Water Warrior: Remembering Rob Hemond
Carmi was more than Rob Hemond's hometown lake, it was his livelihood. He seemed to know about every drop of water in the region. He also seemed to know everybody.
Creating a Campaign
[The following essay was the original strategic document that launched Regeneration Vermont more than four years ago. It was written by our co-founder, Michael Colby, to our founding partners and board. It remains the touchstone for our activist philosophy
Our Mission: Healthy Farms, Livable Planet
Vermont agriculture remains dominated by corporate colonialism, where mostly foreign (out of state and out of country) corporations are exploiting our resources and labor while accumulating great wealth elsewhere – London, in the case of Ben & Jerry’s and its
Big Dairy’s Antibiotic Problem
While people understandably go out of their way to consume meat products that are “antibiotic free,” there’s no similar level of concern with conventional dairy products. And there should be. Here’s the dirty little secret about modern dairy: Antibiotic residues
Back to the Future: Regeneration Now.
The great poet and sage, Gary Snyder, wrote: “When making an axe handle, the pattern is not far off.” And so it is with reforming agriculture. The pattern is not far off. It was only 60 years ago that Vermont
Migrant Injustice: Ben & Jerry’s Farmworker Exploitation
These are harrowing times for the nearly 1,500 migrant workers laboring on Vermont’s largest dairy farms. These farmworkers, predominantly from Mexico, are forced to live in the shadows, where their farm bosses harbor them in exchange for long hours, low
Beyond Organic: A New Food Movement.
Blast from the Past: It was twenty years ago that we first published our warning to the organic farming community about the impending corporate takeover of its movement, beginning with federal standards that would, over time, weaken standards in service
The Regenerative Transition: An Appeal to Reason
Vermont’s agricultural economy has been wrecked by its over reliance on a failed and destructive factory-farm dairy model, where an overproduction of cheap milk is enriching milk buyers like Ben & Jerry’s and Cabot Cheese but bankrupting our small farm
Vermont Rising: Beyond Big Dairy
By Michael Colby Vermont’s agricultural narrative is overdue for a change. The tale of family farmers, grazing cows, thriving communities and across-the-board artisan quality is almost a museum piece at this point. While the images still dance in our
The Carmi Chronicles: The Senate Comes to Town
By Michael Colby. It was a powerful showing at Lake Carmi last month, as nearly 50 citizens showed up on a snowy evening just before Thanksgiving to offer water-quality testimony to a joint hearing of the Vermont Senate, convened by