Hi there,

This week, I've got a couple law initiatives to share with you, as well as an extensive cottage food research paper that has some surprising conclusions.

New Jersey Update

New Jersey, the lone state lacking a cottage food law, has not one, not two, but three different initiatives happening right now. There's 1) a lawsuit, 2) administrative rules from the health department, and 3) a legislative bill that's FINALLY moving forward in the Senate. All of these initiatives are still in the works, but things are looking very promising for New Jersey this year!

The PRIME Act

Food freedom laws are great, but they still don't allow anything with red meat, which is because red meat is regulated at the federal level by the USDA. The PRIME Act, a bill that's currently in Congress, would change that for small producers.

Wyoming & Maine will have better food freedom laws if this gets passed, and other states are considering food freedom laws too. You can help by reaching out to your congressman or congresswoman this week, and you can learn more here and here.

Cottage Food Research Paper

Rarely do major research papers focus on the cottage food industry, but a new one cropped up this month. This research paper is quite extensive, and it is not an easy read by any means (just check out that "greek to me" regression model in the middle!), but to summarize the key takeaway:

Critics of cottage food laws argue that increased competition from home cooks may cause existing small commercial food businesses, like local bakeries, to close their doors. But this research debunks that myth and suggests that the opposite is true: even with the passage of cottage food laws, the number of small commercial food businesses has actually increased.

It's not totally clear why this is the case, but at the very least, there is virtually no evidence that cottage food laws are shutting down existing local businesses.


Please let me know if you appreciate emails like this! I know this one was more technical, but I do think it's important to stay current on our industry.

I'll be back next week with a fun new podcast episode that I'm sure you'll love!

Until next week,
David