2/18 - 2/20 On-Farm Slaughter in D.C. at the NFFC Fly-in
This year marked our third year that we brought on-farm slaughter to members of Congress at the NFFC Fly-in! Collectively we met with over 50 different offices and the group that sponsored the Livestock Owned by Communities to Advance Local Foods Act (LOCAL Foods Act) met with eleven different House and Senate Congressional offices from both parties. In the stakeholder group of five, the Rural Vermont led campaign received on-the ground support from the National Family Farmer Coalition, the Federation of Southern Cooperatives (GA), the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance (TX), the Community Farm Alliance (KY), and Wes Gillingham, the Board President of NOFA-NY (NY). Rancher Jeremy (MS) shared how transporting cattle long distance is a major barrier and much more cumbersome than being able to take carcasses to the butcher. Kenya (KY) shared about her experience as an itinerant butcher using the halal slaughter method and tailoring to ex-vegans as one of her most common customer bases. Diana, a diversified farmer from Texas passionately advocated for the LOCAL Foods Act and also voiced together with Wesley about being affected by the funding freeze. Her non-profit was under contract for a statewide land access grant over 3M dollars that got frozen by the Trump administration. NOFA-NY has filed a lawsuit to challenge the funding freezes. We used our time in D.C. to do both - ask for support of the LOCAL Foods Act and to educate about the real life effects of funding freezes on farmers.
Your voice and continued engagement matters! Because we learn every year at these fly-ins that it is you as the stakeholder, as those affected on the ground, who are the door openers - the reason congress people lend us their ears for 30 minutes.
Write-up your own story about why on-farm slaughter and the clarification in the LOCAL Foods Act matter to you & share it with a) members of congress; b) your organization (Rural Vermont!); & c) the National Family Farmer Coalition
Mobilize a couple livestock farmers you know to share their story in the same ways & to sign our Petition here.
