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The wars in the middle east are bad, however the wars, yes wars...for control of the seed and animals by govenment and companies for profit is a war of more dire consequences. We all lose with the war for control of our food supply. Don Dunklee On Mar 26, 2009, at 12:18 PM, Ben Brown wrote: > I know basically nothing about the HR 875 and am learning here at > the last moments... I do know if legal language is "broad" it > generally serves those with the most power. > > In the past 5 years we've had similar broad language written and > that was just the case. When we voted against gay marriage, our > attorney general said the law also applied to civil unions, which > we did not vote on. Broad laws favor those who stand to profit > from control. > > > > > > Ben Brown > > Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2009 19:50:40 -0400 > From: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Re: More information sites - HR 875 > To: [log in to unmask] > > Well said and thank you, John. I agree about the direct sales > exemption. We have a history of small business exemptions and I > hope it holds true here > > Let's stay on top of this, keep sharing info, because the worst > case scenarios are truly frightening > > Take care > > David > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Michigan organic growers seeking and offering information and > ideas on behalf of Dutcher Farms > Sent: Wed 3/25/2009 7:27 PM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Re: More information sites - HR 875 > > Hello All, > First off I want to say that I have grave reservations over > HR875, and I also disagree with some of the things Vicki said in > regards to the bill, especially after having read some of it, the > language is very broad,general and interpretation could be taken > from different angles in regards to who is doing the > interpretation. There seems to be many more regulations and > bookeeping involved( seems the onus always falls on the small > producers!),and is very invasive. The penalties are also quite > extreme( possible jail time and one million dollar fine for each > offense and according to interpretation, a million dollars a day > for each day of non compliance), in the case of the peanut debacle, > if the federal and state regulators had been doing their jobs, > people would not have died or fallen ill. Paying off inspectors > seems to be the norm in much of the food industry these days( I > have seen it myself over the last thirty years), then you also now > have,in many large plants, the "inspector" being an actual employee > of the company, this has been going on now for a few years, HAACP > trained employees doing the actual inspection, no conflict of > interest,of course. There is a lot going on "out there" and has > become very hard to even keep up with the overload of information > and fear mongering over food safety, many folks seem to forget that > "life" itself is not "safe"! I have requested from my house rep. > ( Bart Stupak) a copy of the bill(HR875) as introduced to > committee,as I have not been able to find the "whole" bill, no > answer yet. The bill may not be as bad as we think,as long as there > are some clear exemptions for direct farm to consumer sales. > Secondly, there seems to be some communication going on between > inividuals, instead of sending to the complete list-serve, please > folks send to "reply all", it makes it very difficult to know > everything said when you do not receive ALL the e-mails, if you > only hit the reply button,your reply will only be sent to the > individual that originally sent the message. Receiving bits and > pieces is very confusing!! > I see there was a request to have someone removed from the > list serve for not following the 'rules", from what I see, both > individuals were rude to each other. Personal attacks and profanity > really have no place here, this only causes a communication break > down and does not resolve anything, PLEASE folks, just agree to > disagree. Freedom of speech and expression is fundamental, but > should remain "civil". This type of behavior is one of the main > reasons the organic movement in this state has remained fragmented > for so many years, I believe we all have some level of interest in > moving forward and not to remain stagnated as has been. Michigan > has been trying to play catch up now for some time, especially in > regards to the progressive movements in the northeast and northwest > portions of this country, I do not believe any of us want to remain > in the "dark ages". I really enjoy receiving the information > forwarded on this list-serve and would hope to continue to do so, > now more than ever, we need a united front. > Thank You All in > Advance, > John Dutcher > Dutcher Farm > > ----- Original Message ----- > F > > > > If you would like to access a searchable archive of the all the > previous Mich-Organic listserv postings copy this URL and paste in > your browser address field http://list.msu.edu/archives/mich- > organic.html > Windows Live™ SkyDrive: Get 25 GB of free online storage. Check it > out. If you would like to access a searchable archive of the all > the previous Mich-Organic listserv postings copy this URL and paste > in your browser address field http://list.msu.edu/archives/mich- > organic.html If you would like to access previous postings to the Mich-Organic listserv you can copy and paste the following URL into your browser address bar http://list.msu.edu/archives/mich-organic.html