Lobbyists for the industrial food corporations are stalking the halls of our State House just as they have been in the halls of Congress. They are asking our Senate to give special treatment to their clients by attaching an amendment to the "must-pass" annual budget bill that would threaten VT's historic law giving us all the right to know if food sold in Vermont has been genetically engineered. Vermont's law is scheduled to go into effect in less than three months on July 1, 2016.
Call the State House right away at 802-828-2228
and leave a message for your Senators -
Tell them:
As you know, the Grocery Manufacturers Association and other corporate food giants are suing Vermont to stop our GMO Right to Know law from taking effect on July 1st. They are also trying to get Congress to block our law by passing yet another version of the D.A.R.K. Act. Now, proposals by lobbyists for those same food manufacturers are being pushed in the VT State House that would add more exemptions and make Act 120 harder to enforce.
Great news! Yesterday, the Senate passed H.860 by a unanimous voice vote. Thanks to your calls and emails, and the testimony of dozens of farmers, Senators heard the message loud and clear: on-farm slaughter is a key part of Vermont's agricultural heritage and local food economy; not just for farmers, but for family-owned meat processors, itinerant slaughterers, and for Vermont eaters.
The Senate vote is a crucial step toward preventing the scheduled repeal of the law on July 1, and preserving the legal right of farmers to sell animals for on-farm slaughter. While neither the existing law nor the Senate bill are perfect, without passage of H.860 Vermont's farmers will lose any legal means to feed their communities through this generations-old traditional practice.
H.860 now heads back to the House Agriculture Committee, which will review the changes made by the Senate. Based on our conversations with the House Ag Committee members we are hopeful they will approve final passage of the bill.
Click here for more details about on-farm slaughter and the specifics of the Senate-passed version of H.860.
Be on the lookout for updates and alerts in the coming days, as we may need your help again to avoid any last minute threats to the bill! Questions? Contact Andrew.
DON'T MISS OUR FINAL
SMALL FARM ACTION DAY:
PLEASE NOTE NEW DATE:
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27TH
Talk to your legislators about issues affecting you! GMO Labeling, On-Farm Slaughter, Water Quality & RAPs
SPECIAL FEATURE: "Eat Like A Farmer" Tasting 12-1PM
>>> PLEASE NOTE THE NEW DATE: APRIL 27! We made the decision to change the date from Tuesday April 26th to Wednesday April 27th to avoid competing with an annual State House event which has been scheduled for the 26th. Moving Small Farm Action Day to the 27th will allow everyone to have more opportunities to meet in person with their legislators and have a larger collective impact on the issues of top concern this session: preventing the repeal of the on-farm slaughter law and getting an extension of the implementation date of the Required Agricultural Practices (RAPs).
NEW THIS TIME: 'EAT LIKE A FARMER' TASTING EVENT! During the lunch hour, we'll invite legislators to join Small Farm Action Day attendees for a meet & greet with tasty samples of food provided by farmers.
For those of you who have been to the State House before, you know how frustrating it can be to track down your elected officials! This time, we'll lure them to us - with farm fresh food!Legislators get to "eat like a farmer" and farmers get to talk about the issues of greatest concern to them. Want to contribute food for the meet & greet? Call the Rural Vermont office 223-7222 or
Email Shelby
If you have questions or want to learn more, please
contact Andrew . If you'd like to contribute food for the "Eat Like a Farmer" meet & greet, please
contact Shelby.
