On the farm

Whenever a bureaucrat engages in regulatory overkill, the crackdown quickly becomes less important than the government’s response. Do officials defend the indefensible, or do they acknowledge a problem and take steps to fix it?

Thankfully, officials appear to agree that October’s absurd action against an Overton farm, in which a Southern Nevada Health District inspector ordered the destruction of home-grown food, shouldn’t be repeated and can be prevented.

But it’s exasperating such matters have to reach this point in the first place.

Laura Bledsoe’s story became a bit of an Internet sensation. Her Quail Hollow Farm advertised a “farm-to-fork” dinner for area locavores — folks who prefer to eat food raised, grown and prepared locally whenever they can. Health district inspector Mary Oaks arrived on the farm without a warrant and declared that because any member of the public could pay to enjoy the farm’s meat and produce, the food was subject to inspection.

And because Ms. Oaks hadn’t witnessed the preparation and couldn’t vouch for its safety — even though it was the kind of food Ms. Bledsoe’s guests were seeking — she ordered the food contaminated with bleach. Ms. Bledsoe initially complied, but after getting legal advice over the phone, she stopped and told Ms. Oaks to leave.

Ms. Oaks returned with Las Vegas police and, from across the farm’s property line, yelled at officers to “Cite them! Cite them!” according to Ms. Bledsoe. The officers, armed with common sense, responded “For what?” and left the scene. The dinner went on that night, giving birth to a case study on the importance of personal freedom and the lengths some public employees will go to exert their authority.

Ms. Bledsoe retained the services of the Institute for Justice, a nonprofit law firm that fights to curtail government regulations that limit economic liberty. Although the institute has won many cases through litigation, its attorneys felt Ms. Bledsoe’s situation was best resolved by lawmakers. They’d like the Legislature to create a statutory exemption from safety standards for food raised and served on a farm.

On Tuesday, they provided an update to the Legislative Interim Committee on Health Care, and will further refine their proposal for presentation next month. Institute for Justice attorney Jeff Rowes says lawmakers and health district officials have been receptive to the reform.

Ms. Bledsoe observes that this issue is not really about food safety. After all, if someone gets sick after eating vegetables bought at a supermarket, tracing the contamination requires an exhaustive investigation. If someone becomes ill after a farm-to-fork dinner, they’ll quickly know the source. Besides, if Ms. Bledsoe serves food for free, or restricts her dinners to a club of pre-paid supporters, the health district has no right to inspect.

No, this is a turf war started by a scorned bureaucrat.

Are food-safety regulations necessary? Of course. Large-scale food production and distribution can create public health issues. But as with health care and education, citizens should be free to opt out of these large networks and the government’s control of them.

The Legislature should pass this farm exemption next year so last year’s Overton overreach is never repeated.