Urgent. Save Organic Farms. NOW! Today!

[Mackay]

Subject: Fwd: Monsanto tries to end organic farming
Date: Wednesday, April 1, 2009, 5:11 PM

Please tell everyone who wants organic foods.....

US House and Senate are about (in a week and a half) to vote on bill that will OUTLAW ORGANIC FARMING (bill HR 875). There is an enormous rush to get this into law within the next 2 weeks before people realize what is happening.

Main backer and lobbyist is Monsanto ? chemical and genetic engineering giant corporation (and Cargill, ADM, and about 35 other related agri-giants). This 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". This will include backyard gardens that grow food only for a family and not for sales.

If this passes then NO more heirloom clean seeds but only Monsanto genetically altered seeds that are now showing up with unexpected diseases in humans.

There is a video on the subject.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epXNJNjYBvw&feature=related

And another one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeWVkTU1s1E


The name on this outrageous food plan is:
Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009 (bill HR 875).
THIS IS REAL, FOLKS! PASS THIS ALONG TO ALL CONCERNED ON YOUR MAILING LISTS & CALL YOUR SENATE REPRESENTETIVES TODAY!
Get on that phone and burn up the wires. Get anyone else you can to do the same thing. The House and Senate WILL pass this if they are not massively threatened with loss of their position.... They only fear your voice and your vote.
The best thing to do is go to Write Your Representative - Contact your Congressperson in the U.S. House of Representatives. <http://www.house.gov/writerep> 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, just tell them (politely) 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.

The following link is a list of the U.S. senators and their contact info:
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

Thank you for posting this. I've sent it on to all of my family and friends!

 

[andehens]

Thank You Mackay! Theres some good pre-written emails to send to Washington on that site, which can't hurt.

 

[Mackay]

just a little further info I didn't have time to post earlier.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_17356.cfm

http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_17370.cfm

"HR 875, the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009, is a limited-vision attempt by moderate Democrats and Republicans to craft food safety legislation to address the out-of-control filth and contamination that are inherent in our industrialized, now globalized, "profit-at-any-cost" food system. This being said, OCA does not support HR 875 in its present form, given the fact that, if the bill's regulations were applied in a one-size-fits-all manner to certified organic and farm-to-consumer operations, it could have a devastating impact on small farmers, especially raw milk producers who are already unfairly targeted by state food-safety regulators. Although the OCA deems this bill somewhat well-intentioned, we are calling on Congress to focus its attention on the real threats to food safety: globalized food sourcing from nations such as China where food safety is a travesty and domestic industrial-scale and factory farms whose collateral damage includes pesticide and antibiotic-tainted food, mad cow disease, E.coli contamination and salmonella poisoning. And, of course, Congress and the Obama Administration need to support a massive transition to organic farming practices."


http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_17355.cfm
HR 875 is a food safety bill that, as it is currently drafted, could be applied to all farms, including certified organic and farm-to-consumer operations. The bill would require farms to have a food safety plan, allow their records to be inspected, and comply with food safety regulations.
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http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-875
This is the clause that would allow them to walk onto your property and take over if you were raising a couple head of cattle or organic veggies and selling them from your home, or not even selling them as no mention of
"sale" is stated

(13) FOOD ESTABLISHMENT-
(A) IN GENERAL- The term food establishment means a slaughterhouse (except those regulated under the Federal Meat Inspection Act or the Poultry Products Inspection Act), factory, warehouse, or facility owned or operated by a person located in any State that processes food or a facility that holds, stores, or transports food or food ingredients.

and here they get more specific:

(14) FOOD PRODUCTION FACILITY- The term food production facility means any farm, ranch, orchard, vineyard, aquaculture facility, or confined animal-feeding operation.


number (2) here opens the door to regulate what is actually deemed safe on your little organic garden.

SEC. 201. ADMINISTRATION OF NATIONAL PROGRAM.
(a) In General- The Administrator shall--
(1) develop, administer, and annually update a national food safety program (referred to in this section as the program) to protect public health; and
(2) ensure that persons who produce, process, or distribute food meet their responsibility to prevent or minimize food safety hazards related to their products.

this one here allows them to come and search your organic farm any dam time they want even if you are not commercial as no specifications to commercial have been stated anywhere that I can find. It could eliminate the use of manure that organic farms rely on. This all could lead to the elimination of road side stands, farmers markets, and other venues of sale for the small producer.
(c) Program Elements- In carrying out the program, the Administrator shall--
(1) adopt and implement a national system for the registration of food establishments and foreign food establishments, as provided in section 202 of this Act;
(2) adopt and implement a national system for regular unannounced inspection of food establishments;
(3) require and enforce the adoption of preventive process controls in food establishments, based on the best available scientific and public health considerations and best available technologies;
(4) establish and enforce science-based standards for--
(A) potentially hazardous substances that may contaminate food; and
(B) safety and sanitation in the processing and handling of food;

Those who trust and love monsanto will blindly support this bill...as well as those who are just plain old blind.


My first post was sent to me from a friend who is into organic gardening and sustainable living...If they don't grow it they don't eat it.
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