vote "yes" on a LOCAL Foods Act amendment!</strong></p>
<p>We know that on-farm livestock processing is a practical, humane, and cost-efficient practice that farmers and the communities they feed have relied on for generations – it's time the law reflected it.</p>
