Civic Engagement

Stop NAIS. Why do people have to OPT-OUT if it is Voluntary? We need our small farms. Milk shipped from the Southwest to drink here seems rediculous! Save our small/family farms.

The Bush Administration cut federal subsidies for milk and for bees. We then saw a dollar a gallon rise in milk prices and we now see a potentially disasterous fall in the bee population. Locally these things are concerns for us all. I believe we need to encourage local food production. In the case of an emergency, local food could very well be all that is available. We should not lose the ability to sustain ourselves. NJ, formerly the Garden State and now the Condo State, will never be self supporting again. Let's do what we can to support small farms.

This country was founded upon the ideals of small family owned farms, but that aspect of the American fabric is quickly fading. There are all sorts of ways to assist the small farmers, from growing crops for renewable energy to tax credits, and we should be doing all we can.

Factory Farming is the real threat. Support local farmers, our future depends on it. Oppose NAIS. We can choose to make these changes now, or pay the price later.

All our local farms are small and if we want to be local heroes and support local agriculture it means supporting small farms. Let's do it. For our health, our environment, our beautiful commonwealth, our future.

I support your efforts to support the local farm. As a small farm owner myself, I worry every day as I see surrounding farm property and open space being developed. Chapter land is a start in helping farmers keep the land int heir family and not sell it, but more can be done.

They are not making more land, so we must conserve and use land as judiciously as possible.

NAIS would be disastrous for the future of agriculture and all types of livestock. It would not help improve human or animal health, but it would force the vast majority of livestock owners to get rid of their animals and small farmers to stop producing meat and dairy products. Only a few in Massachusetts have large enough operations to absorb the extensive costs, paperwork requirements, technology, and legal risk involved. No further tax-payer funds should be allocated to promoting or implementing NAIS.

Support of sustainable small farmers is critical to our environment, our economy and our health!

Thanks for creating this issue--can you add to the issue a link for info on how people can "buy shares" in an organic farm and get fresh produce during the growing season? Thanks in advance for considering this suggestion.

Small farms are very relevant to today. They support local economies. They are a better source of food security than the Cargills and Archer Daniels Midlands of the world. They're a link with a better, more sustainable past. They protect the natural beauty of Massachusetts and manifest the architectural shape of old New England. The sight of them keeps us sane when roads, buildings and parking lots threaten to take over our outdoors and our minds. They are inhabited by people who often make up the backbone and carry a lot of the common sense of our rural communities. They warrant protection from development, from the false pricing structure of the food conglomerates (which externalize much of their costs, or defray them with government subsidies, often hidden). Be careful not to look down on them; they warrant a great deal of respect.

Vermont does a great job of marketing their local farm products. We should learn from them.

Buy Local foods! We need to support keeping our economy as diverse as possible.