Farmers Bill of Rights Kicks Off in Paso Robles
Our first Farmers Bill of Rights round-table meeting launched like a Roman Candle at the El Paso de Robles Grange on April 26.
About twenty-five people attended, including farmers, ranchers, consumers, educators, farmers market managers and more. My great appreciation goes to our friends Rohana Mayer and Master Lester Rougeot for making this happen.
The discussion had all the passion, vibrance and color of a Jackson Pollock painting, and in the brief two hours ricocheted off the walls in all directions; regulatory challenges, feed lot vs. free range livestock, market “cheaters”, imported vs. California grown, water, GMOs, backyard chickens, USDA inspectors, pesticides, small ag vs. big ag, education, and much more. Too much to detail in this report.
There was great interest and everyone present wanted to be included in our ongoing efforts. The next Farmers Bill of Rights round-table discussion will be held at the Jacinto Grange at 7:00pm on June 14.
These round-tables will evolve into a Grange sponsored Farmers Bill of Rights, a declaration of our support for California agriculture to be unveiled this Fall.