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market-farming - [Market-farming] HEADS UP! It will soon be illegal to grow your own food!!

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  • From: Lynn Hudson <a_mountain_traveler AT yahoo.com>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [Market-farming] HEADS UP! It will soon be illegal to grow your own food!!
  • Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2009 16:51:32 -0700 (PDT)



I'm just now moving to MO so I can start growing my own food and do some
farmers markets. NOW this.

I don't know if any of the rest of you have seen it or not. This could be
the end of farmers markets.





Growing Your Own Food Soon to be ILLEGAL

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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