LOCAL Foods Act Expands Meat Inspection Exemptions, Allowing 'Partial Owners' to Use Agents for Processing

The new LOCAL Foods Act of 2025 is trying to make it easier for people who raise their own animals to get their meat processed without the heavy hand of federal inspection. If you’ve ever looked into having a steer or a few hogs processed for your freezer, you know the current rules are strict: you had to raise and slaughter the animal yourself, and the meat could only be for you, your household, or non-paying guests. This bill, specifically Section 2, loosens the reins on who qualifies for this federal inspection exemption under the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 USC 623(a)).

Who Gets to Skip the Federal Inspector?

Previously, the exemption was tightly focused on the individual owner. Now, the exemption is broadened in two key ways that impact community food efforts. First, you only need to be an “owner (even a partial owner)” of the animal. This is huge for small groups or families who pool resources to buy and raise an animal together. Second, you can now hire or designate an “agent” to handle the slaughtering, preparation, or transportation for you. This means you don't have to be the one operating the kill floor or hauling the carcass; you can pay a local processor or butcher to do the dirty work while still staying out of federal inspection territory. This is a clear win for flexibility for small-scale producers.

The Catch: You’re Still on the Hook

While the bill makes it easier to use agents, it doesn’t let the owner off the hook for accountability. If you use an agent, you, the owner, must “maintain custody” and ensure the carcasses or meat products are “specifically identified in a way the Secretary of Agriculture decides.” Think of it like this: if you drop off your half-share hog at the local butcher, that butcher can process it without federal inspection, but you need to make sure your meat is clearly tagged and tracked so it doesn't accidentally get mixed up with the meat destined for commercial sale. The bill leaves the exact identification method up to the Secretary of Agriculture, which means the USDA will be setting the specific rules later on. This vagueness could be a hassle if the identification requirements turn out to be overly complex or expensive for small operations.

The Real-World Trade-Off

For the small farmer or the community group, this means less red tape and more options for getting local meat processed. If you and two neighbors go in on a cow, you can now legally use an agent to process it for your three families. That’s a boost for local food systems and reducing regulatory costs. However, anytime you expand an exemption from federal inspection—which is the gold standard for public health oversight—you introduce a potential risk. Federal inspection ensures sanitation and tracking. By expanding the use of agents in non-inspected settings, the bill relies heavily on the owner (who might not be a food safety expert) to maintain control and tracking, especially when using third-party processors. This shift in responsibility means the general public relies more on the integrity of these small, exempted operations, which could increase complexity for the USDA trying to monitor compliance and prevent exempted meat from accidentally (or intentionally) entering the commercial supply chain.