GOP Senators Want to Allow Direct Sales of State-Inspected Meat and Poultry on the Web

By Dan Flynn

State-inspected meat and poultry sold on the internet could soon be crossing state lines, as the federal government embraces “direct to consumer” sales.

Direct-to-consumer sales are favored by the nascent “Food Freedom”  movement for reducing food safety concerns. Many state and local statutes use the technique in scaling back food safety regulations for raw milk and various homemade products.

Such a tactic hasn’t come up on the federal level until now.

U.S. Senators Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-MS, Roger Marshall, R-KS, and Tommy Tuberville R-AL, are sponsoring legislation to allow online direct-to-consumer meat and poultry sales for producers, processors and small meat markets.

The bill would amend the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) and the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA) to allow for the interstate sale of certain state-inspected meat and poultry products, while claiming to “preserve food safety standards.”

“As we look at markets now and into the future, we should explore every opportunity to help family farms and ranches succeed.” Sen. Hyde-Smith said. “The DIRECT Act does just that. It would give meat and poultry producers a safe, straightforward way to sell to consumers directly by making federal regulations work for them, not against them.” 

“The last thing our livestock producers need is more red tape,” said Sen. Marshall.  “Like many states, Kansas has strong meat inspection standards that already meet federal requirements. By creating a simple exemption, the DIRECT Act uplifts our ranchers by empowering them to sell their high-quality beef in innovative ways and across state lines.”