Podcast

The Right to Garden as Law

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(March 8, 2020) Do you have the right to garden in your own backyard? Surely, I can hear you thinking, Mike has lost his marbles. Or whatever he has in his brain that passes for marbles. But, if you listen to this show regularly, you know that’s an issue we have discussed.

In 2017, Nicole Virgil appeared on our show to talk about a fight she had been having with the city of Elmhurst, Illinois for two years. The issue was a hoop house in her family’s backyard, constructed to extend their growing season. Sustainability in action, right? But the city told them to take it down because it violated some kind of ordinance about allowed structures. As she writes, “The City of Elmhurst applied the permanent building code to the Virgil family’s temporary membrane structure to claim it’s illegal, while allowing other membrane structures all over town.”

When she stopped by again last year, that issue had not been resolved. That was after three city council meetings, five development planning meetings and three zoning and planning commission meetings. Getting frustrated with lack of response from her own municipality, Virgil decided that it was time to get serious. She created the Right to Garden website and YouTube channel. And she went to the Illinois General Assembly.

The Right to Garden Act has been introduced in the Illinois House (HB4704) and Senate (SB3329). The chief House sponsor is State Representative Sonya Harper of the Illinois 6th Legislative District. The primary Senate sponsor is State Senator Scott M. Bennett of the 52nd District. Sonya Harper joins Nicole Virgil on our show this morning.

Also with us is Eliot Clay, director of Agriculture and Water Programs at the Illinois Environmental Council. The IEC is just one of a number of organizations that are supporting the Right to Garden Bill. They include the Institute for Justice, Sustain DuPage, Illinois NAACP, Advocates for Urban Agriculture, Illinois Stewardship Alliance, and Illinois Coalition for Informed Consent.

Crate Free Animal Welfare Town Hall

On Wednesday, March 11, The Mike Nowak Show with Peggy Malecki will be once again teaming with Crate Free Illinois to raise awareness about the plight of factory farm raised animals. We will be part of Chicago’s First Factory Farmed Animal Welfare Town Hall. The event takes place at Dovetail Brewery, 1800 W Belle Plaine Ave, Chicago, IL 60613 (Free parking lot on west side of building (first come first served); Near CTA Brown Line and UP-N Metra stops). Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the event starts, more or less, at 6:45 p.m.

There will be a screening of the film, Carnivore’s Dilemma. But, more importantly, this is a chance for you to speak your piece about how to raise farm animals more humanely. A number of experts will be on hand. Here’s the lineup.

Marc Ayers – Humane Society of the United States, Illinois State Director
Josh Richards – The Humane League, former Chicago Grassroots Coordinator
Tyler Lobdell – Food and Water Watch, Staff Attorney
Erin Kwiatkowski – Mercy for Animals, Corp. Partnerships Manager
Jessica Chipkin – Crate Free Illinois, Founder

Vegan food will be provided and a cash bar will be open serving up Dovetail brews. Oh, yeah, I’ll be moderating the event, and Peggy will be streaming it live on Facebook.

On this morning’s show, we will preview the event with Jessica Chipkin, founder of Crate Free Illinois. Joining her are Tyler Lobdell, who joined Food & Water Watch’s legal team as a staff attorney in 2019. He focuses on combating factory farms through legal advocacy. Prior to joining Food & Water Justice, Tyler spent two years as the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s Food Law Fellow. A long-time environmentalist, Tyler spent almost 10 years leading conservation programs across the U.S. before attending law school.

Also on the program this morning is Erin Kwiatkowski. Erin is the corporate partnerships manager at Mercy For Animals. She is leading MFA’s new protein diversification program, in which she plans to leverage plant-based protein to remove animals from the food system and lower the barrier of entry to plant-forward and vegan diets. Previously, Erin managed MFA’s global vegetarian support program, offering one-on-one guidance for veg-curious individuals in the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and China, as well as the ChooseVeg brand and resources.

We hope you join us on Wednesday at Dovetail Brewery. Get your tickets here.