TAKE ACTION TODAY!
Contact your Representative and Senator today, urge them to support LD 795 and let Maine people vote on the right to food.
About LD 795
LD 795, “Resolution, To Amend the Constitution of Maine to Establish a Right to Food,” proposes to send the following ballot question to Maine voters in November: “Do you favor amending the Constitution of Maine to declare that all individuals have a natural, inherent and unalienable right to grow, raise, harvest, produce and consume the food of their own choosing for their own nourishment, sustenance, bodily health and well-being?”
In order for this question on the right to food to appear on the ballot, LD 795 must receive a 2/3 majority vote from Maine’s House of Representatives and Senate. The House and Senate are expected to vote on on an amended version of LD 795 in early March.
LD 795, as amended, specifies that the right to food will not permit a person to commit trespassing, theft, poaching or other abuses of private property rights, public lands or natural resources in the harvesting, production or acquisition of food.
LD 795, as amended, makes clear that the right to food will not trump laws, rules, and regulations enforced by the Department of Agriculture on food meant for commerce.
LD 795 protects our right to food, including the right to save and exchange seed and our right to grow, raise, harvest, produce and consume the foods of our own choosing for our nourishment, sustenance, bodily health and well-being.
LD 795 secures our right as individuals to support our own health outside of the corporate industrial food system. In a state that imports 90% of our food from that industrial system, we are vulnerable to disruptions in that system if we can’t feed ourselves.
Maine’s Representatives and Senators need to hear from people who live and work in the towns they represent, calling for them to vote in support of LD 795.
With your help, we can reach lawmakers about the importance of letting Maine people vote on including the right to food in the State’s Declaration of Rights.
To maximize the effectiveness of communications with your Representative and Senator:
+ Keep messages simple, positive, and to the point.
+ Whether making a call, sending an email, a card, or sending FB message, make clear at the beginning of your message that you are asking for the Representative or Senator’s support of LD 795, to let Maine people vote on the right to food.
+ Briefly explain why you support letting Maine people vote on the right to food.
+ Send a personalized e-mail. Avoid sending mass emails.
+ Emails are helpful, but calls and mailed cards often have a greater impact.
+ Call between 9am and 6pm. State your name and town and include a call-back number.
+ Post a message on your Representative or Senator’s Facebook page asking for support of LD 795.
+ If you have time, personally contact your Representative and Senator in as many ways as possible. A combination of an email, phone call, FB message, and mailed card can amplify your message.
+ It is particularly important that Republican lawmakers hear from constituents in support of LD 795. Leave a message to be delivered to your Republican Representative’s desk by calling: (207) 287-1440 Leave a message to be delivered to your Republican Senator’s desk by calling: (207) 287-1505
+ If you have friends or family in the following towns, please pass on this message for them to contact their Representative and Senator as soon as possible. The following towns are represented by lawmakers who especially need to hear from constituents: Acton, Albany Township, Alexander, Alfred, Alna, Andover, Anson, Athens, Auburn, Augusta, Baldwin, Berwick, Bethel, Bingham, Brownfield, Buckfield, Bucksport, Byron, Canton, Carmel, Chesterville, China, Corinna, Cornish, Corinth, Cutler, Dixfield, Dixmont, Dyer Brook, East Machias, Eastport, Enfield, Etna, Exeter, Farmington, Fairfield, Fryeburg, Gilead, Glenburn, Greenwood, Hampden, Hanover, Hartford, Hebron, Hiram, Howland, Hudson, Island Falls, Jonesport, Kenduskeag, Kennebunk, Lebanon, Levant, Limerick, Lincoln, Lincoln Plt, Litchfield, Livermore, Livermore Falls, Lovell, Lubec, Ludlow, Lyman, Machias, Machiasport, Madison, Magalloway Plt, Mattamiscontis, Maxfield, Mexico, Milton Twp, Moose River, Moscow, Mount Vernon, Naples, Newburgh, Newfield, Newport, Newry, New Sharon, New Vineyard, Norridgewock, North Berwick, North Oxford UT, North Penobscot UT, Oakfield, Oakland, Orland, Parkman, Parsonsfield, Penobscot, Peru, Phillips, Pittston, Plymouth, Porter, Randolph, Roque Bluffs, Roxbury, Rumford, Sanford, Sebago, Shapleigh, Sidney, Smyrna, Solon, South Oxford UT, Standish, Starks, Stetson, Stockton Springs, Stoneham, Stow, Sumner, Sweden, Upton, Vassalboro, Waterboro, Waterford, Wells, West Paris, Whitefield, Whiting, Wiscasset, Woodville, Woodstock.
+ Find your Representative’s contact information here: https://legislature.maine.gov/house/house/MemberProfiles/ListAlphaTown
+ Find your Senator’s contact information here: http://legisweb1.mainelegislature.org/senate-home-page/find-your-state-senator
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