This is simply outrageous, and unacceptable.
"In April, Fauquier County, Virginia threatened Martha Boneta, owner of a small farm in Paris, VA, with thousands of dollars in fines for a series of alleged violations, including hosting "an event" on her farm without obtaining a special events permit.
The event? A small birthday
party for the 10-year old daughter of a close friend, Robin Verity.
Martha was also cited for
selling produce directly to consumers from her farm without a license. But Ms.
Boneta paid for and received a county-approved business license for a
"retail farm shop" in June, 2011. However, just one month later, the
county Board of Supervisors approved an amendment that restricted "farm
sales", and began issuing citations to farmers in the area.
Farmers in the area believe
this is a violation of Virginia's "Right to Farm Act", which bars
governments from restricting the rights of farmers from earning a living, so
they orchestrated a protest during Martha's Board of Zoning Appeals hearing on
August 2nd, 2012. (She lost the Appeal, btw.)
Increasing economic freedom
matters to people like Martha. But it also matters to consumers everywhere who
should be free to choose the foods they want and buy directly from the farm
that produced them." Source
That is both insane and terrifying! I recently watched a TED talk about a woman in the UK who had transformed her town by planting edible landscapes -- everyone thought the idea was great -- more food security, learning opportunities for the kids, more attention on locally produced farm products. She did it all without any permits or legal red-tape. Her message was, "If we can do it, so can you." It made me sick to think that here in America, land of the free, we might encounter institutionalized resistence to any such project -- and this is a case in point! (The TED talk can be seen here: http://www.ted.com/talks/pam_warhurst_how_we_can_eat_our_landscapes.html?source=facebook#.UCZXz6pdEWB.facebook
ReplyDeleteI saw that TED talk, very inspiring. I also suspect we'd get all sorts of government resistance here.
DeleteUnbelievable. This is so discouraging.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is truly discouraging. Sign of the Times?
Delete"The two enemies of the people are criminals and government, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the Constitution so the second will not become the legalized version of the first." Thomas Jefferson
ReplyDeleteLeah's Mom
Jefferson was right, but it's too bad that so many governmental agencies simply overlook or ignore the Constitution.
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