Guest guest Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 Just wondering if anyone has seen this? I honestly haven't read the details. I will when I get home from work though. http://www.campaignforliberty.com/blog.php?view=12671 Linda K. (long time lurker) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 Thanks for posting that link, Linda. This is truly alarming. I don't usually bother contacting my legislators because I honestly don't feel it does any good, but in this instance I figured there is nothing to lose by making a few phone calls, and much to lose if these tyrants are allowed to have their way. I wanted to assure others who feel the same way that it's a painless thing to do. When you call, a real person answers the phone. (I hasten to say my cynicism about government is still intact, however, because I take this as a sign that they are so desperate to make us *think* they're listening that they'll spend whatever outrageous amounts of (our) money it takes to have real people answering the phones, rather than doing it cost effectively with voicemail systems like the private sector does. But I digress. They may ask for your name but usually they won't ask for details, or even why you are opposed to the bill. All that matters is that you tell your legislators that you are against this bill. To get contact info for your legislators, go to http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/ and put in your zip code on the left. HB 875 is the bill that is before the house and this is the one that is appearing in all the news so apparently the senate version is not active yet although it has been given a number designation, which I don't recall at the moment (it will begin with " SB " ). Maybe somebody else knows it? Not to get partisan, because I have no affinity to either party (to say the least), but for those who think Democrats are to be trusted, this bill's sponsors are all " D " s. For those not familiar with the " Campaign for Liberty " , it is the civil liberties advocacy/government watchdog group that grew out of Ron Paul's presidential candidacy (who is as despised and marginalized by Republicans as he is by Democrats, btw, which is a sign he's on *our* side . The blog post linked below does a good job of summarizing the bill and what we can do to fight it. Best wishes, Nora -- > Just wondering if anyone has seen this? I honestly haven't read the > details. I will when I get home from work though. > http://www.campaignforliberty.com/blog.php?view=12671 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 The senate version is SB 425. Nora Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 http://www.campaignforliberty.com/blog.php?view=12671 I do not support this bill, but Campaign for Liberty is either wildly misinterpreting the bill or intentionally engaging in anti-gov't fear mongering. Not that I have any love of the government, but this bill isn't going to do what CFL says it will, and it seems the blog writer has little experience in reading legalese. It does not create a new government body, it moves the FDA to Dept of Health and Human Services. The Organic Consumers Association has looked at the bill http://capwiz.com/grassrootsnetroots/issues/bills/?bill=12878051 & alertid =12878056 and found that it does not cover growing your own food in any way, shape, or form. It's meant to cover commercial food production and manufacture. Backyard growers are explicitly excluded from the definition of " establishment " - this includes organic food growers. Restaurants, retailers, nonprofits, and other outlets are also not covered. Private citizens fly way under the radar of this bill. (Sec. III, paragraphs 13-14) Now, it does seem to include small farms such as a grower with just an acre behind their house IF the the produce is to be sold. It's for that reason the OCA is neutral on the bill, and that's why I don't support it, as is, unless they add a clause for small producers who cannot afford to address theoretical concerns, which is what I called in to my legislators. This bill says: " The term 'food production facility' means any farm, ranch, orchard, vineyard. require each food production facility to have a written food safety plan that describes the likely hazards and preventive controls implemented to address those hazards... " Having a food safety plan in this age of peanut recalls and contaminated spinach is a typical government response, but this is not going to " criminalize organic farming and the backyard gardener. " Doh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 I agree totally with what you say. When are the American people going to wake up and quit voting Democrat and Republican and vote for someone who works for them? Someone should start (or plug me into) a group that deals with stuff like this in the political arena. Ron , " Nora Lenz " <nmlenz wrote: > > Not to get partisan, because I have no affinity to either party (to say the least), but for those who think Democrats are to be trusted, this bill's sponsors are all " D " s. For those not familiar with the " Campaign for Liberty " , it is the civil liberties advocacy/government watchdog group that grew out of Ron Paul's presidential candidacy (who is as despised and marginalized by Republicans as he is by Democrats, btw, which is a sign he's on *our* side . The blog post linked below does a good job of summarizing the bill and what we can do to fight it. > > Best wishes, > Nora > > > -- > > > > Just wondering if anyone has seen this? I honestly haven't read the details. I will when I get home from work though. http://www.campaignforliberty.com/blog.php?view=12671 > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 " I do not support this bill, but Campaign for Liberty is either wildly > misinterpreting the bill or intentionally engaging in anti-gov't fear > mongering ... " Doh, The linked post was only one member's opinion, not CFL's official position. Best wishes, Nora Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 > Doh, > The linked post was only one member's opinion, not CFL's official position. > Best wishes, > Nora Good point, Nora. Unfortunately, it's the same misinformation I've seen on 4 blogs (and counting!) so it seems to have gone viral from some original source. Doh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 Thanks NOra for posting, I've been meaning to do that for a couple of weeks. I too am a Campaign for Liberty member. I recently got a big group of our members to take a one day permaculture class and they are all starting victory gardens, lots of garden work parties happening! Lots of home organics going in! Let's not let our legislators try to make this illegal! It is compulsory for anyone concerned with organics to contact their legislators regarding this bill. Your posting reminded me of Obama's recent appointment of Tom Vilsack as the head of the Dept of Agriculture - Tom Vilsack has been called " Monsanto's Boy " . Find your legislators (I keep this page bookmarked): http://apps.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/Default.aspx > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 On Fri, Mar 20, 2009 at 11:43 AM, Sidecar Manager < manager wrote: > > <%40> > > http://www.campaignforliberty.com/blog.php?view=12671 > > > Having a food safety plan in this age of peanut recalls and contaminated > spinach is a typical government response, but this is not going to > " criminalize organic farming and the backyard gardener. " > Doh > > > _ > > I am not going to defend this bill by any means either, but it is interesting to see: http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/20/white.house.garden/index.html?iref=newsse\ arch and http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/obama-organic-tea-4408010\ 8 and http://www.plentymag.com/blogs/ecoeats/2008/03/michelle_obama_buys_organic.php If we are going to write to the apparent stone wall that is our congress, it seems we should also let our President know something might not be good with this bill as well, if his wife wants to keep buying organic produce. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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