Guest guest Posted April 3, 2009 Report Share Posted April 3, 2009 I saw the following e-mail message from another and I hope it is a hoax. Has anyone heard anything about the following: I saw this on the beekeeper's newsletter. I looked at the bills - I'm not good at reading legalese, but it looks real. Has anyone been following this? I thought maybe someone here would know whether this is an important issue. It concerns me, since both my kids and I have pesticide allergies... Also, we use our home garden in our homeschool. Bee-lieve it or not: This is NOT an April Fools Joke either. Some people want more governmental control! Or maybe it is the Factory Farms, Agri and Chemical businesses that have extra money to spend lobbying to take away our freedom of for healthy food choices for your family- so we have to rely on them more and they can make more money. JUST IN TIME FOR EARTH DAY: There are 2 bills that if passed, will make it illegal for you to have a home garden. Moreover, they will abolish organic food. House Resolution 875, or the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009. Sponsored by Rosa DeLauro, DConn., whose husband is on Chemical Company Monsanto's payroll. S enate Bill 425, or the Food Safety and Tracking Improvement Act, sponsored by Sen. Sherrod Brown, DOhio. HR 875 and S 425 are the pieces of legislation concerning trying to eliminate organic food. It will be required to spray pesticides and insecticides on all food, eliminating " organic " food. It will impact what food choices you have and also reach farther into soil and water quality and the environment. If you wish to read more: http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-s425/text http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h875/text Contact our senators and representatives about this Burr, Richard - (R - NC) 217 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-3154 Web Form: burr.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Conta... Hagan, Kay R. - (D - NC) B40A DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-6342 Web Form: hagan.senate.gov/contact/contact.cfm Write Your US House of Representative Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 3, 2009 Report Share Posted April 3, 2009 Hi, Here's the snopes report on this legislation/posting: http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/organic.asp. They say it's mostly false, but in my view, the legislation seems so purposefully complex and micro-managing beyond necessity, and it seems ridiculously self-serving (by Monsanto and it's relatives) that it should be eliminated anyway. Maybe since the First Lady just planted that kitchen garden by the White House, with the help of White House chefs and local school kids, they'll get this bill out of the running quickly. It'd be hilarious if we all have to start growing tomatoes and dill tucked in between flowers, like covert drug growers. I can't tell you that I'd stop growing a garden, or saving seeds, or that I'd ever spray anything in my yard other than liquid kelp or compost tea. :-) And funny how our jails are overflowing, but they want grannies with heirloom tomatoes to go to the clink. Silly. I heard once that a huge percentage of bills proposed never get heard or contemplated, so hopefully this will go that direction. Lorraine On Behalf Of admartin5 Friday, April 03, 2009 9:05 AM Veggie Gardens Illegal - Is This a Hoax??? I saw the following e-mail message from another and I hope it is a hoax. Has anyone heard anything about the following: I saw this on the beekeeper's newsletter. I looked at the bills - I'm not good at reading legalese, but it looks real. Has anyone been following this? I thought maybe someone here would know whether this is an important issue. It concerns me, since both my kids and I have pesticide allergies... Also, we use our home garden in our homeschool. Bee-lieve it or not: This is NOT an April Fools Joke either. Some people want more governmental control! Or maybe it is the Factory Farms, Agri and Chemical businesses that have extra money to spend lobbying to take away our freedom of for healthy food choices for your family- so we have to rely on them more and they can make more money. JUST IN TIME FOR EARTH DAY: There are 2 bills that if passed, will make it illegal for you to have a home garden. Moreover, they will abolish organic food. House Resolution 875, or the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009. Sponsored by Rosa DeLauro, DConn., whose husband is on Chemical Company Monsanto's payroll. S enate Bill 425, or the Food Safety and Tracking Improvement Act, sponsored by Sen. Sherrod Brown, DOhio. HR 875 and S 425 are the pieces of legislation concerning trying to eliminate organic food. It will be required to spray pesticides and insecticides on all food, eliminating " organic " food. It will impact what food choices you have and also reach farther into soil and water quality and the environment. If you wish to read more: http://www.opencong <http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-s425/text> ress.org/bill/111-s425/text http://www.opencong <http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h875/text> ress.org/bill/111-h875/text Contact our senators and representatives about this Burr, Richard - (R - NC) 217 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-3154 Web Form: burr.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Conta... Hagan, Kay R. - (D - NC) B40A DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-6342 Web Form: hagan.senate.gov/contact/contact.cfm Write Your US House of Representative Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 3, 2009 Report Share Posted April 3, 2009 Here is your answer from Snopes.com http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/organic.asp On Fri, Apr 3, 2009 at 8:04 AM, <admartin5 wrote: > I saw the following e-mail message from another and I hope > it is a hoax. Has anyone heard anything about the following: > > I saw this on the beekeeper's newsletter. I looked at the bills - I'm not > good at reading legalese, but it looks real. Has anyone been following this? > I thought maybe someone here would know whether this is an important issue. > It concerns me, since both my kids and I have pesticide allergies... Also, > we use our home garden in our homeschool. > > Bee-lieve it or not: This is NOT an April Fools Joke either. > > Some people want more governmental control! Or maybe it is the Factory > Farms, Agri and Chemical businesses that have extra money to spend lobbying > to take away our freedom of for healthy food choices for your family- so we > have to rely on them more and they can make more money. > > JUST IN TIME FOR EARTH DAY: There are 2 bills that if passed, will make it > illegal for you to have a home garden. Moreover, they will abolish organic > food. > > House Resolution 875, or the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009. > Sponsored by Rosa DeLauro, DConn., whose husband is on Chemical Company > Monsanto's payroll. > S > enate Bill 425, or the Food Safety and Tracking Improvement Act, sponsored > by Sen. Sherrod Brown, DOhio. > > HR 875 and S 425 are the pieces of legislation concerning trying to > eliminate organic food. It will be required to spray pesticides and > insecticides on all food, eliminating " organic " food. It will impact what > food choices you have and also reach farther into soil and water quality and > the environment. > > If you wish to read more: > http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-s425/text > http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h875/text > > Contact our senators and representatives about this > Burr, Richard - (R - NC) > 217 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 > (202) 224-3154 > Web Form: burr.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Conta... > > Hagan, Kay R. - (D - NC) > B40A DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 > (202) 224-6342 > Web Form: hagan.senate.gov/contact/contact.cfm > > Write Your US House of Representative > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 3, 2009 Report Share Posted April 3, 2009 I read through both bills (admittedly not with a fine tooth comb) and neither bill seems to deal with organic food or outlawing organic food (much less home gardens). The first bill, 425, deals only with meat and poultry products and seeks to ensure proper traceability of products to try to avoid adulterated (harmful) products getting to the consumer. The second bill, 875, is similar in that it seeks to avoid food borne illnesses. I don't see anything in these bills that would prohibit organic foods or organic gardening. Susan - admartin5 Friday, April 03, 2009 12:04 PM Veggie Gardens Illegal - Is This a Hoax??? I saw the following e-mail message from another and I hope it is a hoax. Has anyone heard anything about the following: I saw this on the beekeeper's newsletter. I looked at the bills - I'm not good at reading legalese, but it looks real. Has anyone been following this? I thought maybe someone here would know whether this is an important issue. It concerns me, since both my kids and I have pesticide allergies... Also, we use our home garden in our homeschool. Bee-lieve it or not: This is NOT an April Fools Joke either. Some people want more governmental control! Or maybe it is the Factory Farms, Agri and Chemical businesses that have extra money to spend lobbying to take away our freedom of for healthy food choices for your family- so we have to rely on them more and they can make more money. JUST IN TIME FOR EARTH DAY: There are 2 bills that if passed, will make it illegal for you to have a home garden. Moreover, they will abolish organic food. House Resolution 875, or the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009. Sponsored by Rosa DeLauro, DConn., whose husband is on Chemical Company Monsanto's payroll. S enate Bill 425, or the Food Safety and Tracking Improvement Act, sponsored by Sen. Sherrod Brown, DOhio. HR 875 and S 425 are the pieces of legislation concerning trying to eliminate organic food. It will be required to spray pesticides and insecticides on all food, eliminating " organic " food. It will impact what food choices you have and also reach farther into soil and water quality and the environment. If you wish to read more: http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-s425/text http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h875/text Contact our senators and representatives about this Burr, Richard - (R - NC) 217 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-3154 Web Form: burr.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Conta... Hagan, Kay R. - (D - NC) B40A DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-6342 Web Form: hagan.senate.gov/contact/contact.cfm Write Your US House of Representative Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 3, 2009 Report Share Posted April 3, 2009 I read through both bills, too- but read only carefully the sections that seemed like they would deal directly with controls on farms, etc- I mostly skimmed the enforcement/fines/whistleblower stuff. I have some friends who are involved in organic farming on a commercial level, and so I've been hearing about these bills already as it may or may not pertain to commerical enterprise. Organic farmers are mostly concerned, I think, because they are usually a smaller-scale enterprise, and they are concerned with the costs of registering and whatever extra certification would come from this bill. They seem concerned that this legislation may put them out of business. I've never heard anyone express concern that organic food or farming would be illegal. I also read quickly through the snopes stuff, but some of you know my skepticism re:snopes because of their bias etc. on occasion. Here are a few points I gathered: -while theoretically I suppose this legislation could apply to home gardens, I nowhere saw those words or anything similar mentioned. I did, conversely, see 'food for retail sale' , 'selling food for consumption', and like phrases, plenty. In HR 875, it was pretty clear the types of growing operations would be affected: ' farm, ranch, orchard, vineyard'- again, no home garden, although I suppose you could include home gardens in that if you really stretch it. Mostly both of these bills seem to deal with tracing food and food ingredients, following and enforcement of food safety guidleines (and modernization thereof), improving research of contaminants (which to my mind could include pesticides), etc., and keeping tighter reins on imported food. All of these points, in theory, are admirable, I think. The rub will be in making both bills cost-effective for small-scale operators, and making sure there isn't a bias in favor of agribusiness all the way around. jenni ________________________________ Lorraine <ldemi Friday, April 3, 2009 12:24:32 PM RE: Veggie Gardens Illegal - Is This a Hoax??? Hi, Here's the snopes report on this legislation/ posting: http://www.snopes. com/politics/ business/ organic.asp. They say it's mostly false, but in my view, the legislation seems so purposefully complex and micro-managing beyond necessity, and it seems ridiculously self-serving (by Monsanto and it's relatives) that it should be eliminated anyway. Maybe since the First Lady just planted that kitchen garden by the White House, with the help of White House chefs and local school kids, they'll get this bill out of the running quickly. It'd be hilarious if we all have to start growing tomatoes and dill tucked in between flowers, like covert drug growers. I can't tell you that I'd stop growing a garden, or saving seeds, or that I'd ever spray anything in my yard other than liquid kelp or compost tea. :-) And funny how our jails are overflowing, but they want grannies with heirloom tomatoes to go to the clink. Silly. I heard once that a huge percentage of bills proposed never get heard or contemplated, so hopefully this will go that direction. Lorraine @gro ups.com [@gro ups.com] On Behalf Of admartin5@embarqmai l.com Friday, April 03, 2009 9:05 AM @gro ups.com Veggie Gardens Illegal - Is This a Hoax??? I saw the following e-mail message from another and I hope it is a hoax. Has anyone heard anything about the following: I saw this on the beekeeper's newsletter. I looked at the bills - I'm not good at reading legalese, but it looks real. Has anyone been following this? I thought maybe someone here would know whether this is an important issue. It concerns me, since both my kids and I have pesticide allergies... Also, we use our home garden in our homeschool. Bee-lieve it or not: This is NOT an April Fools Joke either. Some people want more governmental control! Or maybe it is the Factory Farms, Agri and Chemical businesses that have extra money to spend lobbying to take away our freedom of for healthy food choices for your family- so we have to rely on them more and they can make more money. JUST IN TIME FOR EARTH DAY: There are 2 bills that if passed, will make it illegal for you to have a home garden. Moreover, they will abolish organic food. House Resolution 875, or the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009. Sponsored by Rosa DeLauro, DConn., whose husband is on Chemical Company Monsanto's payroll. S enate Bill 425, or the Food Safety and Tracking Improvement Act, sponsored by Sen. Sherrod Brown, DOhio. HR 875 and S 425 are the pieces of legislation concerning trying to eliminate organic food. It will be required to spray pesticides and insecticides on all food, eliminating " organic " food. It will impact what food choices you have and also reach farther into soil and water quality and the environment. If you wish to read more: http://www.opencong <http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-s425/text> ress.org/bill/ 111-s425/ text http://www.opencong <http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h875/text> ress.org/bill/ 111-h875/ text Contact our senators and representatives about this Burr, Richard - (R - NC) 217 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-3154 Web Form: burr.senate. gov/public/ index.cfm? FuseAction= Contact.Conta. .. Hagan, Kay R. - (D - NC) B40A DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-6342 Web Form: hagan.senate. gov/contact/ contact.cfm Write Your US House of Representative Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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