The
Chicken Event Update June 16, 2006
Click here for information
on the Chicken Event.
Article in the Montpelier Times Argus on the Chicken
Event
Updated: 11:00am, June 16, 2006
An injunction was issued to American Flatbread to stop
them from serving the chicken tonight. George Schenk has
been working with the state throughout this event and
has negotiated a win-win solution. The event will go on
tonight (movies, speaker and George will speak also),
but the chicken will not be served. The Assistant
Secretary of Agriculture will be at the event. The
Health Department and the Ag Department have agreed to
work on this issue within a set requirements requested
by George. Namely, he has requested that the group who
works on this have representatives for small family
farms and that recommendations be evaluated in terms of
how practical, feasible, and cost-effective the
solutions are to the farmer. That has never been
considered in the past.
Attend the Event!
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5:30 to 9:30pm, Friday, June 16th
-
Movies at 5:30 (Sweet Soil), 6:00 (Fed Up!), and
9:00pm (Sweet Soil)
-
Doug Flack and George Schenk speak at 7:30
Now, more than ever, it is important that people come
out for the event. Some may think because the chicken
will not be served, the event has not been successful.
That could not be farther from the truth. Our
objective was to start of discussion that leads to
positive change in support of small local farmers and
the businesses and people who want to use their
products. That objective has been achieved.
Nothing more than that could be achieved by defying the
court injunction; for example, the state wasn't going to
turn around tonight and say, "Oh, we see your point.
Our mistake. Go ahead and serve the chicken."
Your attendance tonight will reinforce that the citizens
of the state are serious about this issue and that they
weren't just going because they wanted to see George hauled off to jail and
his business destroyed. This problem, and other similar
problems are not going to be solved if it is left up to
the small family farmers to defend themselves without
any support from the people who benefit from their
products. We need to hold the State of Vermont
accountable for improving the situation for small
poultry farmers, as they have agreed with George that
they will do. The best way to hold the state accountable
is to show up tonight and let them see by our numbers
that we are serious about making a change.
Stay on Top of This Issue
People with no prior knowledge of USDA or VTDA
regulations relating to the slaughter and processing of
chicken are now talking about it. People are
debating over what the regulations say and what they
should say. People are learning exactly what the
small farmers have always known. Now we have to
stick with it and keep up the talk and action. We
can't control what the media says about this event but
we can tell you exactly what we know about progress
being made on this website. So, login often and
check out the updates we provide. And remember,
poultry is just one issue facing small family farms.
As George Schenk put it in his
Local Food Logic White
Paper:
By getting more money into local farmers pockets we will
make local farming more viable. And while we’re at it…
-
Give ‘em a wave and smile and say thanks
-
Don’t quibble about the price – good local food is
always worth it
-
Advocate for public institutions to buy Vermont food
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Ask your favorite markets and restaurants to carry more
local foods
-
Join a CSA. Take seriously the farmers markets and farm
stands.
And finally, ask your elected officials to review
policies and regulations that do not protect organic
farmers from G.M.O. pollen drift and that restrict or
prohibit farmer’s rights to sell directly to the public.
To this last point there are many regulations that
restrict Farm-Gate (farmer to public) sales. Most of
these regulations revolve around animal products (raw
milk and meat) and are couched in the language of public
health and safety. Upon closer inspection however these
concerns are antiquated, not scientifically based and
inconsistent. The rules are slanted against small
farmers and they are more properly understood as
crutches for the industrial food model. |
