Missouri Urban Farming Bill

Some legislation is moving in another Midwest state: Missouri. State Rep. Jason Holsman of Kansas City introduced HB 1848 which had the original intent of creating an Urban Farm Task Force. The Senate made some modifications to the bill, replacing the task force with a joint interim committee of five state senators and five state representatives to consider these aspect of urban agriculture:

(1) Trends in urban farming, including vertical farming, urban farm cooperatives, and sustainable living communities;
(2) Existing services, resources, and capacity for such urban farming;
(3) The impact on communities and populations affected; and
(4) Any needed state legislation, policies, or regulations.

The joint committee will be assisted by the "Urban Farming Advisory Subcommittee" which appears very similar to the original task force proposed in the original version of the bill. Significantly, the bill also includes the coordination of at least three public meetings that gather public input.

The Senate passed the Urban Farming Bill unanimously with these modifications, sending it back to the House for approval. According to Missives From Missouri, Rep. Holsman will support the modified bill, making final passage very likely.

Also from the Missives article, note how an urban farming initiative like this has earned such broad support:

The bill has received support not only from proponents of urban farming, but from large scale commodity farmers, including several members of the General Assembly who are farmers by trade. Expanding agriculture to the urban areas potentially opens up farming as a possible career choice to thousands of Missourians who would otherwise not have been exposed to the science. Supporters believe that many residents who came from farming backgrounds may return to the fields if exposed to agriculture within the cities. "Farming has been a way of life in Missouri for generations," said Senator Jolie Justus (D-Kansas City), the bill's handler in the Senate, "From life sciences, to conservation, to emerging urban agriculture issues; this study celebrates our true Missouri heritage."

That's right, not only do the commodity producers rightly do not feel threatened by this bill, but they support it.

(Just over in Cleveland, they are trying this experiment in urban agriculture: an abandoned mall as greenhouse. Any thoughts on that, Mel Simon?)

Surely, Indiana is ready for some action on the food economy at the state level. Missouri's HB 1848, Illinois's HB 3990, and Georgia's (proposed) HB 842 do not even require any spending. How we eat is at the intersection of our economy, our health, our environment. It's worth at least setting up a few committees to examine ways to improve business-as-usual.