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Dear Farmers and Friends,
A seed has been planted. With the support of courageous people like
Sam Earnshaw and JoAnn Baumgartner, Amigo Bob and Kalita Todd
Cantisano, we have formed a group called Farms Not Arms.
The idea was that farmers - and the food industry people that
support us - come together and join the growing ranks of people opposed
to our horribly misguided military venture in Iraq - and the robbing of
our resources and treasury that it is taking to maintain it. But with
the growing roar of opposition to this war why form one more group?
First of all, while Vietnam took undue toll on our inner cities,
this war is preying heavily on rural America. The first American
kidnapped in Iraq was an Alabama soybean farmer, who went to work in
harms way because he couldnt pay for health insurance for his
cancer-stricken wife. Young people who dont see a future on the farms
they grew up on are misled into looking for security, discipline and
opportunity.
Secondly, theres huge misappropriations of our treasury and
resources. As the cost of war soars so comes the big cutbacks in
spending on agriculture. And the skyrocketing price of oil is effecting
our cost of production and distribution. As Jim Hightower so aptly put
it, Even a dog knows the difference between being kicked and being
tripped over.
And, thirdly, there is no place for farmers and food industry people
to come together and get a seat at the table in the movement to help
turn around this country. Our geographical isolation, our busy work
schedules and our independent spirits have all kept us from organizing
ourselves and getting our voice heard.
But there is something else, too. When you look up the websites of
some of the wonderful farms and companies that have joined with us you
can see such pride and joy in the faces of the people who get to work
the land and grow the food creating not just crops but beauty and
sustenance. And whether its a CSA or a vineyard, a nut grower or a
produce distributor, you can feel the American tradition of hard work
and optimism in all of them - things we will need a lot of if we are
going to climb out of the hole we have dug ourselves in.
Attached is a simple petition. Signing it is one personal step you
can take to help take back our country. And one that you can do to
reclaim your own spirit.
This seedling is barely sprouted. But it is vigorous and, with your
help, can grow into something we can be proud of. Send us your name,
download the statement and our growing list of signers, pass it around.
And write us why you oppose this war and what you think we can do to
stop the next one.
Michael OGorman, Agroproductos Del Cabo, Ensenada, Mexico
Will Allen and Kate Deustenberg, Cedar Circle Farm, East Thetford, VT
Jim Cochran, Swanton Berry Farm, Davenport, CA
Co-chairs, Farms Not Arms
www.farmsnotarms.org
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