End of Organic Farming? (H.R. 875)

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"The end of organic farming as we know it?"
The Accidental Yogist (April 10, 2009)

Recently there has been a flurry of messages about HR 875, the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009, and how it could criminalize organic farming. Here's one message:

Protect our organic foods!!!!
Let your voice be HEARD, SPREAD the word, and SPEAK UP NOW!

H.R. 875 Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009, if passed, will criminalize organic farms, force ORGANIC farms to use pesticides and force us to use them in our own backyards. No surprise here as MONSANTO is one of the backers of this bill. Monsanto is the world's largest herbicide and pesticide company and the leading producer of genetically engineered seeds [GMOs] which are now causing unexpected diseases in humans and evil on many other levels. Watch the Future of Food.

• There is an enormous rush to get this into law within the next two weeks before people realize what's happening.
• This bill will require organic farms to use specific fertilizers and poisonous insect sprays dictated to "make sure there is no danger to the public food supply."
• There are 40 co-sponsors to the bill and six of the 40 are from California.

Leavemyfoodalone.org talks about the consequences of the bill, which is currently under review:

In its current form, the bill could prevent small local organic farms and community gardeners from growing and selling you nutritious, truly fresh, organic produce. It would crush our small local food producers by imposing heavy government regulation that only large corporations could adhere to. Imagine:

• No more farmers markets.
• No more garden fresh, seasonal ingredients from the local farmer at your favorite restaurant.
• No more roadside stands with fresh picked sweet corn, juicy ripe tomatoes, or refreshing watermelons in the summer.
• Americans would essentially be forced to only eat corporately manufactured, chemically treated, hermetically sealed, irradiated fruits and vegetables.
• Stop this abomination now!

Always the skeptic, I've postponed signing any petitions until I've had a chance to learn more about the issue.

And on April 11th, on KCRW's Good Food, host Evan Kleiman talked with Tom Philpott of grist.org about the myths and facts of this bill. The interview is accessible from the archives and downloadable free for podcast from KCRW. More>>

• Would new food-safety legislation "criminalize organic farming"?

No? The Internets are abuzz with accounts of a House bill, allegedly sponsored by Monsanto and pushed through Congress by its lackeys, that would "criminalize organic farming" and even backyard gardening. "The bill is monstrous on level after level — the power it would give to Monsanto, the criminalization of seed banking, the prison terms, and confiscatory fines for farmers, the 24 hour GPS tracking of their animals, the easements on their property to allow for warrantless government entry, the stripping away of their property rights... There have been hysterical missives about H.R. 875. They are difficult to square with the text of the bill, which is admittedly vague. For example, the bill seeks to regulate any "food production facility" which it defines as "any farm, ranch, orchard, vineyard, aquaculture facility, or confined animal-feeding operation."