- An Alliance For Community Action
- (970) 256-7650
- info@WesternColoradoAlliance.org
Better Cottage Food Act, GMO labeling on horizon
Better Cottage Food Act, GMO labeling on horizon
by Rachel Zatterstrom, WCC Organizer
Building on our legislative success in 2012 and 2013, WCC members are launching a campaign to make the Colorado Cottage Foods Act bigger and better in 2015.
And, we need YOUR help! We will need you to write letters to the editor, call legislators, circulate petitions at your local farmers’ market, or join our campaign team to lead the effort in your local community.
The law, originally passed in 2012, gives small producers and home-based entrepreneurs the ability to make up to $5,000 for each eligible food item sold directly to consumers. Apples can now be baked into a value-added pie in a home kitchen, but the current law doesn’t go far enough.
We’re campaigning to expand the Cottage Foods Act to include acidified (pickles, relishes, salsa, hot sauce) and fermented (sauerkraut, kim chi) foods.
Farmers will benefit from additional opportunities to expand businesses and safely turn bountiful harvests into value-added products for direct sale to the growing number of consumers who want access to healthy, locally produced food.
Also, stay tuned for more information about a state ballot initiative for GMO labeling, and updates and action alerts for the next round of public comment on the proposed FDA Food Safety Rules, expected early this summer.
Contact Rachel Zatterstrom for more information and to get involved at rachel(at)westerncoloradoalliance.org or (970) 256-7650.
After working for our Alliance for 32 years, Brenda retired in 2018 and took a two-year hiatus before rejoining the fold as a board member. She is a treasure trove of little known facts about the organization after managing everything from the membership database to our communications. Her other interests include dabbling in a number of artforms, hiking, botany (her college major), t'ai chi and chi gung, and swing dancing. With roots in western Washington state, she has lived in Montrose with her husband Kevin since 1984.