Pending legislation could affect local organic farmers and home gardeners -- HR

[Guest guest]

I'm sorry to send such a bummer of an e-mail to all my herbal remedy friends,

but there is legislation pending that could spell trouble for anyone trying to

grow food naturally and organically.

 

It's HR 875 - The Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009.

 

Supposedly designed to prevent tainted food from reaching consumers, this

well-intentioned bill, backed by a bunch of moderate Democrats and a lot of

Republicans, has too many loopholes and sweeping provisos. The bill was created

to prevent another situation like the one that occurred last year with a peanut

butter plant in Georgia. The plant allegedly sold peanut butter with salmonella

in it.

 

The Organic Consumers Association has said they will not support this bill in

its present form. You can contact them at www.organicconsumers.org to get more

information.

 

Basically, HR 875 is attempting to stem the filth and contamination of the

country's gigantic industrialized food system. The OCA is refusing to back the

bill because there is the possiblity of a " one-size-fits-all " application of

these new regulations which could potentially put small certified organic farms

and local farm-to consumer operations out of business.

 

Some points to consider:

 

1. There is an enormous rush to get this into law within the next 2 weeks.

 

2. Many people are claiming the main backer and one of the strongest lobbyists

is purportedly Monsanto – chemical and genetic engineering giant corporation

(along with Cargill, ADM, and about 35 other related agri-giants).

 

3. This bill could potentially require organic farms to use specific fertilizers

and poisonous insect sprays dictated by the newly formed agency to " make sure

there is no danger to the public food supply. " This could, unfortunately,

potentially include backyard gardens that grow food only for a family.

 

4. If this passes, it is possible that heirloom seeds could be outlawed. All

seeds may have to be chemically treated.

 

5. There is a video on the

subject http://pr1.netatlantic.com/t/9661579/8133512/598242/0/

 

6. And another one: 

 

7. Remember, there are a lot of people upset about this bill, so check your

sources and educate yourself.

 

If this issue speaks to you, would you be willing to contact your Congressman in

the next few days and express your opposition to the way in which this bill is

written? Please ask that the wording of the bill protect organic farmers and

home gardeners. Voting will commence within a week or so. Thank you also for

spreading the word to anyone else who may be interested.

 

To find out who your representatives are, go to:

 http://pr1.netatlantic.com/t/9661579/8133512/598244/0/

 

The following link http://pr1.netatlantic.com/t/9661579/8133512/598245/0/ is a

list of the U.S. senators with their contact info.

 

All you have to do is put in your zip and it will give you your congressperson

and how to get in touch with them.

 

When you call their office someone will answer the phone, politely and

respectfully just tell them that you are calling to express your views on HR

875. Tell them your views, they'll take your name and address and pass your

comments along to the congressperson.

 

Thank you all for taking such quick action on this!