WHEREAS,  according to the Declaration of Independence, all people "are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness"; and

WHEREAS,  food is human sustenance and is the fundamental prerequisite to life; and

WHEREAS,  the basis of human sustenance rests on the ability of all people to save seed and grow, process, consume and exchange food and farm products; and

WHEREAS,  it is our obligation as elected representatives of the people of Maine to protect the fundamental freedoms as enshrined by the Constitution of Maine and the United States Constitution and to protect agricultural, ecological and economic diversity and sustainability for a free and healthy society; now, therefore, be it