“Right to food. All individuals have a natural, inherent and unalienable right to food, including the right to save and exchange seeds and the right to grow, raise, harvest, produce and consume the food of their own choosing for their own nourishment, sustenance, bodily health and well-being, as long as an individual does not commit trespassing, theft, poaching or other abuses of private property rights, public lands or natural resources in the harvesting, production or acquisition of food." 
-Maine State Constitution, Article I Declaration of Rights, Sect. 25. 

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On November 2nd, 2021, Maine became the first state to enshrine the right to food in its state constitution.  The right to food fosters communities regaining control of their food production, conservation, and distribution to become more sufficient, active participants in improving equitable use of land, natural resources, and food within states. For decades, Maine has led the way in community-led farming initiatives, resulting in an increase in the state’s number of farms, farm production and size, and farmers’ markets. Legislative changes have paved the way for a constitutional amendment since Home Rule was enshrined in Maine’s Constitution in 1969 -- an amendment which provides a new, forward-thinking framework for the realization of the right to food. 

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RESOLUTION, Proposing an Amendment to the Constitution of
Maine To Establish a Right to Food

 

Human Rights Clinic Supports Maine's First-in-the-Nation Right to Food Constitutional Amendment