Senate bill makes it illegal to grow, share, trade or sell homegrown food.

this is rediculous...it took me 3 minutes to find out that this bill has not even had debate or even a committee vote, let alone a full senate vote. it had 1 sponsor and 17 others in the entire 100-body senate.
there has not been any action at all since dec. 2009...it was simply INTRODUCED!! please go and take 5 minutes and do a little research...oh!...and by the way!...shocker!...this was started by a right-winger!!

Originally posted by Zorg12
WTF!? The insanity just went up a notch.

It could be because of future decreasing world trade and food imports (because of oil depletion). The government wants to control food distribution.

Please watch the documentary movie: The World According to

Monsanto. Having already forced over 1000 American Farmers out of

business, Monsanto's aim is to control ALL FOOD PRODUCTION IN THE WORLD from seed to supermarket.

Then educate yourself in the revolving door between FDA And Monsanto
(In other words, someone works for Monsanto for four years, then goes
over to the FDA to get the pollicies put into place that Monsanto wants).
Back and forth, back and forth. Congresswoman from NC, her husband
is one of the lead executives for Monsanto.

[edit on 5-9-2010 by Freedom of Thought]

reply to post by jimmyx


I am willing to bet they pass this after the November elections.

When they do I just have 5 words for the dirt bags.

Just try to enforce it.

Originally posted by darkbake

Originally posted by Miraj
reply to post by Come Clean

 

I don't know the current laws.. I was just looking into whether this threads source is right..

Which I don't think it is. I think its just a scare tactic.

That is what I was wondering, I posted a link with the bill's text hoping someone could figure this out.


I had to work with (?) the Ag department for over 15 years, and the
FDA for a few less. This IS NOT a scare tactic. This sponsored bill
is what should scare you.
Yes, "corporate' America really thinks it should control your food.
This is NOT about not having enough food inspectors, or the quality
of food produced.
You need to ask yourself who sponsored the bill, and who are they
connected to."
Watch "The World According to Monsanto", and " Patent for a Pig".
Go to the USDA website and check out how much food is actually stored
in the United States. Get ready for a real shocker.

There is a way, a way we MUST take! Civil disobedience! Massive non-cooperation! Once a critical number of home-growers is reached, we cannot be stopped! Start NOW!

This giant idiocy is, instead, what must be stopped, by all means. Civil disobedience is the way! The way Gandhi showed us.

reply to post by Mike.Ockizard
Thanks for thatv Mike! I believe in finding solutions to problems, not just thinking doom and gloom. At least the food bill failed!! that was great to see!

Namaste!

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE #ING KIDDING ME!

They tried this? Are you serious? Are you freaking serious? It is late and i have been busy today but i am going to look into this and find out who's stupid idea this was and bitch, moan and groan about this as much as i possibly can even if it didn't pass... if this is true. this is the biggest load of horsecrap... i cannot believe.... what in the world...oh my god, oh my #ing god. Why?! Why would they do that?! Why would they EVEN DO THAT?!...other than greed and paranoia of course. I can see no reason and if they have one like food safety or some crap... it's CLEARLY bull#.

that is insane... that is absolutely insane.
I have heard some #ed up # but this is just plain nutty. What would they do about all the unattended food sources like pecan trees and blackberry bushes... are the fruit and nut police going to come chop them all down...mow our ditches for us. what dumbasses!

somebody please tell me this is a joke.

and what happens when the economy collapses? what then? It WILL happen eventually...may not be for a while but it WILL happen, things WILL change... is the direction we will be going in? i sure as # hope not cause that is a damn good reason to go buy a stock pile of guns and go find a deep cave to live in until you can find enough like minded people to go shove some organic vegetables up some idiot politicians ass!

please tell me this is a joke!

reply to post by Ausar

wouldnt this be good for america? it would decrease the gov payouts of excess farmed crops, and american commodities can be consumed as well as exported for a surplus in bartering potential?

if all you eat is food that is prepared by you or another person is this a bad bill?

it will decrease the cost of food that has to be prepared by virtue of increased stock of goods. the only downside to this bill is the market manipulation.

Please stay with me because the explanation is long. The fight or plan actually started in 1942!

Short answer is the money from the taxpayer ends up in the pocket of Monsanto and Cargill and the new law, like last century's CED plan, will result in widespread social upheaval throughout rural America, ripping apart the fabric of its society destroying its local economies.

"wouldnt this be good for america?' NO. I will explain below.

“Ten corporations now control nearly every aspect of the world's food chain. Four control 90 per cent of the world's exports of corn, wheat, tobacco, tea, ...”

'it would decrease the gov payouts of excess farmed crops'
Not at all. Farm subsidies are paid for foreign trade commodities like grain, peanuts and cotton. Nothing is paid for fruits, veggies and meat animals. The resulting low price of the foreign trade commodities is then used to bankrupt farmers in other countries.

Here is an example of how the game is played

Farmer suicides in India: Now the full toll—surely among the largest sustained waves of suicides in human history—is becoming apparent.... "There is likely to be a serious underestimation of suicides...
what has driven the huge increase in farm suicides....

Cultivation costs have shot up in these high input zones, with some inputs seeing cost hikes of several hundred per cent...

Meanwhile, prices have crashed, as in the case of cotton, due to massive U.S.-EU subsidies to their growers. All due to price rigging with the tightening grip of large corporations over the trade in agricultural commodities. alternatives-international.net... www.counterpunch.org...

Because of the farm subsidies the seed companies (Monsanto) can charge a charge a high price for seed and chemicals. The Grain Traders (Cargill) can buy at barely above starvation prices. Big Ag has killed off other small buyers so they are the only buyers left and they set the price they will pay the farmer.

The VP of Cargill, while working for the USDA, wrote the 1996 farm bill called "Freedom to Farm" it was later called "Freedom to Fail" because of the number of farmers it drove into bankruptcy.

Who's making the bread?

...Freedom to Farm's lower commodity prices have not translated into consumer benefits. Since 1984, the real price of a USDA market basket of food has increased 2.8 percent while the farm value of that food has fallen by 35.7 percent, according to C. Robert Taylor, professor of agriculture and public policy at Auburn University. Taylor says there is a "widening gap" between retail price and farm value for numerous components of the market basket, including meat products, poultry, eggs, dairy products, cereal and bakery products, fresh fruit and vegetables, and processed fruit and vegetables.

"it will decrease the cost of food"
Not only NO but HECK NO

The whole reason for this law is to provide an easy way to drive independent farmers out of business.

Once the Ag Cartel controls the food supply they can charge what ever price they wish to. Small farmers and home gardeners will not have the expertise, the time or the money to deal with the reams of red tape and regs. Big Corporations will. They do not care how much it costs because YOU, the consumer will pay. The Government/Corporate Revolving Door will see to it that big Corporations are not "bothered" and that all blame for any problems gets shifted to some small farmer.

Mr. Stan Painter makes that point very clear: Testimony:Mr. Stan Painter, Chairman, National Joint Council of Food Inspection Locals:

It (the recall of Hallmark/Westland Meat) highlights one of the problems that we have attempted to raise with the agency ever since 1996 when the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) inspection system was put in place.

There seems to be too much reliance on an honor system for the industry to police itself. While the USDA investigation is still on going at Hallmark/Westland, a couple of facts have emerged that point to a system that can be gamed by those who want to break the law. It (HACCP) shifted the responsibility for food safety over to the companies...

[December 2004 Freedom of Information Act requests] Over 1000 non-compliance reports – weighing some 16 pounds -- were turned over

   

reply to post by RedGolem

The key point above being that a facility does not include private residences of individuals....

At this point you are correct. But remember the "boiling a frog" technique used for the Federal Reserve Act of 1913. That is why I strongly suggest people look at HR-875, the orginal bill, before public outcry made the writers "compromise" - temporarily, to get the bill passed.

Paul Warburg, one of the wealthiest men in the world, was the brains behind the Federal Reserve Act of 1913. It is very wise to pay heed to what he said for those who continue to ignore history are doomed to repeat it.

....at the insistence of Paul Warburg who was forever the master strategist, they added several very sound provisions to the Federal Reserve Bill. By that I mean they added some provisions which seriously restricted the ability of the Federal Reserve to create money out of nothing. Warburg's associates said, "Paul, what are you doing? We don't want those in there this is our bill." And his response was this, he said, "Relax fellas, don't you get it? Our object is to get the bill passed. We can fix it up later." Those were his exact words. "We can fix it up later."

He was so right. It was because of those provisions that they won over the support of William Jennings Bryan the head of the Populist Movement, the last hold-out against the bill. Bryan was concerned that this would be an instrument for ruining the nation's money supply but when he saw those provisions he said, "Oh well, those are good provisions, I guess I can support the bill now" never dreaming that this was temporary.

Everything is temporary in politics. When people go to sleep things can get changed. Warburg was right and they fixed it up later. The Federal Reserve Act since it was passed has been amended over 100 times. Every one of those provisions were long ago removed and many more have been added which greatly expand the power and reach of the Federal Reserve System to create money out of nothing. With this kind of professional strategy and deception these people were real professionals and the public didn't stand a chance. It is no surprise that popular support was finally gained for the bill...
www.bigeye.com...

People keep assuring us that this will not be applied to small farms or home gardens. If you believe that I have this nice bridge in NYC I want to sell...

As I said, to see what the actual intent of the writers of the bill was look at HR-875.

Yes I know HR-875 was "Debunked" but by who? Organic Consumers Assoc. and Food & Water Watch. Funny thing the directer of both is Maude Barlow a “no dog in this fight” Canadian. She has been handsomely rewarded for selling the US consumer out with an appointment as New Senior Advisor to the UN president on October 21, 2008.

Other directors include Dennis Keeney, a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy and Mark Ritchie, President, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.

The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy has Connection to Tides.

The Tides Foundation has paid over $20,000 to a commercial corporation owned by Ritchie and his brother and the Tides Foundation & Tides Center received $9,467,955.00 (1991 - 2005) Donations FROM the Rockefeller's Foundations.

Do you REALLY trust a TRADE policy group to care about small farmers??? Isn't their objective to put more money into the grain traders pockets???

Ain't following the money trail grand

Back to HR 875 and home gardens. We already know that the US government always interprets the Constitution and laws in such a way as to increase their power and decrease our freedom.

The problem is although private homes are not specifically included, they are not specifically excluded either.

(13) FOOD ESTABLISHMENT-

(A) IN GENERAL-
The term 'food establishment' means a slaughterhouse (except those regulated under the Federal Meat Inspection Act or the Poultry Products Inspection Act), factory, warehouse, or facility owned or operated by a person located in any State that processes food or a facility that holds, stores, or transports food or food ingredients.
From the bill HR 875

The problem is Congress did not define the terms. So what does a dictionary have to say about the definition of establishment?

Webster's II new college dictionary

2a. A business firm, club, institution, or residence, including its members or occupants.

HMMMMmmmm I certainly do not see any definite EXCLUSION of personal homes in that part of the bill. So lets go on and see if we can get some clarification.

C. 406. PRESUMPTION.

In any action to enforce the requirements of the food safety law, the connection with interstate commerce required for jurisdiction shall be presumed to exist

(8) CATEGORY 4 FOOD ESTABLISHMENT- The term 'category 4 food establishment' means a food establishment that processes all other categories of food products not described in paragraphs (5) through (7).

(9) CATEGORY 5 FOOD ESTABLISHMENT- The term 'category 5 food establishment' means a food establishment that stores, holds, or transports food products prior to delivery for retail sale.

(14) FOOD PRODUCTION FACILITY- The term 'food production facility' means any farm, ranch, orchard, vineyard, aquaculture facility, or confined animal-feeding operation.

From the bill HR-875

No help there... or is there?

What about the sentence "In any action to enforce the requirements of the food safety law, the connection with interstate commerce required for jurisdiction shall be presumed to exist."

What does that mean? And here in one sentence we find the "I Gotch Ya" - the dread commerce clause.

Wickard v. Filburn - 1942

...The government claimed that if Mr. Filburn grew wheat for his own use, he would not be buying it — and that affected interstate commerce....

The Court's opinion must be quoted to be believed:

[The wheat] supplies a need of the man who grew it which would otherwise be reflected by purchases in the open market. Home-grown wheat in this sense competes with wheat in commerce.

As Epstein commented, "Could anyone say with a straight face that the consumption of home-grown wheat is 'commerce among the several states?'"

...as Jefferson warned, the natural tendency is for government to grow. Like a poisonous vine, it sprouts through any gap.

So an amendment adding that one little line invoking the commerce clause and deleting the Tester Amendment will allow the law to cover food grown for home use.

... and now it has passed the Senate. Unanimously. In an unexpected Sunday night vote just before Christmas. To all of you who said, "It will never pass," I say again - it passed UNANIMOUSLY in the senate. Now we shall look to the House to see what will happen next.

This is the kind of thread that makes me really wonder about the ATS members out there. All these claims about how evil this bill does, what it would criminalize, etc. All these claims, and no quotes at all from specific sections of the bill for us to verify. I have seen multiple claim it would do certain things for seed. Give companies control over all seed(s), make it illegal for us to own, plant or grow seeds, etc. The entire text of the bill is available here: www.opencongress.org...

Open it up in a browser and search for the word seed.

Now, everyone out there making these claims, please inform us where you are getting your information from.

Originally posted by dalepmay
This is the kind of thread that makes me really wonder about the ATS members out there. All these claims about how evil this bill does, what it would criminalize, etc. All these claims, and no quotes at all from specific sections of the bill for us to verify. I have seen multiple claim it would do certain things for seed. Give companies control over all seed(s), make it illegal for us to own, plant or grow seeds, etc. The entire text of the bill is available here: www.opencongress.org...

Open it up in a browser and search for the word seed.

Now, everyone out there making these claims, please inform us where you are getting your information from.

more descriptive key words.

No more Farmers Market with organic homegrown veggies. They want us to eat their processed junk!

reply to post by dalepmay

This is the kind of thread that makes me really wonder about the ATS members out there. All these claims about how evil this bill does, what it would criminalize, etc. All these claims, and no quotes at all from specific sections of the bill for us to verify. I have seen multiple claim it would do certain things for seed. Give companies control over all seed(s), make it illegal for us to own, plant or grow seeds, etc. The entire text of the bill is available here: www.opencongress.org... Open it up in a browser and search for the word seed....

You can not just skim through the bill looking for a word, you have to understand the history behind the bill. Do you REALLY think the Corporate puppets behind this bill would make it that easy to understand? There is a very good reason the bill is so long. It is to hide the actual agenda.

I have been fighting this since it first showed up as an international initiative:

January 2005: Guide to Good Farming Practices: This draft guide to good farming practices for animal production food safety was taken from the Report of the Meeting of the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Standards Commission (Paris, 17-28 January 2005) www.oie.int/boutique/extrait/25berlingueri823836_0.pdf?PHPSESSID=64969a28688594daf57a7263f42fb1ce

And was immediately followed by:
2005 Bill: Safe and Secure Food Act www.govtrack.us...

That bill was short and simple and easy to defeat. Since then they have gotten very sneaky. For example a very recent version that passed the house and then went to the Senate and with some changes became S-510

HR-875

“ The Administrator, in order to protect the public health, shall establish a national traceability system that enables the Administrator to retrieve the history, use, and location of an article of food through all stages of its production, processing, and distribution.

set good practice standards to protect the public and animal health and promote food safety;

conduct monitoring and surveillance of animals, plants, products, or the environment, as appropriate

require each food production facility to have a written food safety plan that describes the likely hazards and preventive controls implemented to address those hazards;

include, with respect to growing, harvesting, sorting, and storage operations, minimum standards related to fertilizer use, nutrients, hygiene, packaging, temperature controls, animal encroachment, and water”

..."in any action to enforce the requirements of the food safety law, the connection with interstate commerce required for jurisdiction SHALL BE PRESUMED TO EXIST."

To understand what the FDA will used to set standard you only have to read what the FDA says:

International Harmonization
www.cfsan.fda.gov...

The harmonization of laws, regulations and standards between and among trading partners requires intense, complex, time-consuming negotiations by CFSAN officials. Harmonization must simultaneously facilitate international trade and promote mutual understanding, while protecting national interests and establish a basis to resolve food issues on sound scientific evidence in an objective atmosphere. Failure to reach a consistent, harmonized set of laws, regulations and standards within the freetrade agreements and the World Trade Organization Agreements can result in considerable economic repercussions.
Participation in Codex Alimentarius
Cosmetics International Activities
International Organizations and Standard-Setting Bodies
International Office of Epizootics
International Plant Protection Convention
World Health Organization
Food and Agricultural Organization
Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA)
Joint Meeting on Pesticide Residues
Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Microbiological Risk Assessments
Pan American Health Organization
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

And then go to the correct web page to read the actual regs the FDA will now put in place.
FAO - Good Agricultural Practices

If you want to know who FAO supports you only have to read this:

FAO is supporting harmonization of seed rules and regulations in Africa and Central Asia in order to stimulate the development of a vibrant seed industry...An effective seed regulation harmonization process involves dialogue amongst all relevant stakeholders from both private and public sectors. Seed quality assurance, variety release, plant variety protection, biosafety, plant quarantine and phytosanitary issues are among the major technical areas of a regional harmonized seed system. The key to a successful seed regulation harmonization is a strong political will of the governments involved www.fao.org...

Remember the whole point is to make whatever changes are needed to get the bill passed. As Paul Warburg said of the Federal Reserve Act 0f 1913:

'"Relax fellas, don't you get it? Our object is to get the bill passed. We can fix it up later."

And he was correct over 100 amendments have changed the Federal Reserve Act beyond recognition and have saddled the American people with a Bloodsucking Vampire completely out of their control. This law will morph into a similar Monster now that it has passed and the public's attention is elsewhere.

reply to post by crimvelvet


Ok, so again, show me where in the bill the word SEED can be found. Don't worry, I'll wait...

You bunch of mugs, why have you let them do that,,,,

to you and your country!

sad times!...

I'm sorry but JFK warned you 50 odd years ago...

doesn't mean you can't make up time

napalm everything. there's no other hope!

reply to post by dalepmay

Ok, so again, show me where in the bill the word SEED can be found. Don't worry, I'll wait...

I will happily tell you where the word SEED is in the bill AFTER you tell me how you can

grow, harvest, sort, or store crops WITHOUT using SEED.

As in

...require each food production facility to have a written food safety plan that describes the likely hazards and preventive controls implemented to address those hazards;

include, with respect to growing, harvesting, sorting, and storage operations, minimum standards related to fertilizer use, nutrients, hygiene, packaging, temperature controls, animal encroachment, and water”

You HARVEST the seed to be used next year and you STORE the seed protecting it from rats and fungus and disease.

The FDA has already made it clear: "...seed growers may not be aware that the seed will be used for human consumption. FDA’s guidance on good agricultural practices (GAPs) can be found in the "FDA Guide to Minimize Microbial Hazards for Fresh Fruit and Vegetables."

...FDA considers a seed to be a food if it will be used for human or animal food or if those involved in importing or offering the product for import reasonably believe that the seed will be directed to a food use. For example, seed that is imported for use in animal feeds would require prior notice, as would seed to be used for human food such as sesame seeds or poppy seeds to be used in baking, or oilseeds for processing into edible oils, or seed to be used in the production of edible sprouts. If the seed is to be used only for cultivation, prior notice of importation is not required....

FOOD SAFETY

Of course, hand-in-hand with our new responsibilities in food security are our ongoing responsibilities and activities relative to protecting our food supply from unintended contamination.

As you know, FDA is responsible for ensuring the safety and proper labeling of ALL plant-derived foods and feeds. Regardless of whether they are of imported or domestic origin, or whether they are derived from crops modified by conventional breeding techniques or genetic engineering techniques, they must meet the same rigorous safety standards. Under the FFDCA, it is the responsibility of you, the industry, to ensure that the products you market are safe and properly labeled.

Just as ASTA’s motto “ first the seed” indicates the role you play in sustaining human and animal life, so does FDA believe that in many instances food safety of plant foods must begin with the seed.

Certainly, of ongoing concern to FDA are the recurring outbreaks of foodborne illness related to consumption of sprouts. In almost all cases, contaminated seed was the source of the contaminated sprouts both for Salmonella sp. and E. coli 0157:H7. In fact, just in the past several weeks FDA has worked with at least six individual sprout producers relative to product recalls of alfalfa sprouts distributed throughout the western US due to a possible seed contamination with Salmonella Bovismorbificans, an organism rarely seen in the US.

It is crucial that you, who are in the business of seed production, ensure that seeds for sprout production are grown under good agricultural practices (GAPs) in order to minimize the likelihood that they will contain pathogenic bacteria. This is especially important since only a small fraction of the seed produced is used for sprouting so at the time of production, seed growers may not be aware that the seed will be used for human consumption. FDA’s guidance on good agricultural practices (GAPs) can be found in the "FDA Guide to Minimize Microbial Hazards for Fresh Fruit and Vegetables."
Lester M. Crawford, D.V.M., Ph.D. - American Seed Trade Association
Speech before American Seed Trade Association

reply to post by ChaosMagician

...I have heard some #ed up # but this is just plain nutty. What would they do about all the unattended food sources like pecan trees and blackberry bushes... are the fruit and nut police going to come chop them all down...mow our ditches for us. what dumbasses! ....

I take you have not heard about the Food Safety’s Scorched Earth Policy?

reply to post by crazydaisy

No more Farmers Market with organic homegrown veggies. They want us to eat their processed junk!

It does not effect the farmers at a farmers market IF he sells ALL his product direct to his customers AND it is within 200 miles of his farm. That is the key I gotcha.

The farmers I know often sell produce from a network of farms north and south of them, this means the only thing that is actually protected is the guy with a hobby farm who sells at a road side stand.

The Tester Amendment was just a way of allowing my Senator to say "oh it protects the small farmer so I can vote yes" and then tell his voters he "protected" their interests GRRRrrrr.


Just think about it for a minute.

The state of North Carolina, according to the 2002 Ag Census, had 53,930 farms and 9,380,884 people that is 174 people per farm or less than 50 families per farm. Could you make a living selling tomatoes to only 50 families? Of those farms Only 171 Farms are not Family held. This bill could easily wipe out fifty thousand farms in my state alone.

The Total Economic Impact for the state.

MONEYS PUMPED ITO THE NC ECONOMY BY FARMING
238,389,000.....Fertilizer, lime,etc
220,109,000.....Chemicals
160,111,000.....seeds,plants
1,917,997,000.....feed
170,533,000.....gas/oil
118,921,000.....Utilities
319,142,000.....Supplies,repairs, Maintainance
3,145,202,000......TOTAL

552,486,000.....Labor
65,193,000.....Contract Labor
617,679,000.....TOTAL


I wish the supermarket predators would realize this isn't just about a slight increase in food prices or not being able to buy at the farmers market. It impacts the whole economy of my state and many other states. In some countries such as Mexico where 75% of their farmers were wiped out by changes in policy the loss of farms culminated in food riots. Since the USA raises 25% of the world's grain and the USA no longer keeps strategic grain reserves, we maybe looking at food riot here in the USA in a few years.

Oh MOST of these farmers have other jobs. Piss them off badly enough and they may decide to leave the fields fallow next year. That is what I am going to do and I hope like heck every other farmer who can afford to does the same

reply to post by crimvelvet


Ok, and now you show me how your house or backyard are considered a food production facility. I don't need nice big bold fonts to prove my point. The average person like you and me, and vendors at farmers markets, will still be allowed to grow, sell, eat our own crops at home just like we do now. Once you are doing it for a public company, and selling it to other companies, then you are a food production facility, and then you will be subject to these laws. This law in no way is going to make it illegal to plant seeds at home like all the fear mongers are trying to make us believe.