Agtivist Award

Agtivist Award This year Food Forethought launched the Agtivist program in order to equip individuals to speak the truth about American Agriculture . Oscar season caused me to reflect on the fact that we should honor our "agtivist of the year" and first nomination would just have to go to rancher Jim Chilton of Tucson Arizona for taking on the well known environmental group Center for Biological Diversity and winning. A Tucson jury found the center guilty of making false, unfair, libelous statements against the rancher. Mr. Chilton was awarded $100,000 in actual damages and $500,000 in punitive for defaming both himself and his family business. In true "agtivist" spirit the rancher who sued the group for using scare tactics not sound science while trumping endangered species merely to raise money for their own goals said the case was about truth not money and will donate all funds remaining after his legal fees are paid to the Arizona Cattle Growers Association to be used top spread truth about cattle grazing issues. Jim Chilton a fifth generation Arizona rancher fits our definition of an agtivist .