Action Alert February 1st, 2005

--Farmer Protection Act on the Move! Come out for a hearing!
--Call YOUR House Representatives and tell them to attend the hearing and sign on to the Farmer Protection Act!

The Farmer Protection Act passed out of the Senate Agriculture Committee last Wednesday on a unanimous Voice Vote. This week, the Senate Judiciary Committee and the House Agriculture and Judiciary Committees will be holding hearings on the bill. Joe Mendelson, legal director at the Center for Food Safety, will be testifying. He helped us to draft the legislation and has researched the bill and the issues associated with it at length. WE NEED YOU to come to the hearing and let the House know that this bill needs to pass! Also, you will be able to hear a breakdown of the bill, what it does, how it protects farmers, and why it works!

Here are the details:
Friday, February 4th
12:45 pm - meet in the Hallway on the first floor of the Statehouse, outside the coat room. We'll give you a brief update, if you want one.
1:00 pm - 2:30 pm - hearing in Room 11
Please WEAR RED to show your support for a TIME OUT on GMOs and the FARMER PROTECTION ACT. We'll also have stickers.
Dress for inside, and if you want to take notes, bring a pad and paper. This will be a hearing, and Joe will be testifying...we'll be listening.
If you can come, please RSVP to Linda (Rural Vermont's new Program Director) at ruralvt2@sover.net or cal 223-7222 for more information.

ACTION - WE NEED YOU TO CALL YOUR HOUSE REPS!!!:
Please call or email your HOUSE REPRESENTATIVE and encourage them to attend the hearing and to sign onto the Farmer Protection Act. If you will be attending, please let them know! You can call them at the statehouse at 802-828-2228. This is the number for the Sargeant at Arms. CALL ON TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, or THURSDAY! If you tell them the town you live in, they can figure out who your Representatives are, if you don't know. Be sure to leave your NAME and PHONE number, and ask for a CALL BACK. Otherwise, your reps may not get the message.

All of the Representatives will receive a packet of information telling them about the hearing and bill on Wednesday or Thursday, depending on when the Sargeant at Arms delivers them. You can tell your rep to watch for that packet as well.

COMING SOON:
Citizen Action Day! February 15th - Log onto www.ruralvermont.org for details.

If you have any questions about this email or want to unsubscribe from the Farm Policy Network Activist List, please contact amy@ruralvermont.org, or visit http://ruralvermont.org.

Amy Shollenberger, Policy Director, Rural Vermont