Author Of Wyoming’s Food Freedom Act Says He Will Fix Law To Fight Overreach

Two recent controversial decisions by the Wyoming Department of Agriculture to ban small businesses from selling specific products have exposed cracks in the Wyoming Food Freedom Act that its author says need to be filled. Tyler Lindholm, the former legislator who wrote the 2015 law allowing producers to sell homemade or farm-raised food directly to consumers without state licensure, said he intends to revise the law to make it very clear what items can be sold and how.

In March, the Wyoming Department of Agriculture banned WY Fresh Farm near Cheyenne from selling some types of meat, saying the farm lacked a license. David Kniseley, who owns the farm, said they had reached an agreement with the agency in 2022 that they did not need a separate license under the Food Freedom Act. The incident exposes ambiguity in the law’s language around “designated agents,” Lindholm said, because the law does not clearly specify that a designated agent also applies to those selling meat. Because WY Fresh Farm was acting only as a seller, not a producer, of some meats, the WDA claimed it was selling meat illegally.

In April, the WDA required Hippie Cow Creamery in Cody to stop selling raw milk lattes, saying the creamery would have to pasteurize the milk and have it inspected. The creamery now pre-makes lattes and refrigerates them in individual bottles for customers to pour over ice. Lindholm said this incident shows the law must be clarified to address drinkable products from animals. “We need to clarify that you can add those products to other types of drinks,” he said.

“Let’s fix the law,” Lindholm said. “If there is ambiguity there, let’s fix it. There is no such thing as a perfect document.” He said Wyoming has boasted the best local food laws since 2015, but “there’s always something that crops up, some new way that some enforcement agency can find their way around our words and our laws. They’ve managed to find their way around our laws and intent.”

Knisely said WY Fresh Farm has worked hard to follow the law while navigating issues between the Legislature and Department of Agriculture. “The Wyoming Ag Department is afraid that if they allow us to sell meat freely, that the USDA will come in and take over the licensing and inspecting,” he said. He pointed to a 1942 Supreme Court decision as an opening for federal overreach. “Why shouldn’t a small farmstand in east Cheyenne provide an opportunity for small growers to sell vegetables?” he asked. “Why should it require so much hassle?”

Sadie Howard of Hippie Cow Creamery said the shutdown has hurt multiple families. “So much red tape hurts local people and businesses,” she said. “It hit a nerve in Wyoming. It’s a nerve that needs to be hit.”

A rally at the state Capitol on Saturday aimed to draw attention to the issues. “This is bigger than lattes and coffee,” Howard said. “This is about choice.” Kniseley said he filed an appeal with the state Board of Administrative Appeals. Meanwhile, some of his vendors now drive to Cheyenne to sit with their meat and sell it themselves. “That’s the laughability of it,” Kniseley said. “If he’s not here, then we can’t sell his beef. But if he’s here, we can sell it.”

Lindholm said he expects grassroots activism to be carried through the Legislature. “Buying local is as great a thing as you can do,” he said. Kniseley added, “This crosses the political divides in Wyoming. People across the board are saying, ‘Why shouldn’t I be able to make food choices?'” The Wyoming Department of Agriculture did not respond to a request for comment. All nine Cheyenne City Council members denied being the source of the complaint that triggered the investigation.