Goodbye Farmer's Market.

Goodbye Farmer's Market.
OBAMA STRIKES AGAIN!! KILL THE GARDENERS!!9



> Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:42:44 -0500
> Subject: OBAMA STRIKES AGAIN!! KILL THE GARDENERS!!9 (pleasse read this)
>
> I am writing you today to URGE you to contact your Congressmen and
> Senators, and urge them to oppose Bill HR 875 in its current form.
>
> In the guise of ensuring "FOOD SAFETY", President Obama is pushing
> through a law that will make the ONLY "Federally-sanctioned" as 'safe'
> food, or seeds, those supplied by LARGE COMMERCIAL AGRICULTURAL OUTFITS
> like Monsanto, and will OUTLAW BACKYARD VEGETABLE GARDENS. I know this
> sounds ridiculous, but I have read the text of the law, and NO WHERE IN
> IT ARE ANY EXCEPTIONS FROM THE LAW MADE FOR SMALL BACKYARD VEGETABLE
> GARDENS OR SMALL FARMS. Under the provisions of this law, as written,
> you could NOT, legally, buy heirloom seed and then harvest and re-use
> your own seed; you could ONLY legally purchase "govenment - approved"
> seed. You could NOT, under this law, raise your own vegetables and
> fruits and then sell -- or even GIVE--them to your neighbor. You would
> no longer be able to take your kids down to the local "pick-your-own"
> blueberry or strawberry farms, or buy from the roadside backyard grower
> of garden vegetables, or even grow your own vegetable plants, fruit
> trees, or nut trees, for your own consumption. Under this new law, ANY
> of these acts would be ILLEGAL without first having obtained "government
> approval" that your product is "safe"---BUT, the legal red tape and
> paperwork and INSPECTIONS required, to OBTAIN this "approval", would
> make the expense so great that only the LARGEST agricultural monopolies
> would be able to meet the costs.
>
> I know this isn't the "intent" of the Bill, but there's no language in
> it "exempting" small gardeners or small farmers. The Bill is ANOTHER
> example of the "law of unintended consequences" (just like the recent
> "lead" laws), in that it imposes a "one-size-fits-all" rule regarding
> seed propagation and purchasing, and food propagation, that backyard
> gardeners and small farmers will NOT be able to comply with.
>
> Here's the info on the bill---PLEASE help get the word out, and contact
> your representatives! If the government has total control of the food
> supply--SO THAT WE CAN'T EVEN BE FOOD-INDEPENDENT, BUT MUST RELY ON
> GOVT.-APPROVED SOURCES FOR ALL OUR FOOD--then what's to prevent what
> happened to the Ukraine under Stalin, from happening here?
>
> The info and links on the Bill:
>
> Fight HR 875 - Say good-bye to homegrown Gardens!
>
>
> PLEASE GET ACQUAINTED WITH HR 875 (THE FOOD SAFETY MODERNIZATION ACT OF
> 2009), which is currently under consideration by Congress. The proposed
> bill is in response to the many recent episodes of contaminated food
> problems (i.e. salmonella and peanuts). Like many laws, it is well
> intended, but will have disastrous outcomes:
>
> DO YOU LIKE YOUR HEIRLOOM TOMATOES?........DO YOU APPRECIATE SHARING
> HOME GROWN VEGETABLES WITH YOUR NEIGHBORS?.....do you support local
> farmers.....local farmer's markets.....organic farming practices? ENJOY
> IT WHILE YOU CAN.....THIS BILL HAS THE POTENTIAL TO CRIMINALIZE SHARING
> OR DISTRIBUTING FOOD OR SEEDS THAT ARE NOT SANCTIONED BY THE FEDERAL
> GOVERNMENT.
>
> The bill has the potential to lead to such strict control of the food
> supply, that only the BIG GROWERS will have the facilities and finances
> to conform to the new regulations.
>
> The act can force farmers to use chemicals and genetically modified
> seeds (purchased from the major agricultural companies) in order to make
> the food "safe". The penalties for not using the "safe" seeds and plants
> are so severe (up to $500,000) that it would put local, back yard and
> organic farmers out of business. Seed banks and heirloom plants could be
> forbidden because they could be viewed as a potential source of
> contamination.
>
> HERE IS A LINK TO THE TEXT AND STATUS OF THE BILL. IT IS PENDING A VOTE
> BY THE HOUSE AND SENATE:
>
> http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-875
>
> THE LEGISLATION IS ON A 'FAST TRACK' FOR APPROVAL:
>
> http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/03/10/could-the-food-safety-modernization-act-of-2009-be-the-end-to-farmers-markets-and-organic-farms/
>
>
> I have contacted my Senators and Representative and I ask you to do the
> same. Please contact your congressman and speak out against HR 875 in
> its current form.


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