Government Controling Organic Farming

[kruizeag]

I was forwarded this information and want to pass it on. Has anyone else heard this? I know there was talk on here about increased regulations for direct marketing farmers.

Farmer’s right to grow local/organic/farm/fresh food
appears to be at stake; under H.R. 875, The Food Safety
Modernization Act of 2009, now being implemented. We as a
nation are at high risk for ‘federalization’ for farming
and we have less than 2 weeks to act in opposition of these
extreme bills.
There are two bills going through Congress right now that
will, in essence, very likely be the end Organic Farms and
virtually all organic forms of growing food in our country.
They are being touted as being about food safety, i.e.: the
recent spinach ecoli scares. (The husband of one of the
Senators* behind this bill works for Monsanto, the chemical
giant whose intention it is to control the world food
supply.)
It is beyond belief to think that this is really happening,
that we are about to lose our right to choose what food we
eat, but it is.

The Bill will 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." It stated that these
provisions would apply to backyard gardens that grow food
only for a family and not for sales.
The two bills are HR 875 (House) and S 425 (Senate).
HR 875 is being rushed through Congress in an attempt to
get it though before the general populace (you and me) can
object. IT IS SCHEDULED TO BE VOTED ON WITHIN THE NEXT TWO
WEEKS. It is not scheduled to be up for review by Congress,
meaning there will be no questioning of its full meaning by
your Congressmen.

According to the act, "Any person that commits an act
that violates the food safety law ... may be assessed a
civil penalty by the Administrator of not more than $500,000
for each such act."
[This includes your local organic farmer...in fact; it
includes your own personal backyard garden].
Canada Bill C-6: Canada has a similar bill going though
their Government process now (Bill C-6), which further
suggests this has been a well thought out plan. If you are
in Canada, you may want to look into this.
This has to go big for any hope of stopping this, so please
forward to everyone you can and post to blogs, social
networks, etc. In short, please act. Send emails via their
official web sites to your senators and representatives.
Please take decisive action.

In case you would like a bit more info, here you go:
Very Informative:
http://www.campaignforliberty.com/blog.php?view=12671
http://washingtonwatch.com/bills/show/111_HR_875.html
(petition to sign)
And from another site:
"The government would track food shipped in interstate
commerce through a recordkeeping and audit system, a secure,
online database or registered identification. Each farmer or
producer would be required to maintain records regarding the
purchase, sale and identification of their products."

*The house bill was sponsored by Rep. Rosa DeLauro whose
husband is Stan Greenberg, a Democratic pollster whose
clients include Monsanto.

[kjmatson]

It is to vague at the moment to really know what directions they are going with this, and yes it is scary.

[kruizeag]

Here is an online petition you can sign to help stop HR 875: http://www.LeaveMyFoodAlone.org

[kruizeag]

My families philosophy in selling our produce: If I wouldn't let my kids eat it, then I will not sell it. For us, it is not about a profit, but about feeding our community healthy, safe food.

[Windy in Kansas]

Yes I've heard about it and read about it and about the great quantity of misinformation that is in the information going around the Web.

From the official web pages of Rep. Rosa DeLauro showing myth and fact: http://delauro.house.gov/files/HR875_Myths_Facts1.pdf Note, that is a PDF which may be slow loading if you don't use Foxit reader and or have dial up Net.

[RosewoodfarmVA]

The government has controlled organic farming for years now, that's why there is "certified organic". Any farmer using the word organic without being government certified is breaking the law. So, yes, government already controls organic farming. If you look at the regulations you'll find that there are many things skipped over while other unimportant issues are primarily regulated. Such as, you can still raise 10,000 chickens in a building, if the feed they eat is certified organic, then the chickens are "organic." To me, the issue isn't the feed, it's the fact that you have 10,000 chickens in a building instead of outside on grass! So organic is really a lot of hoopla that makes consumers 'feel' better while lining the pockets of the farming giants and increasing government control on yet another area of our lives.

Without that government approval label, yes, 'organic' farming is illegal!!

[Wolf mom]

More spin from Ms Delauro. Read between the lines. Protection means cost.

[Murray in ME]

Originally Posted by RosewoodfarmVA

The government has controlled organic farming for years now, that's why there is "certified organic". Any farmer using the word organic without being government certified is breaking the law. So, yes, government already controls organic farming. If you look at the regulations you'll find that there are many things skipped over while other unimportant issues are primarily regulated. Such as, you can still raise 10,000 chickens in a building, if the feed they eat is certified organic, then the chickens are "organic." To me, the issue isn't the feed, it's the fact that you have 10,000 chickens in a building instead of outside on grass! So organic is really a lot of hoopla that makes consumers 'feel' better while lining the pockets of the farming giants and increasing government control on yet another area of our lives.

Without that government approval label, yes, 'organic' farming is illegal!!

That's absolutely correct except for the very small grower. If a grower produces less than $5000/year of agricultural products, they can sell their products as organic. But (and this is a big but), they still have to follow all of the organic standards. Including all the paperwork.

[edcopp]

They (the government) try, but it is pretty much useless. Some of us just refuse to be "had" again.