Kanika Gandhi and Libby Merritt MPA '16 report from the Northeast Organic Farming Association conference (500+ attendees this year!) in Burlington, VT (held at the University of Vermont):
This year's theme was how soil degradation impacts our regional food system. Workshops throughout the weekend examined various threats to our food system, as well as policy solutions to these issues.
We were fortunate enough to meet Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin, Senator Patrick Leahy, representatives from the office of Senator Bernie Sanders, and many other key policymakers at the National Policy Roundtable session. Shumlin's talk about the tension and difficulty in passing legislation at both the state and federal levels was a personal highlight and definitely made the cold weather worth it!