ACTION ALERT January 9, 2006
--The full story on the House Vote on the Farmer Protection Act
--How YOU can help to make sure strict liability is in the final bill
--Upcoming events
THE FULL STORY ON THE HOUSE VOTE
This week saw the statehouse full of red t-shirts supporting Strict Liability in the
Farmer Protection Act! THANK YOU to the approximately 200 folks who showed up on
Tuesday to show their support, and the 30 or so who came back on Wednesday. The
legislators certainly noticed, and several commented that their votes were affected
by those who talked with them and turned out. THANK YOU also to the hundreds of
folks who couldn't make it on Tuesday, but who called their representatives and
wrote letters to the editor.
YOUR ACTIONS MADE A DIFFERENCE!!! Many legislators reported receiving more calls and
correspondence on this issue than on any other in their tenure in the statehouse. As
you'll see below, WE NEED YOU to keep up the great work, so we can keep strict
liability in the Farmer Protection Act and see this bill enacted before the end of
the legislative session. We have a lot of work to do, but if we all work together,
we can win!
As we reported last week, Tuesday started off with the sad news that Representative
Dexter Randall was not going to make it to the statehouse to offer his amendment. He
is now home and well, and ready to get back to work this week. Early on Tuesday
morning, Representative Tony Klein stepped up to the plate and offered to take
Representative Randall's place so that we could still have a vote on the bill. He
spent several hours being briefed and getting ready for the floor debate, and
meeting with Representative Betty Nuovo and Representative Duncan Kilmartin, as well
as Senator John Campbell, who all took time out of their busy morning to do what
needed to be done. Representatives Klein, Nuovo, and Kilmartin presented the
amendment to the House Judiciary Committee together in the morning. That committee
voted 8-3 NOT to support the amendment, largely because Representative Willem Jewett
spoke so strongly against strict liability in the committee. The three YES votes in
the House Judiciary Committee were Representatives Bob Kiss, Patti Komline, and Dick
Marek. Meanwhile, the House Agriculture Committee was also voting on the amendment,
and they voted 7-4 NOT to support the amendment. The four YES votes in that
committee were Representatives David Zuckerman, Mitzi Johnson, Steve Berlin (newly
appointed to the committee), and Scott Orr.
A bit later, Representative Klein had to step up again and present the amendment to
the Democratic Caucus and the Republican Caucus (because the Progressives were all
in support of the bill, they sat in on the other two caucuses). Again,
Representative Kilmartin helped out a lot in the Republican caucus, and again,
Representative Jewett spoke strongly against the amendment, calling it a "slippery
slope." Many others spoke in support of strict liability in the Democratic Caucus,
including Representatives Jim McCullough, Steve Green, and Ginny Milkey.
Throughout the day, there was much lobbying happening on both sides of the issues. A
group of about 30 farmers showed up wearing green hats and stickers that said "NO
strict liability" on their shirts. Unfortunately, many of these farmers believed
that the amendment called for a ban on GMOs. Also lobbying against the amendment
were several legisators, the Secretary of Agriculture (Steve Kerr), the Vermont Farm
Bureau, the Green Mountain Dairy Co-ops, and of course, Monsanto and Crop-Life
America. For strict liability were all of you, as well as the legislators mentioned
above, and especially Senator John Campbell, who spent a good deal of time on the
House side of the statehouse working hard to get votes for the amendment. Also on
our team were several other organizations, including VNRC, VPIRG, VBSR, NOFA, VCE, and VACV.
After the caucuses, Speaker Symington agreed to move the debate up on the bill so
that it could be voted on before the end of the day, and the floor debate began.
Because there had been so much discussion earlier in the day, the debate was shorter
than it might have been; however, once again, Representative Jewett led the charge
against the amendment. It was right down to the wire as the roll call went through,
and in the end, the amendment failed with a 68-79 vote. Although this is a temporary
setback, we are still in good shape going into the Conference Committee (which is
the next step). WE NEED YOU to stay involved, and TAKE ACTION as much as you can to
help us in this final push for strict liability. See below for how you can help!
This week, on Tuesday, the Senate will vote to form a Conference Committee, and then
it will be up to the Speaker (Gaye Symington) and the President Pro-Tem (Peter
Welch) to appoint conferees - three members from each body. There is no deadline for
appointing the committee, but we are hoping it will happen soon. As soon as these
conferees are appointed, we will update our outgoing voicemail message
(802-223-7222) and our website http://www.ruralvermont.org with "next steps" - but for
now, see below to help us this week!
HERE'S HOW YOU CAN HELP THIS WEEK
1) TELL YOUR REPS WHAT YOU THINK OF THEIR VOTE. You can a link to the vote list on our homepage http://www.ruralvermont.org . If your rep voted YES, send them a THANK YOU NOTE - please
*hand write* the note and mail it to your rep at: Rep. ____, Vermont Statehouse,
Montpelier, VT 05633. Please do not clog up our friends' emails with notes - they
will appreciate a handwritten note much more! It will go a long way to helping to
keep their support for the conference committee. The folks who voted YES were under
immense pressure to go against the amendment, so send them special kudos!
If your rep voted NO, CALL them and tell them you hope they will support strict
liability in the conference committee. Please call your representative at the
statehouse at 802-828-2228. Leave a message that says you would like a call back,
with your name and phone number.
It would also be great to write a *special* thank you to the following folks, who
really helped us out a great deal, either out in front, or behind the scenes. Again,
please send a *hand written* thank you note to the statehouse for these folks:
Senator John Campbell, Representatives Dexter Randall, Duncan Kilmartin, Betty
Nuovo, Tony Klein, Dick Marek, Bob Kiss, David Zuckerman, Floyd Nease, Caroyln
Partridge, and Bill Lippert. Even if these folks are not your representatives or
senator, send them a nice note - just pick one or two to write to and let them know
we appreciate all they did for us.
2) WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR. In order to keep this issue as a top priority, we
need to keep it in the media. Please write a letter to the editor this week and send
it to your local daily and weekly papers. You can find sample letters and contact
information for the papers here: http://www.ruralvermont.org/getinvolved.html
(scroll down the page).
3) VOLUNTEER FOR RURAL VERMONT. We have LOTS of work to do in the next several
weeks, and you can help! We need folks to make phone calls, help with mailings, do
data entry, help with newspaper clippings, and table at various locations around the
state. You can help from home, in our office, or by working in your community. If
you are interested in helping, contact Annelisa at 223-7222 or
ruralvt6@sover.net.
UPCOMING EVENTS...here are some things to do in the next few weeks...
Black Sheep Books presents:
Freedom and Education
A Discussion with Ron Miller
Tuesday, January 10 at 7:00 p.m.
at 4 Langdon Street, Montpelier, Vermont
Free! Everyone welcome!
Where does the education of young people fit into the larger movements for social
justice and cultural renewal? Different strategies and perspectives have been
offered by anarchists, critical theorists, and social democrats. Some believe that
the public schools provide a democratic forum where grassroots community change can
occur. Others reject public schools, or even schooling as such. Some see education
as an effective means for building political awareness, while others emphasize
individual freedom from all indoctrination. Some activists believe that education
can be a primary agent of social change, and others hold that no significant change
can occur in schools until the wider society is transformed. This discussion will
address these and related questions.
(802) 225-8906
http://www.blacksheepbooks.org
Healthcare Reform: Beyond the Slogans and the Soundbytes
Dr. Marvin Malek, a physician from Barre will address issues related to the crisis
in healthcare, as well as current proposals for healthcare reform in Vermont.
Everyone in the public who would like to learn about health reform is invited to
attend on Tuesday, January 10th from 7-9PM at the Montpelier Senior Center, 58 Barre
Street, Montpelier. Organizers with the Vermont Workers' Center - Jobs With Justice
will be on hand to talk about how folks can get involved with the movement towards
REAL healthcare reform and build grassroots pressure to make the healthcare crisis a
crisis for those at the Statehouse.
Direct Marketing Conference sponsored by NOFA-VT on January 14, 2006 at
the Vermont Law School in South Royalton, VT. The conference will run from
9-5 and includes workshops on farm financial planning, planning a
value-added product for your farm, developing successful farmers' market
boards, and strengthening your CSA. For more info, call NOFA-VT at 802-434-4122.
10th Annual Vermont Grazing Conference
Bringing It All Back Home: Connecting People, Animals, and the Land
with keynote speakers Brent and Regina Beidler - Randolph, VT Dairy Farmers
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Vermont Technical College, Randolph Center, VT
"Course Credit and scholarships available through UVM for Students"
A fantastic one day conference featuring workshops for beginning and experienced
livestock farmers, diversified and dairy farmers, and anyone interested in improving
their farm-based business, or supporting grass-based food systems! Contact Jennifer
Colby at (802) 656-0858 or jcolby@uvm.edu or UVM Center for Sustainable Agriculture
at (802) 656-5459 or
Conference coordinated by the: UVM Extension Center for Sustainable Agriculture,
Vermont Pasture Network, USDA-NRCS and the Vermont Grass Farmers' Association
NOFA/MASS will hold its 19th Annual Winter Conference & Annual Meeting at Bancroft
School in Worcester, MA on Saturday, January 21st, 2006. This one day event will
feature 30 workshops, a keynote speech with Brian Donahue, a potluck lunch, the
NOFA/Mass annual meeting, a children's program, a farmer's market, exhibits and a
raffle. For registration information, contact Dennis Cronin, Registration
Coordinator, at (508) 799-2278 or rabbitnet@juno.com or see
http://www.nofamass.org/conferences/2006/index.php
Vermont Healthcare Workers' Action Summit
SAVE THE DATE for the 4th Annual "Because We Care" Healthcare Workers' Conference
and Action Summit on Thursday, February 2nd from 9AM - 2PM at the Statehouse in
Montpelier. Register Today! Registration is FREE and open to the public. Please
register online at http://www.workerscenter.org/conference.
MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY EVENTS: Mon., Jan. 16
Rallies at Sen. Leahy's, Sen. Jeffords' and Bernie's offices: Montpelier and
Burlington.Readings of MLK speeches More info to come. Call: 229 -2340
Candlelight Vigil and Readings of MLK Speeches: 4:30 pm, Montpelier City Hall,
Montpelier. More info to come. Call: 229 -2340
VERMONT SAYS NO TO WAR MARCH AND RALLY1:Feb., 11; 10 am - 12 am; March to Bring the
Troops Home Now! Mark the Date on your Calendar! More info to come.
HUNGER AWARENESS DAY:Thurs., Feb. 23, State House, Montpelier. The VT Campaign to
End Childhood Hunger, the VT Foodbank and the VT School Nutrition association will
remind our legislators that VT can't afford to have 10 percent of its households
experiencing hunger. Exhibits in the cafeteria. Please plan to call or email your
legislator a few days ahead, and ask him or her to stop by and talk with us. Take
this opportunity to talk with your elected representatives about hunger in VT. Info:
dkeeney@vtnohunger.org
Cimarron Farm will host the following workshops this winter and spring:
Holistic Management:
Introduction to Holistic Management for Farmers: February 16
Holistic Management: Planned Grazing: March 11 and March18
Holistic Management: Financial Planning: March 25
Addressing Natural Resource Problems and Forming Effective Policy: April 13
Keyline Land Planning and Soil Building: February 24
Achieving an Agricultural Solution to Climate Change Within a Decade: February 18
Building the Green Windmill for Home and Farm Power: April 29
Grain-Free Dairying: February 4
Though these workshops are directly aimed at farmers and natural resource managers,
the topics covered are relevant and open to all. Workshops will be led by Abe
Collins, sharemilker at Cimarron Farm. Teddy Yandow and Abe Collins will both lead
the Grain-Free Dairying workshop. All workshops will be held at Cimarron Farm, in
St. Albans, Vermont. Pre-registration and deposit are required. Registration is
first-come, first-serve, and is generally limited to 20 people. Scholarships are
available for most workshops, and barter and Burlington Bread are accepted as
alternative payment. For further information and to register, please contact Abe
Collins at: 2935 Lower Newton Road Swanton, VT 05488 famfarm@sover.net (802)
527-2913
February 2006 League of Women Voters, Natural Resources Committee
B R O W N B A G L U N C H P R O G R A M
a voice for citizens, a force for change
PO Box 423, Hanover NH 03755
http://www.uppervalleyleague.org
voterinfo@uppervalleyleague
STEPS TOWARD SUSTAINABILITY: ACT NOW
February 2, 9 and 16 - 12 Noon to 2 pm
Murray Room, Howe Library, Hanover
Thursday, February 2 Towards Sustainability in the Upper Valley can we lead the way?
Speaker: Jim Merkel, Sustainability Coordinator, Dartmouth College; author, RADICAL simplicity. Small footprints on a finite Earth
Thursday, February 9 Our Climate, Ourselves - why we must act now. Speaker: Beth
Sawin, Program Director, Sustainability Institute(founded by Donella Meadows)
Thursday, February 16 An Eco Party: Waste Reduction and Energy Conservation- share
your knowledge and learn more. Speakers: Barbara Duncan, Executive Director, Vermont
Earth Institute, John Fay, Assistant Director, Greater Upper Valley Solid Waste
District
CO-SPONSORS:
LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF THE UPPER VALLEY
http://www.uppervalleyleague.org
boterinfo@uppervalleyleague.org
HANOVER CONSERVATION COUNCIL
http://www.hanoverconservationcouncil.org