Fwd: NOTMILK -YOU'RE INVITED TO A BAR-B-CUE

[Guest guest]

Dear Friends,

 

On Wednesday, May 2, 2001, I reported that

a vegetarian group had been barred from this

year's New York State fair because they

distributed my book (MILK-The Deadly

Poison) at last year's event.

 

Many of you wrote letters to the newspaper

reporting the story:

 

webmaster

 

Noah Reibel

The Independent

Route 23 Box 246

Hillsdale, NY 12529 USA

 

And as a result, the paper's expanded coverage

has won us a partial victory.

 

After being banned from the county fair, the

board of the Columbia County Agricultural Society

met and " expressed its unanimous support for renting

booth space to the Mid-Hudson Vegetarian Society

at this year's county fair, " held over Labor Day

weekend. In its press release, the board said,

" Vegetarianism is an important part of agriculture... "

 

HOWEVER, in the next breath, the fair organizers

asked the group not distribute " anti-dairy literature "

-- a clear violation of free speech.

 

The Agricultural Society receives over $12,000 in

county and state funds. As a result, they " may be

unable to control the content of any material at the

fair, " according to " The Independent. " Here are

some excerpts from Noah Reibel's latest article:

 

___________

 

CHATHAM--The organizers of the Columbia County

Fair will allow a vegetarian group to host a booth this

year as long as the group does not distribute

" anti-dairy literature. "

 

The 16-member Board of the Columbia County

Agricultural Society, which oversees the fair, met this

week and voted unanimously to include the group, with

the request that the vegetarian advocates leave some

of their pamphlets at home.

 

" The board will ask the group not to distribute its

anti-dairy literature, " reads the press release issued

Tuesday.

 

CENSORSHIP?

 

According to the Agricultural Society, " a large

contingent of dairy and cattle farmers as well as 4-H

youngsters " found the material the vegetarians distributed

last year offensive enough that they complained to Mr.

Nero, saying " it was not in the spirit of the fair, which

celebrates agriculture. "

 

David Seth Michaels is the Spencertown attorney who

has taken up the vegetarians' cause. In his opinion, the

board should not regulate what people write, say or

distribute at the event.

 

" The First Amendment doesn't have an exclusion clause

that says speech is protected unless dairy farmers don't

like it, " he says.

 

DAIRY CONCERNS

 

Dairy farmers, already struggling with static milk prices

and rising costs, may view the group's literature as a

deliberate provocation. Copies of Milk: the Deadly

Poison were on display at the vegetarian booth last

year.

 

The controversial book by Dr. Robert Cohen links milk

and the use of Bovine Growth Hormone (BGH) with a

variety of illnesses, including heart disease and breast

cancer.

 

One agricultural expert says dairy farmers in

Columbia County do not use BGH.

 

OPTIONS

 

" We want an assurance from the organizers that we have

the right to display whatever we want as long as it is not

pornographic or hateful, " says Ms. Zacharias (of the

Mid-Hudson Vegetarian Society).

 

Ms. Zacharias says she will find a " creative " way to

draw attention to the gag order.

 

There is also the potential for legal action. She says

attorneys from the New York Civil Liberties Union

have contacted her and expressed interest in taking the

case. Ms. Zacharias says the incident has galvanized

the vegetarian community and focused attention on

their views. She's encouraged by the support she's

received and she believes there's a growing interest

in the benefits of eating organic foods.

 

" I don't think we'll have any problem staffing the booth

this year, " she says.

___________

 

Anybody for a book burning? We could bar-b-cue

veggie burgers and soy-hot dogs over the glowing

embers of MILK-The Deadly Poison.

 

Robert Cohen

http://www.notmilk.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

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