—Vermont Law School will present “We Are All in This Together: Victories and Solutions in Vermont Agriculture,” a panel discussion from 5:15 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 20, in Chase Community Center on the VLS campus. The event, designed to explore the many roles we all can play in sustainable and profitable agriculture, is free and open to the public and press.
Sponsored by the Food and Agricultural Law Society (FALS) and Center for Agriculture and Food Systems (CAFS) at VLS, the panel will include a diverse group of guest speakers. Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman will moderate and speak about the successful campaign for GMO labeling laws in Vermont. Professor David Mears, director of the Environmental Law Center at VLS, will discuss current water quality issues and systemic solutions that work with farms to benefit the whole of Vermont. Brendan O’Neill of Migrant Justice will talk about the organization’s successful campaign, Milk with Dignity, including an agreement with Ben & Jerry’s. Brent Beidler, an organic, grass-fed cow dairy farmer, will speak about the positive aspects of grazing and forest-based dairy farming. And Miles Hooper, proprietor of Ayers Brook Goat Dairy, an incubator for future goat farmers, will speak about the solutions goat farming brings to Vermont.
“We all have a positive role to play in sustainable and profitable agriculture in Vermont,” said Margaret Shugart JD/MELP’19, a FALS member and event organizer. “Come and learn about how we can all support accurate labeling, good water quality, workers’ rights, and beneficial animal farming practices.”
For more information about “We Are All in This Together: Victories and Solutions in Vermont Agriculture,” email margaretshugart@vermontlaw.edu.
The Food and Agricultural Law Society is a vibrant community of food and agriculture scholars who meet biweekly on the Vermont Law School campus. FALS engages students and the community in diverse topics and projects related to food and agriculture. FALS hosts and attends events and conferences, and seeks to include the wider community in these discussions. FALS projects include Food Talk Radio, Farm Bill discussion lunches, farm tours, collaboration with CAFS, and much more. The group celebrates all perspectives on the issues and is united in an appreciation of food and agriculture as the issue of our time. FALS has no political agenda or affiliation, and aims to maintain an objective, fact-driven approach to learning about and discussing food and agriculture.
The Center for Agriculture and Food Systems at Vermont Law School supports scholars and practitioners in producing practical, robust scholarship for use by the food and agriculture community. CAFS offers an expanding curriculum in food and agriculture for law and policy students, and training and legal tools to help build sustainable local and regional food systems. Recent CAFS projects include the Farmland Access Legal Toolkit, Farmers Market Legal Toolkit, Healthy Food Policy Project, Blueprint for a National Food Strategy, National Gleaning Project, and Farm Animal Welfare Certification Guide. For more information about CAFS, visit vermontlaw.edu/cafs, email cafs@vermontlaw.edu, and follow on Facebook and Twitter.
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Vermont Law School, a private, independent institution, is home to the nation’s largest and deepest environmental law program. VLS offers a juris doctor curriculum that emphasizes public service; four master’s degrees—Master of Environmental Law and Policy, Master of Energy Regulation and Law, Master of Food and Agriculture Law and Policy, and Master of Arts in Restorative Justice; and four post-JD degrees —LLM in American Legal Studies (for foreign-trained lawyers), LLM in Energy Law, LLM in Environmental Law, and LLM in Food and Agriculture Law. The school features innovative experiential programs and is home to the Environmental Law Center, South Royalton Legal Clinic, Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic, Energy Clinic, Food and Agriculture Clinic, Center for Applied Human Rights, and Center for Justice Reform. For more information, visit vermontlaw.edu, find us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram.