Food sovereignty about democracy
As a farmer and one of the lead advocates of food sovereignty in Maine, I was puzzled to read Michael Cianchette’s March 10 BDN column. While it was interesting to read his political philosophy, his description of food sovereignty and the local food and community self-governance ordinance had little to do with either.
In broad terms, food sovereignty aims to reclaim the power of people in our food system by rebuilding relationships between people and the land. It seeks to improve the resiliency of local food systems and local economies. It puts the needs of those who produce, distribute and eat food at the heart of food systems and policies rather than the demands of markets and corporations.
Food sovereignty is neither a Democratic nor a Republican issue. As the legislative body at town meetings, we don’t separate ourselves by party. I have been privileged to be invited to most of the 18 town meetings where the local food and community self-governance ordinance has been adopted, and I have yet to witness it advanced as a partisan issue. Most often, the local food and community self-governance ordinance has been adopted unanimously.
The efforts toward food sovereignty are most certainly working. The movement is growing from people, not parties. People in towns across Maine are rediscovering dusty tools of democracy, engaging, participating and defining ourselves and our local food systems in ways that work well in and for our communities.
Heather Retberg
Penobscot
We do care
We do not care about opioid addiction prevention and treatment because we do not have any family members or friends who are addicted.
We do not care about Meals on Wheels or fuel assistance for the elderly or low-income Mainers because we have been frugal and have enough to pay our own way. We do not care about health insurance for the poor or rates for those ages 50 to 64, who the American Health Care Act would allow insurance companies to charge five times more than those under 50, because we are on Medicare and are covered.
We do not care about refugees and immigrants because parts of our family were smart enough to leave and come to the United States before the Nazis and World War II.
We do not care about funding for Planned Parenthood because after 56 years of monogamous marriage we don’t need to get treated for STDs, and we certainly don’t need pregnancy prevention or abortion services.
We do not care about education because we are old, and we do not care about the environment because we venture out less and less. We don’t care about funding for public radio because we subscribe to two newspapers and listen to Fox and MSNBC, and we are able to tell “fake news” from real reporting.
But we are Mainers, and above all we are Americans. So, of course, we care. We are all together part of the fabric of America and what affects one of us affects us all.
Sandra and Ole Jaeger
Georgetown
Sick of Trump’s lies
I hope Republican representatives are by now as sick as I am of President Donald Trump’s continual stream of unfounded allegations — that is, lies — such as the size of the crowd at his inauguration, that millions of illegal votes were cast for Hillary Clinton and most recently that former President Barack Obama wiretapped Trump Tower.
I urge Republican representatives to publicly stand with the increasing number of principled Republicans who are beginning to understand the damage these patently obvious lies do to our society at home and to our image abroad.
Donald Holmes
Sedgwick
GOP making me sick
What is happening in Washington, D.C., is literally making me sick. I’ve expressed my views, concerns, outrage and fears to my representatives in as many forms as possible. I’ve done this so often that I’m sure my senators are beyond inundated. And I know that millions of other Americans feel the same way and are doing the same thing. But it doesn’t seem to be having any effect.
I’m in a conundrum. Should I forsake my civic duty to be engaged in government with the hope of saving my sanity? Or should I continue what seems like a futile battle to remind my representative that “we the people” are still out there?
I say this with all seriousness. I really don’t know if America will survive what the Republican Party has delivered to us. I know for a fact that should they deliver on what is being proposed today, people will suffer needlessly and people will die.
But all this angst could be avoided if only three Republican senators would say the magic words: “No, we are not doing that.” No, they aren’t cutting Meals on Wheels. No, they won’t take health care away from sick children. No, they won’t deny millions of American children education. No, they won’t walk away from the rest of the world. No, it’s not all about money.
But where are those three Republicans? We are three people away from keeping the American experiment alive. And it is making me literally sick.
Maureen Turgeon
Orr’s Island
Trump ‘misstates’ the facts
Back when Donald Trump was competing for the Republican nomination, Sen. Susan Collins declared she wouldn’t vote for him for president. Now she supports him as president but wouldn’t side with him if he ” misstated what the facts are” in his allegation that former President Barack Obama ordered a wiretap on Trump Tower during the election. Isn’t there a shorter word she might have used?
Phil Locke
Bangor
Happy spring
As we close the long winter season and welcome spring with smiling faces, soon after mud season, we will be working in our yards getting ready for the busy season as the tourist will be approaching. Let’s welcome them with open arms and smiling faces and pray that Mother Nature will give us a wonderful season like last year.
As we move forward, I wish all the best with your endeavors.
Happy Spring!
Charlie Boothby
Greenville