North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[rharrison922@yahoo.com]

Hi, folks!

   Many of you may not know that lawmakers now have a bill in committee in the US House of Representatives that proposes to Federally inspect all food for sale produced at the farm. A $500 registration fee up front is also proposed. If passed by the House, it COULD mean that artisan farming could disappear and fruit and vegetables could no longer be bought at small farms that couldn't afford the inspection fees. Produce stands could disappear. All of this would be in the name of food safety.(reminder: produce comes from foreign countries without any US food safety inspections)

    One link to read more about it is:

http://www.ftcldf.org/news/news-15june2009.htm

 

For Farmers and Consumers Defending the Right to Buy and Protecting the Right to Sell Nutritious Food Directly from the Farm   You may want to contact your US Representative after reading about it to urge that there be exceptions for small farms. Contact is needed now BEFORE the bill gets passed so it can be modified. One link contact your US Rep is: http://www.congress.org/congressorg/officials/congress/                                                                   Regards,                                  Richard Harrison, NW FL