HR 875 Anyone else Freaked Out by this??

[vfem]

As my husband says... if you want to take every study so literally and go above and beyond to follow the governments laws... then you aren't a true american. The laws they are 'suggesting' to us, are just that. They can only truly enforce all this on big corp where the money trails come and go from.

If someone showed up at my house to arrest me or fine me for my gardening... and again... I say "IF".... I'm sure TEG and SS will have a bail fund and a fine fund set up so each one of us could bail the other out.

I'm sure we'd have our own Lawyer on retainer by then too!!!! ROTFLMAO



Yes, I am mad that this is even up for discussion in DC. But we all know the ridiculousness of it... just a bunch of pen pushers trying to think of laws. Its not like they have anything else to do in DC.

ETA: I totally just realized I do not have a SS account yet!!!! LMAO

 

[homesteadmom]

All they have to do is go to farmers markets to catch you selling "undocumented" food products or as they are driving to the big "corp" farms follow the roadside signs for eggs & produce. So they would go after the little guy as that is who the bill is aimed at to remove the competition for companies like Monsanto. You should always fear the gov't as they find ways to get ya. Yes I am going to put on my tinfoil hat now.

 

[wifezilla]

Pass the reynolds wrap please

 

[homesteadmom]

Pass the reynolds wrap please

Does this mean I am in good company?

 

[wifezilla]

 

[homesteadmom]

Thanks, it's nice to know I am not alone in this world.

 

[Sylvie]

If someone showed up at my house to arrest me or fine me for my gardening... and again... I say "IF".... I'm sure TEG and SS will have a bail fund and a fine fund set up so each one of us could bail the other out. . . .
ETA: I totally just realized I do not have a SS account yet!!!! LMAO

You'd better get on over to SS and join us because the deadline to qualify for free legal services and bail funds is nearly past!

JK!

 

[SoyBean]

So where is this bill right now in its path to becoming law? This kind of thing makes me want to move out to the middle of no where and start my own country.

 

[setter4]

I received the following this morning from Local Harvest:
LocalHarvest.orgLocalHarvest Newsletter, March 25, 2009

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It's been a big month for people who love real food. As you've no doubt heard, the First Lady planted a garden. On Friday my email inbox was full of messages triumphantly singing out the news. We'd like to send our own congratulations and thanks to Kitchen Gardeners International, a small organization that worked on this idea tirelessly and with great creativity over the last 15 months. It's a good one, and we believe the nation will be better for it.

Over the last couple of weeks, I've also received a barage of emails about the "Food Safety Modernization Act", or HB 875. The tone of these was somewhere between concerned and hysterical. From what we have learned, HB 875 is not the horror story it has been made out to be. It would not, for example, result in "totalitarian control" or "the planned elimination of farmers" as one oft-forwarded email put it. It actually contains some sound ideas. But for some reason, myths and misinformation about this bill have taken root and spread like a noxious weed.

It got me to thinking. First, truth be told, it made my head spin. All this justifiable jubilance stuffed in next to that screeching panic felt downright disorienting. The administration could not publicly promote organic gardening, and then sign off on a bill that would "criminalize organic farming and outlaw home gardening." It's absurd.

But what does it mean, to have so much exuberance in the locavore community on the one hand, and so much fear and loathing on the other? I think it comes down to this: food, and the ability to grow it honestly, is fundamental to our well-being. We celebrate when we see the food we love, and the values behind it, being respected by influential people. And if we feel that our right to grow that food without undue interference is threatened, we react strongly.

That said, it seems to me that we need to take a breath and put both of our hands to work. We can, each of us, sow at least one seed this spring. If the First Lady thinks pulling a few weeds is a good activity for her family, it's probably good for ours too - and it is. We can, each of us, also follow the food safety bills as they make their way through Congress, writing to our representatives to tell them how important small scale, organic agriculture is to us and to our communities.

It turns out that HB 875 is unlikely to go anywhere. And that's not necessarily great news, given that it contained some ambitious, positive changes. Our friends at the Cornucopia Institute tell us that 875 has been passed over for another food safety bill, HB 759. They, and others like Food and Water Watch think that we will need to make our voices heard as HB 759 moves forward, to ensure that the bill that is eventually passed includes exemptions for small food processing facilities and the same kind of smart, risk-based inspection processes that are contained in HB 875. We'll keep you posted.

Meanwhile, enjoy the rest of the newsletter, take good care, and eat well.

Erin Barnett
Director, LocalHarvest

 

[dbjay417]

I tend to be against anything labeled with the word global, or globalization. The UN is constantly scraping for power over the free citizens of sovereign nations.

In the spirit of compromise, some of the items seem to be alright, its just a matter of how far this scientific research takes them.

Without the spirit of compromise, this is just another attempt by the federal government to undermine state government. i do think that certain measures should be taken to make sure that reasonable standards are upheld for the handling of food, but i think that unless its crossing state lines, the federal government oughta butt out.

This is a summary of HR 759.
Congressional Research Service Summary

The following summary was written by the Congressional Research Service, a well-respected nonpartisan arm of the Library of Congress. GovTrack did not write and has no control over these summaries.
1/28/2009--Introduced.
Food and Drug Administration Globalization Act of 2009 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) to set forth provisions governing food safety, including requiring for each food facility: (1) a hazard analysis of facilities that manufacture, process, pack, transport, or hold food for consumption in the United States; (2) identification and implementation of preventive controls; and (3) a written food safety plan.
Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) issue science-based performance standards to significantly minimize, prevent, or eliminate the occurrence of such hazards; (2) establish science-based minimum standards for the safe production and harvesting of fruits and vegetables as necessary; (3) establish a risk-based inspection schedule; and (4) establish a program to expedite the movement of certified food through the importation process.
Provides for: (1) an accreditation system for food facilities; and (2) certification of laboratories to conduct sampling and testing of food.
Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to establish an active surveillance system for food.
Sets forth provisions governing drug and device safety, including: (1) providing for risk-based inspection schedules; (2) requiring quality risk management plans for establishments; (3) requiring country of origin labeling; and (4) providing for the recall of drugs.
Sets forth provisions governing cosmetic safety, including requiring cosmetic establishments to: (1) submit to the Secretary a cosmetic and ingredient statement for each cosmetic; (2) report any serious and unexpected adverse event in the United States associated with the use of the cosmetic; and (3) conform with good manufacturing practices.
Sets forth provisions governing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), including provisions: (1) regarding the reorganization of FDA; and (2) authorizing the Commissioner of Food and Drugs to issue subpoenas for any proceeding regarding a violation of the FFDCA.

the actual text is available here http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-759