The Nom Nom Good food co-op in Cooperstown wants a label to reflect that their food is farmed on land that has not been leased for gas drilling.
I am looking for a symbol to put on our advertising to show that we do not support gas drilling, or more specifically, that our food is grown & raised on land without gas wells. If a symbol exists, it would be great to standardize it and have all like-minded farmers (& value-added producers) use it in their labelling, so we can recognize and support those farmers.
This recent Earth Island Journal story on gas drilling in upstate New York and Pennsylvania suggests it might be a moot point: According to Hancock farmer Mark Dunau, most farmers who are leasing their land to gas companies don't plan to stay in the farm business anyway.
[Dunau] says it is wishful thinking to suggest that dairy farmers will continue to farm once they’ve leased their land. His neighbor, Brian Begeal, who owns a 312-acre dairy farm, has already leased his land and plans to retire as soon as possible. Two of Dunau’s close friends – a fifth-generation and a third-generation dairy farmer – also plan to lease. “Farmers who are signing are stopping production,” [Stefan] Gieger said.
