A ruling by the Michigan Commission of Agriculture and Rural Development gutted the 1981 Right To Farm Act that protected farmers from angry neighbors in rural areas. The law also protected people who wanted to raise small animals, like chickens and rabbits, on a property where there are 13 homes within one eighth mile or a residence within 250 feet of the property.
According to Gail Philburn of the Michigan Sierra Club, the changes in the law will “effectively remove Right to Farm Act protection for many urban and suburban backyard farmers raising small numbers of animals.”
Many of these small farms produce organic food for their families and their neighborhood.
“The Michigan Agriculture Commission passed up an opportunity to support one of the hottest trends in food in Michigan – public demand for access to more local, healthy, sustainable food,” Philburn also stated.
These new changes will affect residents of rural Michigan too. Shady Grove Farm in Gwinn, Michigan is on six and a half acres and homes 150 egg-laying hens that provide eggs to a local co-op and a local restaurant. This small Michigan farm also homes sheep for wool and a few turkeys and meat chickens to provide fresh healthy, local poultry.“We produce food with integrity,” says Randy Buchler of Shady Grove Farm. “Everything we do here is 100 percent natural — we like to say it’s beyond organic. We take a lot of pride and care in what we’re doing here.” Shady Grove Farm was doing its part to educate and provide healthy, local, organic food to the people of Gwinn. It reflects the attitudes of hundreds of other small farms in Michigan and thousands of others popping up around the nation. This loss of right to farm comes within days of a report by The World Health Organization that stated the world is currently in severe danger of entering a post-antibiotic era. The WHO’s director-general Dr. Margaret Chan argued that the antibiotic use in our industrialized food supply is the worst offender adding to the global crisis. “The Michigan Agriculture Commission passed up an opportunity to support one of the hottest trends in food in Michigan – public demand for access to more local, healthy, sustainable food,” Gail Philbin told MLive.
“There’s a lot of unnecessary legal action being taken against small farms who are doing good things in their communities,” said Randy Buchler, who is also on the board of directors for the Michigan Small Farm Council. The Michigan Small Farm Council actively fought to support Michigan farming freedom, but ultimately the Commission voted to approve the new restrictions.
How is this happening in this day and age!! How can we teach our children to grow organic food and have the chance to cleanse there bodies (and ours) of the pesticides and toxins that are used on the large farms and to rid us of the processed foods when “they” take away our very right to feed ourselves!
Perhaps intelligent Michigan residents need to boot these morons out of office, or if they are appointed, pressure whoever appointed them to hand them their pink slips. Fight for what you believe is right. Never give up.
We must fight this no matter what it takes, I totally agree ,We must get rid of this Commission altogether, Huge farms are what runs this Commission , People has to have the right to grow food.
what can the people of the state do to change this decision?
This is the most incredibly stupid thing I have ever heard. If owning animals does nothing else it teaches kids to be responsible to another living being. Sure wouldn’t like to end up in a Chicago neighborhood where nobody cares about anyone. I say GO, AMERICAN SMALL FAMILIES and others in similar circumstances. this is dumb.
Its one of N.W.O. plans to controll us and make us dependent on the goverment.when all Hell breaks loose and there’s no supermarkets we have to beg goverment for help. (Checkmate)
The only way to stop these people is by getting a lawyer, filing suit, these corrupt politicians are not afraid of anything except loosing a multimillion dollar lawsuit. If you are in that area consult with a qualified super lawyer, do not trust local lawyers, get a super lawyer to handle this for you.
Bury them in paperwork, file separately when possible, contact the media, (after you get a lawyer)
File lawsuits against individual members of the commission and go after upper management in city government, this is the only true way to force them to do what is right. (again get a lawyer, this is not legal advice)
This is a God given right that we should be supportive of . This can help world hunger , and create jobs . God Bless America !
The people absolutely need to fight this. In todays world where our food supply is toxic back yard farming is essential to making sure what we give our families is fresh, wholesome and healthy food without antibiotics, pesticides and other poisons on our food. Fight, fight, fight to give your families decent home grown food.