Farms: How The Era Of Food Safety Regulation Is Affecting Small Farms and Rural Communities In Maine

Common Ground Country Fair - Sunday, September 26 Everyone is for safer food, right? But what if food safety regulations designed to meet the problems and fit the economics of large-scale industrial agriculture (think 5-acre manure lagoons, mechanically harvesting hundreds of acres of lettuce mix, etc.) are applied in a one-size-fits-all manner to small organic farms in Maine as well? Small-scale, sustainable agriculture, noted for not creating food safety problems as well as for being a beacon of hope for rural economies and communities in Maine, is potentially threatened by expensive and onerous food safety legislation designed to "fix" big agriculture. Join us for an informative panel discussion with: Russell Libby, Executive Director of MOFGA, who has logged countless hours trying to get Congress to understand the big picture; Dave Colson, long-time MOFGA Board Member, President of MOFGA Certification Services, and owner of New Leaf Farm in Durham; and Stew Smith, Agricultural Economist at the University of Maine in Orono, and past Maine Commissioner of Agriculture. A question and answer period will follow the panel discussion. Davis Taylor, professor of ecological economics, community sustainability, and economic development at College of the Atlantic, will moderate the panel discussion.