permaculture

["Lawrence F. London, Jr." <lflj@intrex.net>]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [SANET-MG] Don't Let the Food Safety Bill in Congress Squash Smaller 
Producers
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:51:21 -0700
From: Chrys Ostrander <chrys@THEFUTUREISORGANIC.NET>
To: SANET-MG@LISTS.IFAS.UFL.EDU

The Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009 (HR 2749) is heading towards
the floor of the US House of Representatives. While attempting to
address food safety concerns that gave rise to the spinach, peanut
butter and other disease outbreaks caused by the industrial mega food
system, this bill could potentially put the big kabash on a lot of
our efforts to localize and make more sustainable our vital food system.

The Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC) has put out a
fact sheet as well as an action alert. The fact sheet is
<http://worc.org/userfiles/file/Food_Safety_Act.pdf>HERE.
http://worc.org/userfiles/file/Food_Safety_Act.pdf

Please read and ACT ON the information I've linked to.

This is from their Action Alert:

The bill threatens to undermine the best things in U.S. agriculture -
small farmers producing for local markets.

H.R. 2749 needs to draw a clear line between small local processors
and direct market growers selling locally and the industrial,
multi-sourced food supply chains where food borne pathogens have
appeared and created problems.

<http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=gzp9LvE1q%2BqjVmk8zvzBG13n7BEyE4sC>Call
or email your Representative today. Ask him or her to contact
Representatives Dingell and Waxman and urge them to support language
in the Managers Report to the House on H.R. 7249 that

1.    Draws a bright line definition around small local food system
producers and processors,
2.    Ensures that fledgling local food producers and processors are
not saddled by excessive registration, fees, and recording-keeping
requirements.

The House of Representatives is likely to act soon.
<http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=8xemM6Q6xZ2SRfDW6BVKUV3n7BEyE4sC>Please
call or email today.

You can contact your US Representative right from WORC's website:
<http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5706/t/4412/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=980>http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5706/t/4412/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=980 





This message originated from or was forwarded by:
Chrys Ostrander
Chrysalis Farm @ Tolstoy
Organic Micro-permaculture
33495 Mill Canyon Rd.
Davenport, WA 99122
509-725-0610
chrys@thefutureisorganic.net
http://www.thefutureisorganic.net

"From each according to their ability, to each according to their needs"
Louis Jean Joseph Charles Blanc - "The organization of work" 1839
Karl Marx - "Critique of the Gotha Program" 1875

"The purpose of agriculture is not the production of food, but the
perfection of human beings"
Masanobu Fukuoka (February 2, 1913 - August 16, 2008)  - "One Straw
Revolution" 1978

"The community whose every member possesses the art of deriving a
comfortable subsistence from the smallest area of soil... will be
alike independent of crowned-kings, money-kings, and land-kings...."
Abraham Lincoln: Address to the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society,
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1859

"We will never have an organic future and a stable climate until we
pull all the troops out of Iraq
and redirect our annual $650 billion military budget to greening the
economy and guaranteeing
a sustainable environment and economic justice for everyone."
Ronnie Cummins, National Director, Organic Consumers Association
at the "Farms Not Arms" public forum and protest in Manhattan, September, 2007