A community that can feed itself is free.

Joel Salatin

from Holy Cows and Hog Heaven

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!

• 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

• 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.