Thanks for sharing. Perhaps actually seeing the bill will clarify any mis-understandings - or create more.
One thing I've learned is that members of the NC Legislature and US Congress like to hear from their constituents. They do read emails. I was in Raleigh quite a bit following my own piece of legislation a few years back and learned that sometimes legislators will print out all their emails pro/con and use them to formulate their vote. If there are more pros then con, the vote may go pro. I also learned that people in Washington, DC and Raleigh like personal visits. A quick pop-in is okay - as is a set appointment. And you may not see the actual lawmaker, but the staff people do relay information along. They're very good at doing so. Another idea is to follow particular legislation. You can do so on the Internet. Get the bill number and see when it's going to committee. You can actually go and listen to the debate in the committee session. They're open to the public. Find out if your local delegation sends out weekly or monthly newsletters. Sign up. Getting involved in the political process provides quite an education on basic civics. Share with your kids. They don't learn it anymore. Just a few thoughts - Greta Lint -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Don Boekelheide Sent: Thursday, March 19, 2009 2:37 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [Community_garden] About farm bills (HR 875 and HR 759) This is from David Goforth, an NC Extension Agent and small farmer I have a great deal of respect for. Thought you all might like a look at his perspectives. What he says about HR 759 is alarming. Anyone know anything about it? Don Boekelheide Charlotte NC www.urbanministrycenter.org >> >From David Goforth, NCSU Cooperative Extension: You may have seen numerous emails about current legislation concerning food safety. Some claim that backyard gardens will be regulated or banned. One even claimed we would face fines if we didn't cut down any apple tree that might be growing in the backyard. Others are worried about the impact on small farmers like the farmers we have in Cabarrus county. The two bills I have studied the closest are HR 875 and HR 759, and a similar senate bill. (I read the actual bill, not the hype.) To me 875 doesn't sound that unreasonable and if applied as written, shouldn't be a problem for local growers. ( I understand this one isn't getting much support.) HR 759 could be a problem for anybody in agriculture and anybody who eats their products. You can find any actual legislation at the library of congress website http://thomas.loc.gov/ Below is one take on some specific food safety issues. (Original email was from Roland McReynolds with Carolina Farm Stewardship) Obviously there are some biases here. I took the liberty of picking a writer that matched my own biases, but I hope you will think for yourself. I just wanted you to understand some of the issues and not worry about some of the hype floating around the internet. * Scale-appropriate. Federal law should support producers at each level, not impose a one-size-fits-all approach that runs small farms and farmers markets out of business. * Risk-based. Measures to mitigate produce safety risk or to implement safety solutions must be based on actual risk assessments for different products and scales of farms, not assumptions based on an industrial food model. * Science-based. Specific measures to mitigate produce safety risk or specific metrics included in produce safety solutions, must be based on sound science, specific to the growing conditions on individual farms. Funding research to develop a science-based approach to on-farm produce safety should be a priority * Provide tiered compliance alternatives. Compliance with produce safety measures should be tiered to reflect farm size, market served and risk, for instance, a 2-acre fruit and vegetable producer selling exclusively through farmers markets or CSAs within 50 miles of the farm vs. a several hundred acre producer shipping produce to multiple outlets in multiple states. A tiered compliance program would include training on on-farm produce safety for all producers, with larger producers choosing to comply with more rigorous certifications to meet buyer specifications, not federally-mandated standards. * Focused on education, not regulation. On-farm food safety should center around education and incentives rather than mandated regulations with punitive measures for non-compliance. <<< _______________________________________________ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [email protected] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: http://list.communitygarden.org/mailman/listinfo/community_garden_list.commu nitygarden.org _______________________________________________ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [email protected] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: http://list.communitygarden.org/mailman/listinfo/community_garden_list.communitygarden.org
