Antibiotics

Currently, I have friends in the Farmers' policy action team of the Washtenaw County Food Policy Council who have struggled to tackle this issue in part for lack of technical support. I think we're needed.

I just sent them a message about potential collaboration. They don't meet again for about a month, which opens opportunities for 1-on-1s to build support in that group before then.

It would also be nice to talk about our general strategy in this issue area. Here's the main snippet from what I sent FPAT, which provides background on where they are with the issue:

"As I recall, when FPAT last visited this issue as a group, we weren't prepared to take sides on this issue because we didn't know exactly what stances there were to take. We were being pressured by [County Commissioner] Conan [O'Brien] and [Washtenaw County Public Health Officer] Ellen [Rabinowitz] to be "for" the issue, whatever "the issue" was, and yet it seemed like many farmers' groups were "against" the issue. The farmers among us, as I recall, were concerned with maintaining control over their own operations, and preserving the real choices about the feeds they were using, knowing whether they were medicated or not and being able to purchase unmedicated feed. We also didn't feel comfortable as a group acting on this issue if we couldn't even pass resolutions endorsing the scientific conclusions on which action would be based. At least I came away from that meeting thinking that to make progress, Farmers' PAT needed both technical help and more specific proposals to consider.

So I saw an opportunity here for collaboration. SFTP have technical firepower and are looking for an audience. FPAT needs technical firepower now, and are looking for an agenda. Knowing SFTP's way of working, they would probably be interested in hosting a public panel discussion about the topic. I would love it if we could contribute some perspectives, especially from those of us who produce or distribute meat. My hope is that working together, we can define the issue, identify the strongest scientific arguments that would be used to promote action, endorse the conclusions we need to endorse, identify potential targets for action, and suggest specific measures to address the problems that farmers could support. WFPC could then take our platform, endorse it and start pushing it at the State level."

That was my strategic vision, at least. Give me thoughts; give me pressure.