Asher Savel ’26 Digs into Maine's Trailblazing Food Sovereignty Law

"Brunswick is more agricultural than we think, but because it is wealthy and people here have a lot of food access, it wouldn't necessarily benefit from a food sovereignty ordinance," Savel said. "There are a lot of licensed farmers here already, and the act would increase their competition-allowing more small-scale producers to compete in the same area-and interfere with their market share."

Also, if something goes wrong-"if one step in the food process is unsafe"-it could harm the reputation of all farmers, licensed and unlicensed, he added.

Largely due to these considerations, some statewide agricultural organizations, incuding the Maine Federation of Farmers' Markets, have come out against food sovereignty laws. The federation has worked for decades to build a positive reputation for farmers and is concerned that unregulated vendors could damage public perception, Savel explained.

He points to several factors that appear to drive communities to adopt food sovereignty laws. "The towns that tend to pass these, or did so early on, were small, agricultural, close-knit communities that essentially didn't see a need for regulations and licensing because everyone knows each other," Savel said.

Towns with food sovereignty policies are also, by and large, rural and remote, lacking easy access to grocery stores or other places to buy nourishing food. Portland, on the other hand, has abundant access to nutritious food through its many groceries and a wide network of licensed growers and producers, many of whom sell at local markets. Plus, it has a system in place to feed hungry people, with long-established nonprofits like Preble Street lessening the city's need to tackle food insecurity by making it easier for people to sell food.

Savel credits growing up in San Antonio, Texas, for his interest in food systems, an appreciation that deepened during his semester abroad in Florence, Italy.

"The biggest reason to visit San Antonio is its food traditions," he said. "Food defines the culture there, it's what people talk about, and a lot of culture is built around recipes with chilis, corn, eggs, and beans."

In Italy, he was struck by how much local recipes are embedded in everyday life. "They have certified traditional recipes, passed down by families," he said. "It is a food system where it's all about taking the time to enjoy quality, local ingredients. I thought, 'Is this something we could build here to fight against the commodification of food that makes us one of the most obese and unhealthy countries in the world?'"

Overall, he sees value in Maine's rights-based approach to food sovereignty legislation and hopes his project will add to more widespread understanding of its effects. He plans to submit his findings to an academic journal after completing his honors thesis next semester.

My "study will find the necessary conditions for these laws to be successful in US communities," he writes in his grant application, and "offer insight into the broader potential of decentralized food governance across the US."