The relentless expansion of government control is turning what should be the simple act of living off-grid into a battle for basic freedoms. Building your own home, growing food, or raising livestock has become a bureaucratic nightmare, buried under a mountain of unnecessary regulations. These so-called “health and safety” laws are often a thin veil for overreach, systematically chipping away at personal autonomy. It’s not about balance anymore—it’s about reclaiming the right to use your own land as you see fit. The time to stand up for real independence is now, before it’s lost altogether.
Overregulating, overreaching local governments and laws regarding personal property and what we’re allowed to do on or with it are infringing on our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. As property owners overly restrictive law is a problem that is hindering our freedoms. It’s a big problem in moving off grid and living self sufficiently. Everywhere you turn you run into regulations and overly restrictive laws and regulations that infringe on our rights to autonomy and freedom and our pursuit of happiness.
If you buy land, you need permission to build, permission to grow food, permission to raise livestock, permission to camp on your own land, permission to do just about anything, it’s almost as if we need permission to sh*t, shower and shave too. Not only that you must pay property tax forever, so you basically never really own the land you buy when the government can just come in and take it from you. (but that’s a whole other discussion) You’re always being restricted by unnecessarily overly restrictive and infringing, prohibitive regulations, paying rent to someone or paying for permits and licenses just to use your own land. Land you own. Supposedly. Where’s the “freedom” in that?
It’s the system we live in and it’s part of why we all want to move off the grid. Even off grid there will always be some regulation that will infringe on our rights as property owners. Most of those regulations are there for legitimate health and safety reasons, but the problem is when overreaching “health and safety” laws are abused to shut down people’s farms and ranches and homesteads.
People have had their homes torn down, gardens ripped up, food and veggies, crops destroyed and livestock seized and euthanized all in the name of “health and safety”.
I’m not saying we shouldn’t have “health and safety”. Smartly written and common sense laws are fine and have a legitimate purpose. But that “health and safety” legislation should come with a common sense manual and every case should be handled on a case-by-case basis by public officials knowledgeable about the areas in which they are governing and making law. Certain outdated an overly restrictive (overreaching law) should never be enforced.
Let people raise their own chickens and livestock and build their own cabins, homes and sheds and barns and let them grow their own food, produce their own energy, and be self sufficient. Let folks be. As long as they’re not hurting anyone leave them alone.
People have the right to take that risk and make informed decisions for themselves. Whether other people feel it’s “wrong” or not doesn’t matter. Everyone has the right to choose what they do and what they eat or drink. Even if it’s unhealthy. No one has the right to oppress another or use “health and safety” as a weapon to oppress people’s freedoms.
If people want to build their own cabin, grow their own food, produce their own power and water, consume eggs, meat, milk and other food direct from farmers, or raise it themselves, let them…have them sign a liability waiver and move on.
We should all have that choice. We do all have that choice, and government, whether local, state or federal, doesn’t have the right to infringe on our basic human rights, regardless of the law they write.
(NOTE: I’m not condoning or saying anyone should break the law. There is a right way and a wrong way to go about it. Take part in your local communities. Vote. Go to city/town council meetings and townhalls. Petition your county for waivers and legislation that loosens restrictions on building codes, zoning and planning and land use. Talk to your local county commissioner and zoning and planning office officials. Maybe they just don’t understand. Maybe they’re ignorant of the off grid way of life. Maybe they just don’t know but they do really care about folks. Maybe they’re genuinely trying to help but they just don’t have enough information to make informed decisions about legislation. Or maybe they’re corrupt. There is that possibility too. We have to give them the benefit of the doubt until they prove they’re not trustworthy right?)
If farmers and ranchers and artisan food producers want to sell meat produce and dairy products directly to the public let them. Waivers are a great legal mechanism to control liability. Give them a wavier.
The same goes for folks that want to grow their own food, build their own cabins, and raise their own livestock. If they want to do those things, let them. Let them sell their livestock and veggies and fruits and jams and jellies and baked goods from their own property. (I mention this because it’s just one of the many things that is highly regulated, and arguably over regulated to the point it’s causing undue harm and stress, costs and more importantly it’s infringing on our basic human rights to autonomy and freedom.
All too often government steps in and tramples our freedoms by seizing property, taking our belongings and destroying our crops and livestock using “health and safety” reasons as the excuse. These laws are being abused and corrupted and it’s harming people and infringing on our rights as citizens and human beings.
It’s insane that the government can come in and just destroy everything you worked so hard to build for vague and overreaching overly restrictive laws that infringe on people’s property and personal rights to make their own decisions. If the people sign a waiver it absolves the farmer and the government of any liability and it preserves freedom of choice and voice. (and we shouldn’t even have to sign a waiver, but I think it might be a good common ground to agree on)
It preserves our property rights and right to have agency over ourselves. We have a right to that freedom of agency, it’s inalienable. We have a right to use our property as we see fit as long as we’re not hurting anyone.
In today’s world, owning land doesn’t come with the freedoms we might think it does.
Did you know that in some places it’s illegal to camp on your own land while you build your home or cabin? Did you know that in other places it’s illegal for landowners to have a backyard garden? I’m not even talking about raising chickens or livestock either. Just a garden can be illegal depending on where you’re located. Some laws make sense…other laws are absolutely stupid and overly restrictive.
(NOTE: Again…I’m not saying anyone should break the law if they disagree with it. That’s the wrong way to go about things. I’m saying that if you want the law changed you need to make it known we want those laws changes and updated for the modern society we live in today by voting and by taking part in the local community. Talk to your county and city officials. Make your voices heard. The louder you are, the more professional you are and the more of you there are the more they will listen and the more influence you will have in getting the law updated in the next session. Don’t break the law. That would be bad. Use the law to your advantage. Petition the government at your local and state level and get other folks in your community involved. The first place to start is to familiarize yourself with the law by reading your local county and city zoning and planning and land use regulations. Most counties have the regulations published on their official county and city websites (if they have a website). Contact your local county commissioner, city council and take part in townhall and city council meetings. Vote. Petition your local county and file your grievances, that is after all, your constitutional right.)
Sure, we buy a piece of property, sign the papers, and on the surface, it feels like ours. But the reality is that the moment we want to do anything with that land—whether it’s building a home, growing food, or becoming more self-sufficient—there’s a bureaucratic wall of regulations, permits, and approvals we have to climb. It’s a system that feels less like ownership and more like permission-granted living, where we’re constantly paying fees, applying for permits, and justifying every choice we make about our own property.
One of the biggest frustrations property owners face is the endless list of permits and licenses required just to use their land. Want to build a barn or shed? Get permission. Want to raise chickens or goats? You might need approval. Even basic things like installing a septic tank or collecting rainwater can come with a laundry list of restrictions. And here’s the kicker: all of this comes with property taxes, meaning you’re perpetually paying for the right to use what’s supposed to be your own land.
This is the heart of the issue. Even though we’re supposed to “own” the land, we’re still beholden to regulations that often feel excessive or unnecessary. This level of control, under the guise of “health and safety,” can turn what should be personal choices into bureaucratic nightmares. While we all agree that health and safety are important—after all, nobody wants to live next to a hazardous site—there’s a balance that’s sorely lacking in many of these regulations.
What makes these laws so frustrating is the way they’re often applied without common sense. For example, people have had their homes and gardens destroyed, livestock taken, and crops destroyed all in the name of “health and safety” or other overreaching abused laws. Yet, in many cases, the risk posed to others is minimal, and the solution is simple: allow the person to take responsibility for their own choices. If someone wants to raise chickens or livestock or drink raw milk or buy meat directly from a farmer, let them sign a waiver acknowledging the risks. Why should the government intervene in such personal decisions, especially when those risks are well-known and voluntarily assumed by informed people making their own choices?
This heavy-handed approach doesn’t just infringe on personal property rights—it strips away our fundamental freedom to make choices for ourselves. And that’s the real issue here. When we talk about freedom, it’s not just about big-picture concepts like free speech or the right to vote. It’s about the day-to-day decisions we make about how we live, what we eat, and how we use the land we own.
The same principle applies to raising livestock or growing food on your own land. Many small farmers and homesteaders are being shut down due to overreaching laws that, while originally intended to ensure health and safety, are now being used as a tool to overregulate and micromanage. If someone wants to sell their homegrown vegetables, eggs, or meat, a waiver should be enough to cover any liability concerns. Let the people buying those goods take responsibility for their own choices.
At the heart of this conversation is a fundamental belief: people have the right to live as they see fit, especially when it comes to their own property and personal decisions. As long as someone isn’t hurting anyone else, why should the government step in? If a family wants to be self-sufficient, growing their own food, raising livestock, building their own shelter, and generating their own energy, they should have that right. It’s about autonomy, responsibility, and above all, freedom.
Moving off the grid, for many, is about escaping these endless regulations. It’s about reclaiming the ability to live life more freely, with fewer restrictions and more personal responsibility. But even in off-grid living, people often find themselves facing government overreach. Whether it’s being told how they can use water on their own property, or being restricted from generating their own energy, there’s always some regulation lurking, ready to limit their freedoms.
And here’s the thing: these regulations, in many cases, are not inherently bad. Health and safety matter. Nobody wants contaminated water or unsafe structures falling apart. But the problem arises when those regulations overstep their original intent and become tools to micromanage people’s lives. We need laws that are sensible, applied on a case-by-case basis, and that respect individuals’ rights to make their own choices—especially when it comes to how they live on their own land.
We all understand that there’s a place for regulations, but they should come with a manual for common sense. People know the risks involved in living a self-sufficient lifestyle. And they should have the freedom to decide for themselves how they want to manage those risks. Infringing on those rights in the name of “safety” undermines the very essence of freedom.
At the end of the day, it all comes back to choice. Freedom is about being able to make decisions about how we live, what we eat, and how we use our own property. It’s about having the space to build a life that aligns with our values and priorities without unnecessary interference. Off-grid living, for many, represents that freedom—the freedom to live more simply, more sustainably, and more independently.
And that’s why this issue resonates so deeply with so many people. It’s not just about land rights or government regulations. It’s about the broader question of how much control we truly have over our own lives.
Shouldn’t we be the ones to decide how to live on the land we worked hard to own?
Shouldn’t we have the freedom to make our own choices, as long as we’re not harming others?
We have a right to pursue happiness, and any law that infringes on that right should be changed or loosened to allow for more freedom, not less.
If the risks are clearly stated and an individual makes their own decisions about these things we preserve and protect our freedoms. And that’s what this is all about!
Freedom to live how we want. Freedom to eat and drink what we want. Freedom to build and live in a dwelling we choose. Freedom to use our land how we want.
Freedom is about choice.
Off grid living is about making your own way, and it’s about living life more free.
