Vermonters Call on Cabot Creamery to Green Up

Posted by Jessica Edgerly on

 

Over fifty people gathered this morning on the Statehouse lawn calling on the CEO of Cabot Creamery’s parent company, AgriMark, to clean up their act.  Whey To Go, a local community group, hosted the event to express concern about Cabot Creamery’s wastewater spraying and water extraction practices and announce the support of 99 Vermont farmers, COOPs, and local businesses and 1600 individual supporters.  Bread and Puppet opened with a short performance entitled “The Cheese Opera,” concluding “When will Cabot Creamery be held accountable?”  and Summer Music from Greensboro added their musical talents to the event.

 

As Jill Alexander, a leader of Whey To Go explained, “We are demanding that AgriMark put in a waste treatment system, provide for independent testing of the local Cabot aquifer to assure us all that there will be sufficient water for our future needs, and provide for monitoring of our wells to guarantee our water is safe to drink.”

In 1986, the state initially allowed Cabot Creamery to spray its whey on fields as a temporary solution while it worked on plans for a wastewater facility.  Today, Cabot Creamery removes the whey to sell to food makers, but continues to spray the plant’s washwater on Vermont lands.  The washwater contains a myriad of industrial cleaners and sanitizers, many considered toxic to human health.  Whey To Go has consulted with experts who have warned that the co-mingling of the chemicals in the wastewater could create cancer-causing agents.

As Jessica Edgerly of Toxics Action Center added, “Just because you may use bleach to clean your laundry or Pine Sol to shine your floors, does not mean these chemicals are safe to spray on your vegetable patch.” 

Jill Alexander concluded, “Paul Johnston, this is my farm, my home, and my livelihood and your company’s practices don’t live up to Vermont’s green reputation.  We want to be proud of this Cabot Creamery, not ashamed.”