http://www.change.org/petitions/save-a-university-farm-from-development

 created a change.org petition that will go to each and every city counsel member, every single member of the Board of Regents, the Chancellor, our state legislative reps, as well as our congressional members as well. 

How this works is each and every time someone signs the petition it goes to all of these people's email -the unique part of this is this can become a national response to protect farmland - take it and run with it -send it to everyone you know this is a state concern but more important this can be David against Goliath and many people in the food movement will identify including those that are against developing open space.

We need to reach out to our 4-h clubs, FFA groups, we need to send it to all county USDA offices - if you want to ensure that you remain the caretakers of our local foodshed and the future of ag education for our sons and daughters - get out there and pass this along. 

Please think horizontal in terms of your contact lists - bookclubs, dinnerclubs, your gym, daycare friends - serious this is not about who you think might be interested but instead a way to get everyone to become interested. Don't be afraid to ask as it is vital we get as many signatures as possible -

 Remember Big Ol Bank of America well this self same styled petition caused them to withdraw there 5.00 fee and yes, I am sure they will backdoor it somewhere else but the point is  IT WORKED! 

I have friends in agriculture from Idaho to Arizona and I am going to reach to them all. I know you are a diverse group - let's make it happen!

CSA INFORMATION

A CSA, (Community Supported Agriculture) is a way for members of the community to create a relationship with a local farmer and to receive a weekly basket of produce. By making a financial commitment to a farmer, people become "subscribers" or “shareholders” of the CSA. The majority of CSA farmers have members pay for the season up-front. Some CSAs (not this one!) also require that members work a small number of hours on the farm during the growing season.

A CSA season typically runs through the primary growing season, from late spring through early fall. CSAs have their roots in Europe and the UK and have grown by leaps and bounds in this country in the last five years.

In addition to all the bounty, a weekly basket often includes a newsletter with farm news, and recipes for some of the seasonal produce in your basket.

How is the CSA good for farmers?

Most of farmers’ costs occur during the off season when there is little cash flow and a good deal of expenses for things like seeds, fertilizers, part-time help, boxes, permits, insurance, and other market needs. Many farmers are forced to take out loans or run up credit card debt in order to pay for these. Getting their money up front allows farmers to lower their overall costs and earn money free and clear during the season.

How is the CSA good for customers?

Customers end up paying much less for produce they’d buy at the supermarket or, at times, even the farmers market. You’ll also get the cream of the crop each week and CSA members have first dibs on things like asparagus, sugar snap peas, and the first heirloom tomatoes.

Joining a CSA will help you stick to your health goals by establishing a habit of buying a basket of local, sustainably raised fruits and vegetables to have on hand all the time.

Customers can feel good about establishing a relationship and supporting local farmers. You’ll also be helping to protect farmland by keeping it in production while at the same time enjoying the healthiest and most delicious food available. (I imagine you will also save gas by not running to the supermarket twice a week).

Also, the food you get in your basket will be picked the day before or the same day you receive it. So there’s no way to really compare it to what you would buy at the supermarket.

Most CSA subscriptions extend from May through September or October. The price range for various shares are from around $200. to $600. for larger shares. For more information, please contact the participating farms below. To find CSA farmers in your area you can go to www.localharvest.org,

 Rise and Shine Farms

Sign up for the 2012CSA 

In becoming a member of the Rise and Shine Farms CSA, I understand that I am making a financial commitment for the 2012 season. I recognize that due to the inherent risks of farming, there are no guarantees on the exact amount of produce I will receive and the duration of the harvest, but I am willing to share the risks and reap the benefits along with the farmers. I understand that no refunds for CSA shares will be granted during the season.

It is my responsibility to pick up my share
at my pick up site during the designated time period, or to send someone in my absence.

If on a delivery route I understand it is my responsibility to make arrangements for the safe delivery of my share. 

______________________________________                          _______________________________   ______________

Signature                                                                                          Print Name                                          Date

 Print out a copy of the Membership Pledge

Weston A. Price Foundation and Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund just put out a call to press Congress to pass HR1830 to legalize interstate sale of raw milk. Please take a moment to help!

From the WAPF action alert:

A year-long undercover sting investigation of an Amish farmer that included federal officials entering private consumers’ residences. A California food co-op raided by officials with guns drawn and at the ready. A Georgia man forced to destroy over 100 gallons of high-quality farm-fresh milk.

What do all of these have in common?

• They all involved small-scale farmers selling directly to consumers.
• There was never any allegation that the food had caused even one person to get sick or was contaminated in any way.
• They’re all part of FDA’s campaign to prevent consumers from getting raw milk, regardless of what consumers want.

While Cargill and other agribusiness giants get away with just a slap on the wrist when they sicken hundreds and even thousands of people, the FDA is spending your tax dollars to harass small farmers selling raw milk even when there hasn’t been a single illness.

The FDA claims authority in these cases under a pair of regulations–CFR 1240.61 and 131.110– that make it illegal to transport raw milk for human consumption across state lines.

HR 1830 would help put a stop to this. This bill, sponsored by Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) and co-sponsored by Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME), would legalize the interstate sale of raw milk. States would still be free to impose whatever regulations they think appropriate, but the FDA would no longer be able to harass raw milk farmers based solely on the fact that they have customers in other states.

Please help us get this important bill passed!

TAKE ACTION

1. Use the online petition system to send a fax to your Congressman, asking him or her to co-sponsor HR 1830.  Go to www.farmtoconsumer.org/hr1830 and just fill in your information to send a fax with a click of the button.
2. Forward this email to all of your friends and ask them to fax their Congressman
3. Follow up your fax with a phone call to your Congressman. Phone numbers can be found a at www.house.gov

MORE INFORMATION
For more information on HR 1830 and FDAs campaign against consumer choice, go to www.farmtoconsumer.org/112Cong-HR1830.htm

BACKGROUND
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations require milk in final package form for human consumption to be pasteurized, and prohibit the delivery into interstate commerce of unpasteurized (or raw) milk for human consumption.  The consumption of raw milk is legal in all 50 states, while the sale of raw milk for human consumption is legal in 28 states.

Consumers are increasingly seeking out raw milk as a natural, unprocessed food.  Consumers in states where raw milk cannot legally be sold (although it can legally be consumed) are seeking sources of raw milk from neighboring states.  For example, consumers in Georgia buy raw milk from farmers in South Carolina, while consumers in New Jersey and Virginia seek out Pennsylvania raw milk farmers.

FDA’S ACTIONS TO DATE
FDA has threatened enforcement and taken action against both farmers and buyers co-ops across the country for allegedly violating CFR 1240.61 and 131.110(a).  Below are a few recent examples.  There was no allegation that the raw milk had caused any illnesses in any of these cases.

• FDA spent a year in an undercover sting operation on an Amish farmer, Dan Allgyer of Rainbow Acres in Pennsylvania.  Agency employees lied about their identity and joined local buying clubs.  They picked up raw milk from private residences  again, concealing their identities  and sent the milk to be tested.  Despite nearly a dozen tests, not one sample showed any contamination.  Despite the fact that this clean milk had not made anyone sick, the agency ultimately raided Dan’s farm in May 2011.
• FDA officials, together with officials from five other local, state, and federal agencies raided the Rawesome Food Club, a private buying club in Venice, California on June 30, 2010.  Police accompanying the various agency officials entered the store with guns drawn.  The officialsconfiscated 17 coolers of food including raw milk and raw milk products, even though the warrant stated that they could only take samples.  This year, the government raided Rawesome a second time on August 3 with FDA officials again participating in the raid.  Government agents seized almost the entire food inventory at the store, dumping out all the raw milk on the premises without any court order to do so.  The store manager, a farmer supplying the store, and an administrator for the farmer who did nothing more than take orders and disseminate information for the farmer, were each charged with multiple felonies alleging violations of state food and dairy laws.
• An FDA agent participated in the dumping of over one hundred gallons of impounded raw milk belonging to members of a Georgia food buying club, which had been legally purchased from a licensed South Carolina dairy in October 2009.  The primary agency in that action was the Georgia Department of Agriculture, but the FDA official present at that time told the buying clubs agent that even an individual consumer cannot legally cross state lines to buy raw milk and bring it home under 1240.61 and 131.110.

In all of these cases, there was no allegation that the raw milk had caused any illnesses or was contaminated in any way.

THE LAWSUIT
In an effort to protect both farmers and consumers, the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund has sued the FDA on behalf of itself and eight individuals, asking the Court to declare that FDAs ban on the interstate sale of raw milk is invalid and violates the plaintiffs constitutional rights.  The individual plaintiffs include consumers who cross state lines to buy raw milk, the owner of a buying club or virtual farmers market who crosses state lines to buy milk to distribute to the club members, and a raw milk farmer.

The FDA has long opposed freedom of food choice, but its response to the FTCLDF complaint represents FDA’s strongest public statement yet on the freedom to obtain and consume the foods of one’s choice.  Here are some of FDA’s views expressed in its response on ‘freedom of food choice’ in general and on the right to obtain and consume raw milk in particular:

• “There is no absolute right to consume or feed children any particular food.”
• “There is no ‘deeply rooted’ historical tradition of unfettered access to foods of all kinds.”
• “Plaintiffs’ assertion of a ‘fundamental right to their own bodily and physical health, which includes what foods they do and do not choose to consume for themselves and their families’ is similarly unavailing because plaintiffs do not have a fundamental right to obtain any food they wish.”
• “It is within [the federal governments] authority . . . to institute an intrastate ban [on unpasteurized milk] as well.”
• “There is no fundamental right to freedom of contract.”

For more information on the lawsuit against FDA to assert our food freedom, go towww.farmtoconsumer.org/litigation-FDA-status.htm

This action alert is posted at
http://www.westonaprice.org/2011-action-alerts/support-food-freedom-now