Food for Maine's Future is pleased to announce the release of You Wanted to Be a Farmer: A Discussion of Scale, a new documentary by No Umbrella Media and the Sap Pail profiling Dan and Judy Brown of Gravelwood Farm in Blue Hill, Maine, and the issues surrounding the lawsuit filed against them by the State of Maine and Maine Department of Agriculture. Topics range from the importance of producing food locally to the control over food policy by corporate-influenced government regulatory agencies. You Wanted to Be a Farmer is a revealing bottom-up look at food policy that raises important questions about the need for scale-appropriate regulation for neighbors feeding neighbors.

Keep reading to learn how you can help spread the word / find out when a screening is coming your way!

Food for Maine's Future needs your help spreading the word about this important film. Here's how you can help:

1. Share the video with your friends, colleagues, and elected officials.

2. Host a showing where you live and have a discussion about what scale-appropriate regulations mean to your community. Last December, Food for Maine's Future hosted a community forum at the Solidarity Center in Brewer to discuss the Local Food & Community Self-Governance Ordinance passed in five Maine towns and issues affecting small-scale food producers. A copy of the film and discussion outline and notes from the community forum in Brewer are available by contacting Bob St.Peter by email or at 207-244-0908.

3. Help Food for Maine's Future get the film on public access television and other media outlets.Click here for a list of public access stations in Maine and around the U.S. The best approach is to call station managers, explain what the film is and why it might affect their town/community, and tell them that we have paid the download cost for them. Thencontact Food for Maine's Future and let us know the station and the dates and times the film will be aired.

4. Make a financial contribution so we can produce hard copies of the DVD to distribute around Maine. Small donations of $10 or more will go a long way towards getting You Wanted to Be a Farmer in the hands of people not on-line. For $100 Food for Maine's Future can provide you with 50 copies for distribution in your community. Donations can be made through Food for Maine's Future's website or by contacting Lillian Lake by email or at 207-557-5196.

Upcoming Showings

BCTV 2, Belfast, Maine
Friday March 2, 3pm and 7 pm
Saturday March 3, 3pm
Monday March 5, 3pm
Wednesday March 7, 3pm
Friday March 9, 3pm
Saturday March 10 3:30pm and 7:30pm

P.S. Take a minute to sign the petition asking Maine Governor Paul LePage to drop the state's lawsuit against Dan and Judy Brown. Over 1,800 people from around the world have signed on in support. You can join us by visitinghttp://www.change.org/petitions/governor-lepage-drop-the-lawsuit-against-farmer-dan-brown.