Thursday, March 12, 2009

Assault on our Right to Farm and Right to Eat

There are several bills being quietly pushed through the legislative process under the guise of "food safety". But in reality these actions would create a new government administration and impose unnecessary regulations and burdens on small farmers, CSAs, and other individual producers. In some instances affecting people who just grow food for themselves.

This is not what natural food advocates, small farmers, and concerned consumers expected from the new administration. You need to read up on these bills and let your representatives know how you feel before.

HR 875: Creates the Food Safety Administration to police our food including small organic farmers and even the backyard gardner. We don't need to put CSAs and true organic farmers out of business! We need to have the agencies we already have do their job and make sure imported food is safe and factory farms provide healthier and more humanely raised food.

HR814: Supports implementation of the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) that would affect all people who have even one animal (excluding dogs and cats) on their property. This includes horses, 4H chickens, llamas, sheep, and rabbits even if they are not used for food.

S425: Tracking all food from seeds to fork imposing regulatory and paperwork requirements even on CSAs and farms that grow and sell directly to consumers.

HR1105: The Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009 which is providing funding for NAIS and food traceabilty.


HR875 also cites executive order 12988, and so claims to pre-empt local and state laws to the contrary.

See the bills at: thomas.loc.gov then write your representatives!