On-Farm Slaughter Petition Landed in D.C.

Rural Vermont is a member organization of the National Family Farm Coalition (NFFC), an alliance of grassroots farmer- and advocate-led groups from across the country representing the rights and interests of independent family farmers, ranchers, and fishermen in Washington, DC. NFFC organized a two day fly-in event to DC earlier this week, where farmers and fishermen from across the nation came together to speak to over 20+ legislative offices in four groups - land access, dairy, capital and on-farm slaughter. Our Vermont delegation included board member Stephen Leslie from Cedar Mountain Farm who supported the dairy group, RV staffer Caroline and the wonderful shepherd, shearer and itinerant slaughterer, Mary Lake. This was the first time we presented our Petition to Clarify the Personal Use Exemption and it was tremendously valuable to pair leadership from Vermont for on-farm slaughter with experiences from other states. Much appreciation to Kenya Abraham, who farms in Kentucky and shared how difficult it is to practice halal slaughter in a state where OFS is not supported; to Betsy Garrold who farms in Maine, where they were also facing threats from the USDA to revoke Maine’s equal-to status when they passed a food sovereignty law that included on-farm slaughter; and to our friends from Dakota Rural Action for their support in stepping up for this issue. It was fascinating to have Leonardo Wassilie in our team, a fisherman from Alaska, who explained how difficult it is to get into regenerative farming without any infrastructure - now that permafrost melting reveals fertile soils - it is a matter of food security. “

“ ‘What is not being taken care of will break over time…’ that was what really sat with me when I listened to two strong women, Mary and Kenya, during our meetings. The structural barriers for learning and engaging in meat processing are a huge part of their shared experience. I find their passion to re-cultivate the skill to ethically care for our livestock by slaughtering them where they were raised inspiring.”

RV Legislative Director, Caroline Gordon 

While these were initial conversations in DC, and many staffers were entirely new to the issue of on-farm slaughter, we hope to deepen and broaden conversations and to see leadership from Senator Welch’s office on this issue. 

Stay tuned for action alerts and for now, continue to share and sign-on the petition! Big shout out to the wonderful NFFC staff who made this advocacy effort possible!