The Farm Bill

Since 1988 the biotech industry and industrial food corporations have unsuccessfully tried to take away local and state rights to ban or regulate genetically modified organisms and other controversial foods and crops. Failing to suppress grassroots control over food safety laws and labels in the last session of Congress, the big industry boys have now called on their friends in the House Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry to slip their poison into an obscure section of the 2007-2012 Farm Bill.
The section in question follows:

SEC. 123. EFFECT OF USDA INSPECTION AND DETERMINATION OF NON-REGULATED STATUS.
* Prevents a State or locality from prohibiting an article the Secretary of Agriculture has inspected and passed, or an article the Secretary has determined to be of nonregulated status.

This provision would give the White House appointed Secretary of Agriculture the power to eliminate local or state food and farming laws. What does this mean? This broad statement basically says that if the USDA says something is safe, a state or local government is not allowed to regulate it. For example, there have been a number of counties around the country that have banned genetically modified organisms (see blog archive on soil). If passed in the Farm Bill this provision would void those local laws and set an ominous precedent undermining state rights.

My fellow Ohioans Jean Schmidt, like it or not, is our congresswoman and a member of the subcommittee. If anyone wants to write or call her to let her know how concerned we are and our desire to have the provision repealed here's her number.
P (202) 225-3164 F (202) 226-1992