Dear Congresswoman Lee,
Please vote no on H.R. 875: Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009. As written, this bill would effectively squash local farmers markets under mountains of paperwork. Eating locally grown food is a good idea at any time, and in the event of a major national disaster, it could very well become the only way to eat anything whatsoever. Please protect my right to buy local food from people I know and trust, without bureaucratic interference.
Mommy always warned me against accepting food from strangers. Unfortunately, it's pretty much unavoidable these days. Government regulations can help make that a little less dangerous--but I'd still rather buy food from my own neighbors.
Please protect my right to buy local food for my children. Vote NO on H.R. 875.
Thank you,
Elena Johnston
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-875
Hat tip to the Deputy Headmistress.
Contact your own representative here.
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4 comments:
Elena, do you understand this bill enough to explain it to me better? I'm fighting nausea and trying to sift through this bill is making it worse. :) We sell eggs to specific customers. It's not at a farmer's market. Will this affect me too?? Do you know a layman's link to what this bill means? Thank you!
Hi Heidi,
I hope you feel better soon.
The bill requires registration and extensive recordkeeping from anyone exchanging food for money. Based on my quick skim, it looks like they've been extraordinarily careful to close off any potential loopholes.
As I understand, this law would make it a criminal offense to sell food (whether for human or animal consumption) without the approval of the Food Safety Administration.
I'm sure there's a lot more in there--I haven't had a chance to read it all. But that's quite enough to convince me that it's evil.
On the bright side, though, civil penalties are not to exceed $1,000,000. =/
P.S. I looked around for a layman's synopsis of the bill, but I've only found impassioned rhetoric going both directions.
But just a quick skim of the bill was enough to satisfy me that the concerns being raised are quite valid.
You can read more at
http://heartkeepercommonroom.blogspot.com/2009/03/not-again-cpsia-for-family-farms.html
Ugggggh! Thank you for the information. I'll have to check into it more. They may have good intentions, but...
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