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Across the Fence:  Now that the food safety bill s510 has passed...  |
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Annika
True Blue Farmgirl
5602 Posts
Annika
USA
5602 Posts |
 Posted - Nov 19 2010 : 2:40:36 PM
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...Where does that leave organic farming , CSAs and farmer's markets?
Now government and big business has say over what we eat, who we buy it from and even if we grow our own foods. This is a scary bill.
 I have a feeling things will be getting a lot worse. Will they arrest us for gardening organically now?????...Sheesh!
Here go read about it. I'm mad enough to catch on fire 
http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-s510/show
Annika
Farmgirl & sister #13
Palouse Prairie Girls Chapter
http://palouseprairiegirls.blogspot.com/
http://prairiegirlsjournal.blogspot.com/
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. ~Leonardo DaVinci
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natesgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1735 Posts
angela
martinsville
indiana
USA
1735 Posts |
Posted - Nov 19 2010 : 6:57:48 PM
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It's time to privacy fence our gardens and start growin indoors! I'm settin up my little indoor greenhouse as soon as Thanksgiving is cleaned up from and startin my practicin! My family is completely reliant on my gardenin to make it through the year. I'm gonna learn how to grow in alternative ways and how to keep my own seed before the end of next year one way or another. We girls may have to pull together on here and set up a barter system for sharin food and seed. It's not a 'commodity' if no money changes hands. Therefor, they can't 'moderate' that!
Farmgirl Sister #1438
God - Gardening - Family - Is anything else important? |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
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Fiddlehead Farm
True Blue Farmgirl
4562 Posts
Diane
Waupaca
WI
USA
4562 Posts |
Posted - Nov 20 2010 : 06:22:44 AM
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I am upset too! I wrote to my senators and said NO! Anytime we allow the Government more power they take it and run with it. They make it sound like it is for our health, but it is only for control. When is it ever going to stop? I just posted a link to a video about Monsanto and the Dairy Industry under the Raw Milk thread. Do you ever wonder why the US has such high cancer levels? I am convinced that it is all the crap that is in our food and our water. I just saw something about flouride in our water and toothpaste that was alarming. I will try and find the story and post it here. After I cool off a bit!
http://studiodiphotosite.shutterfly.com/
farmgirl sister #922
Happy to be a "Raggedy Ann" in a Barbie World!
I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult.
- E. B. White |
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Cindy Lou
True Blue Farmgirl
2325 Posts
Susan
Lonsdale
MN
USA
2325 Posts |
Posted - Nov 20 2010 : 06:22:52 AM
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Annika,
I found a site that reported on the bill's passage and says small farmers will be exempt, up to those making $500,000 a year. Some positives of the bill are that its the first change in FDA since 1938, we all know that factory farms have developed and changed over that time. 76 million people are affected by food borne illness a year and their are 5,000 deaths. Such an industry needs safeguards. You can check out a report on this site. Calorielab.com
I'm still looking for an actual text of the bill though.
Susan
"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"
Mary Oliver |
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Bellepepper
True Blue Farmgirl
1207 Posts
Belle
Coffeyville
KS
USA
1207 Posts |
Posted - Nov 20 2010 : 12:09:10 PM
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Hi gals! haven't been in here for a while. Just checking to see if anyone is stocking up. Came across this topic. YES this is scary. And don't count on any new laws "not" affecting small farms. It was mentioned on a TV show the other day that a Guy in Georgia was fined $5000 for raising too much food in his garden and he was giving it away. They said he was interferring with interstate commerce. Anyone else hear about this?
Belle |
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Room To Grow
True Blue Farmgirl
974 Posts
Deborah
Kingston
Georgia
USA
974 Posts |
Posted - Nov 20 2010 : 3:22:37 PM
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I live in Ga...I havent heard of this man. Do you have a news article or network report about it Belle. I have been stocking up on seeds and I plan on getting more this yr. I have a great neighbor that also saves seeds. We live in a very small town in North West Ga....We are planning on getting a gun the first of the yr. The garden we have now is not that big. But I did plan on making it bigger. I have been reading about growing wheat and other grains. But we need to borrow someones tractor. I agree about the cancer coming from GMOs and the other stuff they put in our foods. That is why I think other countries dont want the GMOs in there countries.
Deborah
we have moved to our farm...and love it |
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Bellepepper
True Blue Farmgirl
1207 Posts
Belle
Coffeyville
KS
USA
1207 Posts |
Posted - Nov 20 2010 : 3:43:23 PM
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Deborah, I heard about this guy getting fined a couple of times. Both times on Fox news while discussing new regulations. Don't remember which program. Wish I HAD read it. I always save stuff like that. But then, I wouldn't been able to find it if I had.
Do you mind telling us why you are getting a gun? If you don't have one, I recomend it. I don't hunt, but I'm not oppose to shooting a vermit if he is in my garden or chicken house. I keep guns for protection, personal and property.
Belle |
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Room To Grow
True Blue Farmgirl
974 Posts
Deborah
Kingston
Georgia
USA
974 Posts |
Posted - Nov 20 2010 : 8:36:13 PM
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Belle, I am with you...it will be for protection, personal and property. I dont hunt either but if I had to I would. Ihope it doesnt come to that. But one never knows. Thanks for the information.
Deborah
we have moved to our farm...and love it |
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natesgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1735 Posts
angela
martinsville
indiana
USA
1735 Posts |
Posted - Nov 21 2010 : 11:07:24 AM
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The full law is still unavailable for the public to read. There are sites that have people who were there when it was read into law and they said that the effect on the small farmer and the personal gardener comes into play in a few years. It will be the control over seed that will affect us. It will become illegal to keep, buy, or own any seed that is not government approved. The same will go into the food animals shortly after. The man who will be in charge of the whole thing is connected to monsanto at the uppermost levels! I don't want monsanto seed and I am goin out of my way right now to track down companies that are not monsanto connected. My garden cost me about $45 to plant before I learned about heirlooms and altered seed and such. To avoid altered and chemically messed with seed my garden cost me $123 to plant this year. I will be spending even more next year as I am avoiding anything monsanto to protect my family even more (since monsanto doesn't tell which seed has been messed with), closer to $200 or better. I am learning to save seed which will make a huge difference and I hope in the next year or so to be back down around the $45 mark. Or less!
Farmgirl Sister #1438
God - Gardening - Family - Is anything else important? |
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sherrye
True Blue Farmgirl
3775 Posts
sherry
bend in the high desert
oregon
USA
3775 Posts |
Posted - Nov 22 2010 : 07:13:51 AM
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it is truly getting scary out there. gov. has all the control. hang onto your seeds for sure. sincerely sherrye
the learn as we go silk purse farm
farm girl #1014
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Bellepepper
True Blue Farmgirl
1207 Posts
Belle
Coffeyville
KS
USA
1207 Posts |
Posted - Nov 22 2010 : 09:00:35 AM
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WE THE PEOPLE can change that. Is there Any one of us willing to give up our time, energy, or money to run for office, or campain for someone "on our side"? I know Mr Monitor, this is getting political. But I think the whole FARMGIRL thing is in danger.
Belle |
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Fiddlehead Farm
True Blue Farmgirl
4562 Posts
Diane
Waupaca
WI
USA
4562 Posts |
Posted - Nov 22 2010 : 2:37:20 PM
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I am posting a link to a site about the S510 food safety modernization bill that just passed. I still believe that whenever there is more regulation in the name of safety or health it will affect small farmers and growers. I grow or buy all my produce and meat from small local farmers and I have never had a problem with safety. More regulation means more taxes and fees.
http://www.justmeans.com/Senate-Bill-S510-Food-Safety-or-Food-Fascism/27723.html
Go here and see what you think, there is a link to the complete bill if you want to read it.
http://studiodiphotosite.shutterfly.com/
farmgirl sister #922
Happy to be a "Raggedy Ann" in a Barbie World!
I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult.
- E. B. White |
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Room To Grow
True Blue Farmgirl
974 Posts
Deborah
Kingston
Georgia
USA
974 Posts |
Posted - Nov 22 2010 : 5:48:34 PM
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This bill was first introduced in 2008.
Go read any communist manifesto and it will tell you to start by controlling the food source! Control the food, control the people. Can anyone say Stalin and how many people he STARVED to death? This Bill is a frightening piece of legislation!! They have already controlled the food. We are one crop away from starvation. That is because of Mansanto and GMOs.
If Uncle Sam wants to eliminate dangerous food they should close down Monsanto! We need WAY less Government.
I haven't heard of ANY food illnesses from ANY small farm. They all come from the huge, government backed suppliers. If anything, the government should disband the large food suppliers that put the little farms out of business and let the little farmers provide us food locally! Just like wall street, when a business gets too big, you CANNOT manage it correctly! Big farms ARE NOT being managed safely.
we have moved to our farm...and love it |
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Okie Farm Girl
True Blue Farmgirl
1674 Posts
Mary Beth
McLoud
Oklahoma
USA
1674 Posts |
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Fiddlehead Farm
True Blue Farmgirl
4562 Posts
Diane
Waupaca
WI
USA
4562 Posts |
Posted - Nov 23 2010 : 07:01:33 AM
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Establishes whistleblower protections for employees of entities involved in the manufacturing, processing, packing, transporting, distribution, reception, holding, or importation of food who provide information relating to any violation of the FFDCA. The only time I see this being OK is like in the instance of the dairy farms that were abusing animals in OH.
This is just a little tiny piece of the food bill that really caught my eye! Protect whistleblowers, can anyone say Brown Shirts?
I am also ashamed to see that both Senators from WI voted for this bill. I wrote and called them, but had to leave a voice message. One of them was voted out this last election.
http://studiodiphotosite.shutterfly.com/
farmgirl sister #922
Happy to be a "Raggedy Ann" in a Barbie World!
I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult.
- E. B. White |
Edited by - Fiddlehead Farm on Nov 23 2010 07:05:16 AM |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Nov 23 2010 : 11:50:51 AM
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I think that it is important for us farmgirls to take the lead in being very well self-educated about this bill and then helping to educate others. We can get the wheels in motion to get this bill repealed.
I definitely think that large farms need to, if anything live up to a higher standard because their impact is higher. Certainly food costs need to stay low (or wages need to be higher) but we should not feel at risk when we purchase foods. Also one company should not have control of our food source. I think we need to remind out elected officials of the anti-monopoly laws.
I'll do some digging and see what we need to do to start working on this as group. Let's unite our voices!
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
www.allergyjourneys.blogspot.com
Put your pin on the farmgirl map! www.farmgirlmap.blogspot.com |
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medievalcat
True Blue Farmgirl
256 Posts
Cynthia
White County
Arkansas
USA
256 Posts |
Posted - Nov 26 2010 : 4:52:47 PM
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I haven't read the bill yet but belong online to several watchdog food organizations that I will be happy to post Monday here.. I've been reading Mother Earth's magazine that just came out regarding becoming self sufficient. We need to do this now more than ever.
On a side note.. everyone in my family owns a gun even my 10 yr old daughter (it's a BB gun) and my 14 yr old daughter has a 22/410. We have a lot of people around where we live that we don't know all with the natural gas monsters.. We also hunt for our food.. thankfully deer won't eat GMO tainted crops! |
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Mama Jewel
True Blue Farmgirl
435 Posts
Jewel
Sweet Peas Farmette,
Bend, OR
USA
435 Posts |
Posted - Nov 26 2010 : 6:23:53 PM
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Here's a site that I found after going to some of the links you gals posted. Here's a way to contact your congress person via email. Type in your zip code in the upper right corner. It's quick & easy: http://www.congress.org/ Alee's right! We farm girls can "git 'er done." I've already contacted my senators! Anyone know of any specific place to battle GMO? I do with my dollars by buying organic food and organic/non-GMO seeds, but I'm wondering what else I/we can do.
Farm Girl Sister #1683 Living Simply & Naturally on our lil Sweet Peas Farmette
"Do Everything in Love." 1 Cor 14
http://www.piecemama.etsy.com |
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grace gerber
True Blue Farmgirl
2804 Posts
grace
larkspur
colorado
USA
2804 Posts |
Posted - Nov 28 2010 : 12:22:41 PM
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Jewel - the best thing you can do is get the word out. Too many folks are busy with their Black Friday sales to see that while the public is being poked into purchasing stuff they really don't need we are lossing our rights to just about everything that means something. I have felt like chicken little for years telling folks about what was going on and they would look at me like I was nuts - WELL, the sky has fallen. I keep trying to get those who I come in contact with to hear what is being done to them but for most they just want a bigger flat screen TV and some ugly boots they can not walk in the snow with - forget about getting them to take a stand, or maybe they might when there is no real food to eat. Remember the movie Soulent Green? Those of us here who care about our food, save our seeds, purchase responsibily and educate our families, friends and those who wish to learn are starting to grow in numbers but I am not sure if it will be enough with the billions of dollars the corporate food mills have and all of the political power they have in the back pockets. When I started my farm 14 years ago my kids where not allowed to show their animals because we were organic and practiced differently then the establishment - I spent 11 years on the fairboard to turn that around and within one year of me leaving it is all back to what is was - ass backwards and full of chemicals. So, I am not too sure folks want to have what is best for their health but rather they turn to what is easier... Sorry to sound so glum but I have been fighting this fight for so long and I do not feel like I have made much of a difference.
I would love to have some new ways to approach this - believe me I truely believe heart in soul in the natural way...
Grace Gerber
Larkspur Funny Farm and Fiber Art Studio
Where the spirits are high and the fiber is deep
http://www.larkspurfunnyfarm.etsy.com
http://larkspurfunnyfarm.blogspot.com
http://larkspurfunnyfarm.artfire.com
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Room To Grow
True Blue Farmgirl
974 Posts
Deborah
Kingston
Georgia
USA
974 Posts |
Posted - Nov 28 2010 : 7:29:21 PM
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Grace, I agree with you. I bought heiloom seeds last yr. And I will buy more this yr. I am going to be looking into buying a book on how to save the seeds from my heirloom seeds. And I will be purchacing grain seeds too. My husband and Daughter think I am crazy to plant grain but I want to try. And I would love to plant corn. And if we have enough money I would like to buy a small grain mill....probably used. It is all in how we look at things....The govt says we are getting better....I say we are not...and it will only get worse..I read something in BWH and I will post when I find it....But it wasnt very good and something to think about...
Deborah
we have moved to our farm...and love it |
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Fiddlehead Farm
True Blue Farmgirl
4562 Posts
Diane
Waupaca
WI
USA
4562 Posts |
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gracylfreebush
Farmgirl in Training
39 Posts
Gracy
Alvin
TX
USA
39 Posts |
Posted - Dec 02 2010 : 08:30:50 AM
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I read about the guy in Georgia too. It wasn't the federal government really that went after him. He broke a zoning ordinance and was fined for breaking the ordinance. It has been changed since he was fined and he can now grow whatever he wants. As far as the new bill, it is only suppose to affect those that make more then $500,000. a year. That doesn't include most of us I think. I think it is a bad bill but it is not suppose to affect, farmers markets, road side stands etc. I read it yesterday. I think the government is to much in our business already and we don't need them interfering any more. But, I don't think this one will affect our growing and selling rights it will affect what we buy though.
Thoughts are things choose the good ones. |
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Okie Farm Girl
True Blue Farmgirl
1674 Posts
Mary Beth
McLoud
Oklahoma
USA
1674 Posts |
Posted - Dec 02 2010 : 08:39:11 AM
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It appears that the bill may not pass after all because of wording. It doesn't seem that it will affect us small potatoes, but the problem is with any of these bills is that they open the door to later reglation on all of us. That "give 'em an inch, they'll take a mile" kinda thing. We need to be calling our Congressmen and asking them to nip this in the bud. It isn't going to make us one iota safer. It'll just make us FEEL like we are safer.
Mary Beth
www.OklahomaPastryCloth.com
The Sovereign Lord is my strength - Habakkuk 3:19 |
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sonshine4u
Chapter Guru
1205 Posts
April
New Prague
MN
USA
1205 Posts |
Posted - Dec 02 2010 : 09:07:09 AM
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Perhaps that will help with stalling it and they can figure out a better idea than what is currently proposed. I understand that there should be certain regulations upheld for our safety, especially in the large factory farms. Those are the worst.
quote:
By one estimate, the kinds of farms that the bill would exempt represent less than 1 percent of the food marketplace. Does the food industry really want to sabotage an effort to ensure the safety of 99 percent of that marketplace because it is so deeply concerned about under-regulation of 1 percent? The largest outbreaks are routinely caused by the largest processors, not by small producers selling their goods at farmers’ markets.
Theodore Roosevelt ran up against the same sort of resistance when he fought for the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. “Unfortunately,” he said, “the misdeeds of those who are responsible for the abuses we design to cure will bring discredit and damage not only upon them, but upon the innocent stock growers, the ranchmen and farmers of this country.” That is one reason the federal government decided to guarantee food safety during the last century — and why it must continue to do so in this one. -Michael Pollen and Eric Schlosser from an article in NY Times : http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/29/opinion/29schlosser.html?_r=2
The problem is that the smaller run farms that take care to make a wholesome product get trampled in the midst of the poor practices of the big guy. However, it looks like small family farms have been saved from the worst for now.
quote:
"The passage of the food safety bill, which grants the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) mandatory recall authority and includes provisions that protect family farmers engaged in direct sales of local foods is an historic victory for family farmers and the local food movement, said Dave Murphy, founder and executive director of Food Democracy Now!. "In overcoming the backlash of agricultural giants who desperately fought to kill these protections for family farmers, the sustainable agricultural movement has shown that it is a political force to be reckoned with."
But in the future...if we do nothing and keep with the same ole, same ole attitude, people who want pure food without pesticides, gmos, toxins etc... may be hard pressed if the big hand of government decides to regulate everything grown and sold no matter what scale of operation you run...
There was a bill a few years back with the mad cow disease in mind, it was to have all farmers tag and identify each and everyone of their cows with a new specialized tag that could be tracked with gps and if they got out of their fence, the feds would slap a fine or something on you after submitting a ton of paperwork...etc. Totally ludicrous and a huge nightmare to implement for the gov. Can you imagine!? "Bessy got out of her pen again and the feds busted us for leaving her sanctioned area."
If you want to read more about that and how they are fighting it, and how you can help fight it, along with bill s510 go here: http://nonais.org/
Here are some other articles about the NAIS:
http://www.boiseweekly.com/boise/a-beeper-for-every-cow/Content?oid=928294
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Sustainable-Farming/2007-06-01/National-Animal-ID-System.aspx
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/business/05livestock.html
I understand the USDA's concern for keeping contaminated meat out of the marketplace, but the way in which they are going about it may not be feasible. There are probably better solutions to these problems, like not using feedlots for finishing cattle for one example. http://www.eatwild.com/foodsafety.html
Anyway, back to the topic at hand, the s510 and the regulation of our food. While I think it is a good thing (like with the peanut butter, the eggs, the spinach) to inform the non-discerning public who go into a grocery store trusting all the products on the shelf and who have no relationship with the farmer or manufacturer of those goods and what may be tainted, I find it cumbersome and not necessary to challenge small family farms who have a relationship with their customers and have some integrity in what they are producing. (sorry, world's longest run-on sentence)
The reason I brought all this up was imagining what kind of world we would be living in if we got busted for growing things in our backyards?! Would there be ground police? Would there be gps tracked seeds and robot ants and slugs checking our soil to see if we planted seeds? Would we get fined for pulling a potato out of our ground? Would we have neighborhood enforcement officers walking their beat and checking for illegal vegetable gardens? Would we get pulled over for hauling an unsanctioned watermelon to our family reunion in the park? Would we have to eat our cucumber and tomato salad secretly in the confines of our basements? Would we be busted for saving seeds? Would there be seed burning parties and all we could get were monsanto frankenstein seeds for our use? This all seems totally ridiculous and we have every right as Americans to stand up and do something.
Here are a few links where you can do something about fighting GMO aka Monsanto...because they really are the issue here:
http://www.saynotogmos.org/
http://www.nongmoproject.org/
And another link about saving our food:
http://www.fooddemocracynow.org/
Here is another article about the stall in passing the s510:
http://www.fooddemocracynow.org/blog/2010/dec/1/breaking-procedural-error-senate-could-kill-food-s/
Finally, I'd like to say that I'm glad we as farmgirls are keeping informed and sharing the passion to fight for our food! There's a lot going on in this world of ours, but if we don't have food and we don't have water...we don't have people. Keep up the good fight for our food!
~April
p.s. I chuckle everytime I think about you ladies and your gun thoughts...I'm picturing you sitting on your rocking chair with your prairie skirt and white ruffled petticoat covering your knees and your cowgirl booted feet propped up on a white picket fence with your shotgun in your hands... "Git outta my garden ya hooligans! It's mine!"
Playing in the Sonshine
http://www.homesteadblogger.com/sonshine4u |
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homsteddinmom
True Blue Farmgirl
441 Posts
Brandee
bullard
tx
USA
441 Posts |
Posted - Dec 02 2010 : 12:09:32 PM
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according to what i have read, i read about the under 500,000 dollars BUT it will cover seeds and you wont be able to get herloom or organic seeds at all, so in a way for the gardeners that are organic it will affect us!
Homesteading Mom in East Texas. Raising chickens, Rabbits and goats here on my farm! |
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Across the Fence: Now that the food safety bill s510 has passed... |
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Now that the food safety bill s510 has passed...
