Hands off backyard and small-scale egg producers!

Backyard chooks – making a big comeback!

Proposed state government legislation limiting the sale of eggs by small-scale producers has the potential to favour big poultry business and disadvantage smaller producers.

It could also adversely affect community organisations who sell or make use of home-grown eggs to prepare foods for fund raising.

 

[quote author=”Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance spokesperson, Michael Croft” image=”https://afsa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Michael-Croft_original.jpg” w=”” h=”” image_align=””]The Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance (AFSA) joins Tasmanian orchardist, Matthew Tack, who has started an online petition calling on the Tasmanian government to exempt small volume poultry producers, and joins the growing community opposition to the proposed legislation that would place unwanted limits on the distribution of locally produced eggs through farmers markets, roadside farm stalls and other local retailers[/quote]

The legislation would make illegal trading in eggs not stamped according to the Australian and New Zealand Standards Code. It would also prohibit the informal selling of small numbers of eggs produced by backyard poultry flocks. Producers and people selling a few eggs from their backyard chooks will have to obtain a license, lodge a food safety plan and pay to have that plan audited at $244 per hour, minimum two hours auditing fee regardless of how many birds they have. Egg stamping machines start at $4000. Hand stamping each egg individually involves a prohibitive labour cost.

[button_link url=”https://afsa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/MR-AFSA-Small-scale-egg-producers-14.11.13-2.pdf” target=”blank” style=”” title=”” class=”” id=”” onclick=””]Download media release as pdf [/button_link]