April 2010 5.Pmd
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April 2010 HIGHLIGHTS A PUBLICATION OF THE PEACE & JUSTICE CENTER PAGE 2 Farm to Plate From the Center Nancy Lynch talks about the organizations Exerpted from the Interim Report to the Legislature that have overlapping goals with the PJC.. BY Ellen Kahler, Executive Director of the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund PAGE 3 Youth Activist Institute 2 n 2009, the Legislature created Building on what Secretary Roger The PJC’s 2nd Annual Youth Activist Institute I the Farm to Plate Investment Albee calls a “renaissance in Vermont will be held at Vermont Technical College in Program which directs the Vermont agriculture,” the Farm to Plate Investment Randolph, June 25-27. Sustainable Jobs Fund with the Vermont Program (F2P) will create a strategic plan Sustainable Agriculture Council and other for agricultural economic development to PAGE 4 stakeholders to develop a 10-year achieve the overarching goals of 350 strategic plan to strengthen Vermont’s strengthening our local food system and 350 is the level scientists have identified as the farm and food sector. stimulating economic development in safe upper limit for CO2 in our atmosphere. Vermont’s farm and food sector. This will Kids4Peace Creating a Strategic Plan in turn create jobs in the farm and food Interfaith Walk for Peace. for Vermont’s Farm and Food economy, improve access to healthy local Sectors foods, and expand local and regional PAGE 5 Vermont has a rich agricultural history. markets for Vermont products. A key Gross National Happiness Yet there are both historic and recent component of F2P is to identify infra- GNH envisions a future, based on values of threats to the future of agriculture in the structure investments and public policy life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. state, including the loss of dairy farms, recommendations which will support new Slow Money Alliance rising energy and feed costs, the volatil- and existing agricultural enterprises that A strategy for re-localizing our economies. ity of commodity markets, and global increase local resiliency in today’s competition. There are also many signs of changing economic and global times. PAGE 6 expansion and opportunity, especially for The primary deliverable for this Robin’s Nest diversified farm operations and organic program will be a comprehensive 10-year Oscar Romero and Vermont, Part 1. dairies. Strategic Plan for Agricultural Economic The explosion of interest in local food Development in Vermont which will PAGE 7 and the hundreds of organizations, contain, at a minimum, the following No Nukes Rally, May 2, NYC programs and volunteer driven activities components: Get on the bus. that now exist has led many to call for a coordinated statewide plan for making Baseline/Existing Condi- PAGE 9 new, strategic investments in our farm tions, Trends, SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, War Resister League Pie Chart and food sector. Many believe that Opportunities, Threats) Where our income tax money really goes. farming and food production are already a vital and growing part of the state’s z An inventory of Vermont’s food PAGE 10 economy, with even greater potential. In system infrastructure by gathering Calendar fact, jobs throughout the entire food existing data, studies, and analysis; system represent 20% (or 54,334) of all z In-depth research to identify of gaps PAGE 11 private sector jobs and are connected to in the infrastructure and distribution Lifting the Yoke 31% (or 9,166) of all private establish- systems and ways to address these gaps Tea with author, Ron Krupp on April 24 at the ments. (VT Dept. of Labor (2007 QCEW) and the 2007 Census of Agriculture). Peace & Justice Store. Farm to Plate continued on page 8 research z policy z action 2 April 2010 From the Center Greetings! EDITORS t feels like spring! We can see bare ground, fed by the rain and occasional sun. Folks are making Wendy Coe plans for their gardens and starting to grow veggies from seeds in their homes. Meanwhile, we, at Gene Bergman I the PJC, are also germinating ideas, and are moving forward with our own exciting plans, promot- Robin Lloyd ing a new way forward for Vermont’s economy. We have been working for over a decade providing research PUBLISHED and advocacy on livable wages, economic development, and the benefit of supporting local economies and 10/year (See form on page 12) fair trade practices. The research we conducted in our first nine Vermont Job Gap Studies and on the Livable Wage Cam- CIRCULATION paign has informed our perspective on what makes a stable and sustainable economy. In Part 1 of our latest 1,400 Vermont Job Gap Study, we offered alternative viewpoints regarding our state’s economic climate, high- The opinions expressed in lighting factors that positively affect economic development such as a high quality of life and strong and the articles, including vibrant local, small businesses. those by staff, are those Spring brings various events and happenings – some sponsored by the PJC, some offered by other of the authors and not necessarily those of the groups and organizations that we’ve aligned with and support in order to pursue a strong, stable, sustain- peace & justice center. able state with a high quality of life for all of its citizens. Many of these events are referenced in other sections of our newsletter, but I wanted to bring special attention to them because the organizations hosting these events have overlapping goals and priorities with the PJC. z We’re supporting the Farm to Plate Investment Program, an initiative of the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund and brainchild of former PJC executive director Ellen Kahler. This 60 Lake Street #1C program bolsters Vermont’s agricultural sector, food safety and sustainable, environmental Burlington, VT 05401 802.863.2345 practices. The Farm to Plate Statewide Food Summit is taking place on April 10 at Rutland fax: 802.863.2532 Middle School. The keynote speaker will be Ken Meter, a premier food systems analyst. www.pjcvt.org z In honor of Earth Day – April 22 – we’re supporting 350.org, an international campaign [email protected] dedicated to building a movement to unite the world around solutions to the climate crisis. BOARD OF DIRECTORS 350.org was founded by Bill McKibben, a Middlebury professor and one of the first (alphabetical order) authors to tackle the subject of global warming. Linda Ayer Autumn Barnett z On April 24, PJC will host a Tea with Ron Krupp – a local author, farmer and gardener, Gene Bergman who wrote Lifting the Yoke: Local Solutions to America’s Farm and Food Crisis. Stacy Graczyk-treas z The Gross National Happiness Conference will take place June 1-4 at Champlain College. Woody Keppel Hilary Martin-chair The theme of the conference is “Changing What We Measure from Wealth to Well-Being.” Spence Putnam One of PJC’s board members, Linda Wheatley, is at the heart of Gross National Happiness Tiffany Silliman-sec USA. Andy Snyder Wayne Turiansky z PJC has joined the Slow Money Alliance, a group formed to encourage co-investment Linda Wheatley and provide technical assistance in sustainable agriculture, local economies, organic food, and small enterprises. The Slow Money Alliance will host a national gathering June 9-11 at Ed Everts, emeritus Shelburne Farms. Bill McKibben is one of the featured speakers along with Will Raap, STAFF founder of Gardener’s Supply. Nancy T. Lynch Wendy Coe Jennifer Reay As we move forward with releasing Parts 2 and 3 of Phase 10 of the Vermont Job Gap Study, we will be Colin Robinson soliciting input from our members, the community, policy makers, and other stakeholders. We will be Diana Halbstein holding a conference on November 18, the culmination of months of research and collaboration. On that PJC MISSION day, we’ll be rolling out our legislative agenda for the next biennium and explain the ideas put forth in Part 3 Our mission is to create a of our latest Vermont Job Gap Study, “Toward a New Economy.” just and peaceful world. To this end, we work on Mark your calendars now, so that you don’t miss out on these exciting events, which promote positive the interconnected issues collaboration with allies who support moving Vermont in the direction of a new economy that promotes all of economic and racial forms of healthy capital—natural, social, human, and financial. Please join us in these endeavors! justice, peace, and human rights through education, advocacy, In celebration of Peace and Justice, training and non-violent activisim, and community organizing, since 1979. Nancy Lynch research z policy z action April 2010 3 things, because sometimes I feel like I’m not taken seriously.” z “The most important thing I gained was inspiration. It gave me a lot of hope to know there are other teens with similar goals to mine and now that I have these skills and know these tactics, I feel like I’ll get a lot more done.” z “I have been so blessed to grow up in VT where so many people have empowered me. I want to pay that forward The Peace & Justice Center is proud to Peace and Justice Center and continue to inspire youth to enact announce our 2nd Annual Youth Activist Attn: Youth Activist Institute change.” Institute, held at Vermont Technical 60 Lake Street, 1C z “I will speak! I will share my College in Randolph from June 25th-27th. Burlington, VT 05401 experience and feelings and never believe What is it? Make sure your application is a problem can’t be fixed!” YAI is a grant funded project designed to in by Friday, April 16th! z “[I learned that] in order to change engage high school aged youth in the world you have to take it one step at a activism, and empower them to inspire What students have said time.” about YAI in the past… others and make change.