No On Issue 2

My friend Erin May lives with her family out on Heron Hill Farm outside of Kent, Ohio, and yesterday, she sent this email (via Facebook) out to all her friends in Ohio. While I don't live in Ohio anymore, and I can no longer vote there (I'm officially a New York voter now!), I know that a lot of you can vote in Ohio, and I think you might be interested in having her perspective on Issue 2. After all, Issue 2 deals with changes to agricultural practices in the state, and if anyone knows about agricultural practices, it's Erin!

So if you're an Ohio voter, please read the letter below.

Dear Friends,

I realize that many of you may not still be voting in Ohio, but please share this information with any Ohio voters you know, especially if you find the arguments against Issue 2 in any way compelling. Our opposition may be impressive, but a concerted push must be made to try to override this proposed amendment.

ALL OHIO VOTERS, please! Small-time, sustainable agriculture needs your help:

Vote NO on Issue 2!

This is incredibly important! I cannot stress emphatically enough how detrimental an impact this uncalled for constitutional amendment will have on all independent, local, sustainable farmers AND anyone who values what these farmers contribute to the community.

Most of you know that I have grown up on and around local Ohio farms my whole life, and that I currently live and work (not to mention subsist) on a sustainable, organic farm owned and operated by my parents in Brimfield, Ohio. I know that there are loads of bright, shiny, alluring signs and ads out there telling you that Issue 2 is GREAT for the small farmer, GREAT for our livestock, GREAT for our food, but I ask you this: just who do you think has the money and the power to pay for all that bright and shiny propaganda? The small time farmer? The environmental and health-conscious consumer? The livestock themselves, maybe? Obviously not. The gross, overblown promotion of Issue 2 is coming entirely from the corporate farming industry. Small time farmers have neither the funds nor the sway to get their voice out there, and you can be certain that unless it boosts their bottom line, agribusiness is not going to do it for them.

To quote ohioact.org, "the most serious concern over this ballot initiative is that it is not simply a new law, but an amendment to the Ohio state constitution, a point the Ohio groups supporting Issue 2 downplay." The main threat embedded in this constitutional amendment is that it will establish a Livestock Care Standards Board, which may sound all well and good, but this board will have "no accountability to voters. Their decisions will be final. There is no further review or evaluation of the standard, no established forum for public comment, and no ability to appeal their decisions."

Now, to be fair, "the standards the board makes could favor one method of production over another based on the undemocratic decisions of a dozen political appointees." Clearly this could go either way, but modern conventional thought is already leaning in favor of the factory raised animal rather than the sustainable small farm model and agribusiness is known for its influential lobbyists, so it is reasonable to presume that "this could easily mean implementing standards that would make raising food in an organic or sustainable manner excessively expensive or burdensome [or, to be completely realistic, even illegal in some cases*], driving small farmers out of business and hurting local economies." Basically, there is nothing to stop them from ruling against organic, sustainable farming practices and many logical reasons to assume they would!

So, unless you like the idea of cementing corporate agribusiness into the Ohio Constitution and further marginalizing sustainable farming, VOTE NO on Issue 2!

If you would like more information on Issue 2 and its affect on the food and farming industries, this page ( http://www.oeffa.org/alerts.php ) from the Ohio Ecological Food & Farm Association and this pdf ( http://www.ohioact.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Issue2.pdf ) from ohioact.org provide well-argued, accurate information.

Thank you for your consideration of this crucial issue.

Your friend,

Erin May

*There is valid concern amongst sustainable farmers and devotees that these cases may include the implementation of standards that would force the injection of antibiotics and certain hormones into livestock, as well as eliminate the right to raise free-range poultry, grass-fed beef, and distribute raw milk (the sale of which is already illegal in the state of Ohio)--all under the misguided pretense of "health and safety!" My opinion on this matter may be biased, however, due to the fact that I have my current consumption of such foods as raw dairy, grass-fed beef, and hormone and antibiotic-free meat to thank for my current level of good health and relief from chronic illness. (If you can't already tell, I am very passionate about this issue. But like I said, maybe I'm biased...)