I wanted to ask if you'd heard of the two bills just introduced into the House and the Senate (HR 875 AND S 425) that potentially could make all farmers (even small, independent, organic farmers) subject to restrictions, certifications, fees, and require MANDATORY pesticide use? If you haven't seen the video, here's the utube link .If not, I thought you might be interested in knowing it was out there
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I first heard of these bills while listening to the car radio. I could hardly believe my ears, so I went online to find out what this was all about. There are a lot of rumors regarding these bills circulating on the Internet, mostly con, a few pro. Being a little confused, I decided to find out for myself and read each one.
Here is my conclusion:
Both bills were, obviously, written in legal-ese and their actual message/meanings were sometimes hard to discern. That being said, while reading I understood why people are not only worried, but down-right scared by this potential new "law of the land". While there is no language that specifically prohibits home gardening and owning and cultivating heirloom seeds, in my humble opinion, the language in both bills is far too vague and broad to leave to interpretation by the courts. That is why I contacted all my reps to register my disagreement with these bills, and have urged them to vote against HR 875 and S 425. To paraphrase Socrates, they need to "define their terms" more concisely. The subject of healthy sustenance (and the freedom to grow it) is much too important to leave to chance.
If you’ve already made your decision and want to contact your representative and congressman to ask them to oppose these bills,
the links are posted below.
the links are posted below.
NOTE: You must act quickly to let your voice be heard. They both will be coming up for review very soon.
To find and contact your congressman:
http://www.house.gov/zip/ZIP2Rep.html
To find and contact your senator(s):
http://www.senate.gov
Click on “Find your senator” at the top right hand side of the page.
FYI: You may need to know your Zip code plus the four digit extension if you live in a large district and/or state. (I found mine on a utility bill.)
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I’m a firm believer in the simple philosophy of “what you focus on grows”. Thus, my focus is on retaining a free society where gardeners can grow healthful, natural food—on their own land—without bureaucratic intervention, fees, and monitoring.
