There is a summary of H.R 875, H.R. 759, H.R. 814, and Senate Bills 425 and 510 on the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance site. They also have links to more information and to ways to take action.
Judith McGeary, from the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance ended her letter to the editor of Acres Magazine, April 2009 issue, with the following;
"None of the bills recognize the fundamental differences in food safety between the industrial, centralized food system and the sustainable, local food system. To one degree or another, they all attempt to impose expensive, burdensome requirements on all farmers, regardless of the scale of operation or the management methods. True food safety reform needs to recognize that foods such as grass-fed meats, processed in local, small-scale operations, are not the same as - and should not be regulated as - feedlot meats processed at massive facilities and shipped all over the country. Nor should vegetables and fruits from a local farm be treated the same as spinach from mega-farms in California, processed at a multimillion-dollar facility, and shipped all over the country."
If you care about the future of local, sustainable food you should get involved. Follow the link to Farm and Ranch Alliance and take action.
2 comments:
This is the most overt attempt to crush gardeners', farmers', and homesteaders' freedom and sustainability in my lifetime, and God knows, Monsanto et al. have been working on it long enough. Too terrifying for words! Thanks for posting about this and giving us the link. Brrrrr!!!!
When one writes a bill with such sweeping language that does not specifically exclude small farmers, roadside veggies stands, and home gardens it causes confusion and apprehension.
So here is the question:
Wouldn't this entire mess just be cleared up if simple language, you know the Keep It Simple Silly principle, was applied?
How about:
"No foodstuffs produced by American Citizens on their own property for their own consumption, sharing with neighbors or to supplement other hungry individuals during these Economically Challenging times shall be covered by HR 875."
I mean - we expect results - let us tell the legislators what we want.
Maybe that is too simple - but look at the situation we are in now by writing thousand page Bills.
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