<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1">
</head>
<body bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000">
<font face="Arial">I have written about this before, but it is
important enough to send a reminder.<br>
<br>
Senate bill 510 continues to be a threat to local agriculture in
the United States. A version has passed the US House of
Representatives, and it is now before the US Senate. Fortunately,
Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma has placed a hold on the
legislation for now, but that could go away at any moment. NOW is
the time to contact your US Senators and ask them to oppose this
legislation.<br>
<br>
It would also be helpful, if you are a member of any farm
organizations, for you to contact their legislative people and ask
them to lobby against the bill. Here in Oklahoma, contact Lori
Peterson of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau, at <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:Lori.Peterson@okfb.org">Lori.Peterson@okfb.org</a> or
the Oklahoma Farmers Union (now American Farmers and Ranchers) at
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:legislation@afrmic.com">legislation@afrmic.com</a> . <br>
<br>
Below is a version of a letter I have been sending out on this
legislation. Besides the info below, I added info about the
Oklahoma Food Coop. Adapt it for your own circumstances. The 12
points I cribbed from the Economic Collapse Blog at
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/s-510-12-reasons-why-the-food-safety-bill-from-hell-could-be-very-dangerous-for-the-u-s-economy">http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/s-510-12-reasons-why-the-food-safety-bill-from-hell-could-be-very-dangerous-for-the-u-s-economy</a>
or <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://tinyurl.com/328hbl3">http://tinyurl.com/328hbl3</a> . I suggest you use these 12 points
in your own letter, I tweaked them just a bit. I sent versions of
this to the US senators from Oklahoma and also to the Oklahoma
Farm Bureau (I'm a member). Feel free to pass this on to others
who may be interested.<br>
<br>
Begin sample letter. . .<br>
<br>
Senate Bill 510 is pending in the Senate; a version has passed the
US House of Representatives. While it is ostensibly about "food
safety", in actuality it amounts to a major federal power grab
over agriculture.<br>
<br>
I am strongly against this bill for these reasons:<br>
<br>
#1 All food production facilities in the United States will be
required to register with the U.S. government. No food will be
allowed to be grown, distributed or sold outside this bureaucratic
framework unless the FDA allows it.<br>
<br>
#2 Any food that is distributed or sold outside of U.S. government
control will be considered illegal smuggling.<br>
<br>
#3 The FDA will hire an army of new inspectors to enforce all of
the new provisions in the bill.<br>
<br>
#4 The FDA will be mandated to conduct much more frequent
inspections of food processing facilities.<br>
<br>
#5 The fees and paperwork requirements will be ruinously expensive
for small food producers.<br>
<br>
#6 S. 510 would place all U.S. food and all U.S. farms under the
Department of Homeland Security in the event of a major
"contamination" or an "emergency". What exactly would constitute a
"contamination" or an "emergency" is anyone's guess.<br>
<br>
#7 S. 510 mandates that the FDA facilitate harmonization of
American food laws with Codex Alimentarius, which impinges on US
sovereignity.<br>
<br>
#8 S. 510 imposes an annual registration fee on any facility that
holds, processes, or manufactures food. It also includes draconian
fines for paperwork infractions of up to $500,000 for a single
offense. Just one penalty like that would drive a small food
producer out of business.<br>
<br>
#9 S. 510 would give the FDA tremendous discretion to regulate how
crops are grown and how food is produced in the United States.
Basically, farmers will now be forced to farm exactly how the
federal government tells them to. This could be a particular
problem for small farmers selling direct to the public, many of
whom are organic farmers because that is what their market wants
to buy. It is feared that the U.S. government would soon declare
that many organic farming methods are "unsafe" and would outlaw
them.<br>
<br>
#10 S. 510 will give the FDA the power to impose a quarantine on a
specific geographic area. Basically the FDA would have the power
to stop the movement of all food in an area where a
"contamination" has been identified. This would be very close to
being able to declare martial law.<br>
<br>
#11 S. 510 will give the FDA the power to conduct warrantless
searches of the business records of small food producers and
organic farmers, even if there has been no evidence at all that a
law has been broken.<br>
<br>
#12 Many farmers are concerned that S. 510 would eliminate the
right to clean and store seed. Saving and using your own seed is a
traditional frugal practice of many farmers.<br>
<br>
There's been some talk that the bill has been amended to make it
more acceptable to small farmers, but I assure you that I am in
contact with hundreds of Oklahoma farmers, many of whom are "small
farmers", and they are united in their opposition. Many are afraid
it could put them out of business I hope you would agree that any
legislation that has the potential of reducing the number of
farmers is bad legislation.<br>
<br>
Please vote against this bill in the US Senate.<br>
<br>
Bob Waldrop<br>
Oklahoma City<br>
<br>
</font>
</body>
</html>