On Tuesday, May 13th at 10am, activists throughout Maine will join the Green Initiatives Education Fund and Food for Maine’s Future under the groupname We are all Dan Brown, and gather at the Cumberland County Courthouse in Portland in the name of Food Sovereignty to support local farmer Dan Brown, owner of Gravelwood Farm in rural Blue Hill. Farmer Dan Brown was sued by the state in 2011 for selling raw milk from his sole cow, Sprockett, to his friends and neighbors. He was charged in 2013, and will soon be heard in Maines Supreme Court. WHEN- The press conference will take place on May 13, 2014 at 10am. Maine’s Supreme Court will be hearing oral arguments on May 13th at 11:40am in Portland, ME, shortly after the press conference. WHY: Blue Hill is one of eleven towns in Maine to have passed the Local Food and Community Self-Governance Ordinance, a local law that permits the types of sales Brown was engaged in. By filing the lawsuit, the State of Maine and Walter Whitcomb, Maine Agricultural Commissioner, have disregarded the Local Food and Community Self-Governance passed on April 4, 2011. The local ordinance passed nearly unanimously by the citizens of Blue Hill at their town hall meeting. Additionally, Dan Brown was accused of selling unlabeled raw milk while his farm stand clearly indicated that he was selling unpasteurized milk. Heather Retberg of Quills End Farm, and organizer for the Food Sovereignty movement stated, “We are farmers who are supported by our friends and our neighbors who know us and trust us, and want to ensure that they maintain access to their chosen food supply... We are all Farmer Brown.”
Posted on: Tue, 13 May 2014 00:34:23 +0000
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