PUTNEY — Creating deep changes to Vermont's agricultural and food systems was the topic of a community discussion on March 28 at Next Stage.
Rural Vermont, a Montpelier-based statewide organization addressing agricultural and environmental issues in Vermont, organized the event, which they called “Groundswell.” It was one of six discussions Rural Vermont plans to hold in the state.
At Next Stage, about 60 participants - community members, farmers, small business owners, and activists - collaborated and socialized. There was a spread of fresh vegetables, fruit, bread and butter, coffee, cider, wine and beer, and in the background, understated bluegrass music performed by local musicians
“This is the first time we've run a tour of this nature, where we're deliberately trying to get to the geographic corners of Vermont,” said Graham Unangst-Rufenacht, a Rural Vermont co-organizer along with Ben Hewitt, with whom he led the event's introduction.
“We are trying to determine where we want to focus our efforts,” Unangst-Rufenacht continued. “In recent years, we've been focusing on policy work. We've been trying to communicate to our constituents what is happening and how it is relevant to them, and put it outside of legislative language into language that is more accessible.”
“Part of this tour,” he said, “is to explain to the audience who we are, who we have been, and [ask], 'who do you want us to be?'”
In short, Rural Vermont wants to know from the people it represents whether it should be doing more policy work, more grassroots efforts, or a combination of the two.
“The primary reason we are here is to hear from you. You are the experts here,” Unangst-Rufenacht told the audience.
Shortly thereafter, he led the room in a moment of “silence and gratitude.” Throughout his speech, he provided examples of the stand-out issues and discussed agricultural history, as well as the vision of Rural Vermont.
Current environmental and agricultural issues, Unangst-Rufenacht explained, aren't new.
“These are old and structural issues that have their roots in old processes, such as colonization, industrialization, that are alive and active and well today.”
The goal, he said, is to approach these issues on a systemic level.
As Rural Vermont said in a news release promoting Groundswell: “The time has come to transition Vermont's agricultural economy to one in which success is not measured solely in gallons, pounds, or dollars extracted from the land, but also by the health and vitality of all its stakeholders: farmers, consumers, businesses, crops, animals, and soils. We cannot wait for Washington or Montpelier to begin this transition; we must act now to create a vibrant future for all.”
The organization says it “envisions a future where Vermont farmers thrive while nourishing their communities with nutrient-dense food grown from healthy animals and living soils, where profits stay local and support small businesses, where farmers are incentivized to adopt regenerative practices that sequester carbon and fight climate change, and where every Vermonter can determine what food is best for their family to eat.”
Unangst-Rufenacht emphasized that the approaches to agricultural and environmental change that Rural Vermont supports are intended to improve well-being - a well-being that “extends beyond the health of the land,” he said, “but also inhabitants of the land, the ecosystem, non-human beings, and our spirits as people.”
Small-group discussions at each eight-person table followed, and then there was a break for food and fresh air, another small-group discussion, a relay of legislative updates to the crowd, and finally an ice cream social.
“The subject matter is at times challenging. We're talking about the real barriers we face,” Unangst-Rufenacht said in an interview before the event, “but also [about] the opportunities and potential solutions.”