Federal Anti-Hoarding Law

Stockpiling food when there is no current or forecasted emergency is not illegal. When there is plenty of food to go around, you are free to stockpile it. During a time of crisis, scarcity, or government emergency declaration, food may be in short supply. Hoarding during this time can be deemed illegal.

Federal anti-hoarding laws have nothing to do with regulating people who display compulsive junk-collecting habits. Within the United States, these laws take effect under martial law so as to ensure citizens may access food in the occurrence of a catastrophic event.

History:

In 1994, former President Bill Clinton released an executive order that lumped together a number of laws that could go into effect in the event of a declaration of martial law. One of the laws included in this order, number 10998, allows the federal government to sieze hoarded food supplies from both public and private sources.

Considerations:

Some people may feel the federal government does not have the right to confiscate stored food in the event of a national emergency where access to food is limited. They believe the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution -- which prohibits unreasonable search and seizure -- protects their privacy and should be upheld to protect their food supplies even if other people do not have access to food in a disaster.

Debates:

Federal anti-hoarding laws may not be as controversial an issue as abortion or gay marriage, but it has bee known to strike a nerve. People who store food and supplies to sustain themselves for extended periods of time in case of a serious emergency or disaster don't want to give these provisions away. They take serious issues with executive orders that, in essence, force them to give away the stores they took so much time and effort to create. On the other hand, others feel if food supplies were cut off in a cataclysmic event, those who could not otherwise stockpile food and supplies would be unjustly left to die.

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