[www.ipetitions.com]

for the love of god, our children and our childrens children please sign this petition!!!!

xo
Raw Beauty Chef Stacey J
RawBeautyChallenge@gmail.com
RawBeautyChallenge.webs.com
Youtube.com/StaceyHeartsFruit

Please go to RawBeautyChallenge's Facebook & "Like" it to get daily posts right on your wall ...follow this link:

[www.facebook.com]

[www.grammasintl.com]

try this one too

it was sent out from Gabriel Cousins

Today the U.S. Senate will vote to pass bill 510, the notorious "Food Safety Modernization Act". If S510 is passed, personal control over gardening will be severely restricted and saving seeds will be outlawed, theoretically setting the stage for a complete food monopoly by Monsanto and its GMO agenda. In short, it will grant the U.S. government new authority over the public’s right to grow, trade and transport any foods. Food production of any kind will essentially be under the authority of the Department of Homeland Security and anyone caught growing food without permission, even in their own backyard, could be charged with a criminal offense. Take action against Senate Bill 510 now.

If Senate Bill 510 passes the United States will be one step closer to a situation akin to Europe 's, where the European Union has passed a directive to come into full-force in April 2011. All herbal and mineral supplements are to be banned, all teaching of alternative healing methods will be banned, and all homeopathic colleges will be dissolved. As of this summer, it is now forbidden to sell books about using plants and minerals. If you live in Europe or know people/family in Europe , please help circulate this email, 35 million signatures are needed-NOW!

[www.grammasintl.com]

No matter where in the world you live, please act today! We all need to contribute to arresting this unfolding of events that threaten our health and lives.




Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center
Patagonia, Arizona
www.treeoflife.nu

stylestacey, I think most people will appreciate your passion, but Bill 510 does not restrict home gardening. Bill 510 addresses safety issues involving food "facilities" (that means commercial packing facilities, slaughter facilities, food processing plants, distributors, etc.). Bill 510 also provides for a rulemaking process - subject to public review and comment - addressing agricultural safety practices for growing raw fruit and vegetable "commodities". It may be helpful to know that a "commodity" is something "for sale". Home gardening is not an issue.

Bill 510 does not put food production under the authority of the Dept. of Homeland Security. There is a section in the bill that involves Homeland Security for addressing concerns of deliberate food tampering.

There is nothing in Bill 510 that outlaws saving seeds. No one will need to get permission from anyone to grow their own food. In addition, the bill explicitly directs that existing rules for certified organic growers will not be affected in any way. Those rules have existed for over a decade and - by the choice of organic farmers themselves - are probably far stricter than anything the Secretary of Health and Human Services would consider imposing on conventional farmers.

There's no reason to believe that Bill 510 will lead to a ban on herbal and mineral supplements, that teaching of alternative healing methods will be banned, that homeopathic colleges will be dissolved, or that books about using plants and minerals will be forbidden.

Over 5,000 people a year in the US die from food-borne illnesses. Our "fresh" water supplies are polluted, and our processing facilities are contaminated. Private enterprise hasn't always acted in our best interests, and this is the result.

Who do you think would be most opposed to stricter safety regulations of food "commodities"? The answer might be the people who will have to shell out the most extra bucks to clean up their act. Those same people often have the most extra bucks to put out scare-tactic propaganda.

When you think about it, the public hearings to come will be our chance to demand accountability from those who pose the greatest threat to our food and water safety: the meat industry and Monsanto.

Better to be an activist than a victim. We can make that happen. Let's not allow ourselves to be distracted by unrealistic nightmare scenarios that no prominent person in this country has ever suggested or advocated. Let's instead roll up our sleeves, own the moment, and take advantage of an opportunity.

Here's a summary of the bill, including pro and con videos:

[www.govtrack.us]

Here's the entire text of the bill (scroll half-way down to get past all the deletions):

[www.govtrack.us]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/19/2010 02:14AM by suncloud.

Stacey, do you happen to have a link to the actual European Union rule(s) that are referred to in the petition? I can't find those rules anywhere on the internet except where they go back to that same petition. And I notice the petition asks for "donations".

A few years back, we were all told that by December 2009, a law would go into effect requiring irradiation of all our food. After that date, we never heard about it again.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/19/2010 02:51AM by suncloud.

If they could, they would introduce all this restrictive measures over night. Since that is not doable (yet) they will gradually restrict everything. This bill means that nobody will be able to sell any garden products without specific permit, which includes inspection - and costs money. So, poor producers will automatically be out of business.
What this also means is that they can always request to come to your garden and destroy everything if they suspect that you are growing fruit and vegetables for commercial use - for sale...or if you unknowingly let one propriatory seed grow.
Also, if you live in a city, you will be buying products only from "politically correct" producers, and they will have to follow the law - which means the labels "organic" will mean absolutely nothing. Everything will go through spraying, pasteurization etc.
Rich people (Bill Gates and the likes) invested their billions in seed banks close to North Pole...they know something we don't know. While they want us to eat genetically modified garbage, they are protecting themselves and their families by getting ready for the future.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/19/2010 03:42AM by rab.

Well thank you Nostradamus rab!

I don't feel helpless like that at all. In fact that's probably just the way "they" (whoever they are) would like us to feel.

You might have missed the part in Sec. 101, where farms and restaurants are excluded from inspections.

Also, you said, "This bill means that nobody will be able to sell any garden products without specific permit".

Where does it say that in this bill?

The bill includes some new regulations regarding the registration of food "facilities" ; but FYI, requirements for registration of food facilities already exist. They've never affected farmers, and they won't affect farmers under this new bill, from what I can see. If you look at the "Definitions" section of the actual bill: ‘(2) FACILITY- The term ‘facility’ means a domestic facility or a foreign facility that is required to register under section 415.'....

The following is from section 415 - a law that's already on the books (bold highlight added):

1) The term `facility' includes any factory, warehouse, or establishment (including a factory, warehouse, or establishment of an importer) that manufactures, processes, packs, or holds food. Such term does not include farms; restaurants; other retail food establishments; nonprofit food establishments in which food is prepared for or served directly to the consumer; or fishing vessels (except such vessels engaged in processing as defined in section 123.3(k) of title 21, Code of Federal Regulations).

[www.fda.gov]

Ya know, if the majority of us are not even going to exercise our right to read the proposed laws that are posted on the internet for us to look at for free, if we'd rather believe every cockamamy story that scares the pants off us into thinking we're absolutely helpless against "them", if we have zero faith in all of our democratically elected representives and the democratic process, then that's when maybe we don't deserve our democracy or the freedoms we claim to love.

And that's really when we'll be helpless.

I don't care what any website happens to say. I can read the actual bills all by myself, and so can everybody else who bothers to take a look.

Just in case anyone's not aware of this: Conventional farms are not inspected. Organic farms are inspected, and organic farmers willingly pay for that service. That is what their customers demand. If the inspections ever stop, that's when "organic" will truly mean absolutely nothing.

It's very important that we continue to support organic farmers if we're worried about this bill, because unless organic laws are changed, no future law can conflict with existing laws for growing organic. Even Bill 510 specifies that it cannot conflict with laws already on the books for growing organic (read the bill). That includes a ban on both irradiation and GM for organically grown food (read 7 CFR Part 205, National Organic Program, Final Rule).

Right now what is "politically correct" is saying and believing every and all scary stuff about the government. Well people, some of the scary stuff we fear is just a distraction from the really scary stuff! Monsanto is real. War is real. Environmental pollution is real. Human and animal rights are real.

I will continue to grow my own veggies to my hearts content.Let them lock me up and throw away the key for such an awful thing,when murders are running free at this very moment.

Vinny

suncloud, maybe you haven't read the same bill? "Facility" is necessary even for the farmers. After they pick the fruit, where are they going to store it? How are they going to sell it? That is all subject to fees and inspections. If you decide not to see that, that is your (naive or biased) choice. They will use "science based" standards to establish the "minimum safety" - we have used reasonable, human standards for handling fruit for centuries and for thousands of years. Those are not good enough any more, somebody has to regulate those and give themselves right to collect all kinds of fees?


‘SEC. 419. STANDARDS FOR PRODUCE SAFETY.

‘(a) Proposed Rulemaking-

‘(1) IN GENERAL- Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, the Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary of Agriculture and representatives of State departments of agriculture (including with regard to the national organic program established under the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.)), shall publish a notice of proposed rulemaking to establish science-based minimum standards for the safe production and harvesting of those types of fruits and vegetables that are raw agricultural commodities for which the Secretary has determined that such standards minimize the risk of serious adverse health consequences or death.

‘(2) PUBLIC INPUT- During the comment period on the notice of proposed rulemaking under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall conduct not less than 3 public meetings in diverse geographical areas of the United States to provide persons in different regions an opportunity to comment.

‘(3) CONTENT- The proposed rulemaking under paragraph (1) shall--

‘(A) provide sufficient flexibility to be applicable to various types of entities engaged in the production and harvesting of raw agricultural commodities, including small businesses and entities that sell directly to consumers, and be appropriate to the scale and diversity of the production and harvesting of such commodities;

‘( include, with respect to growing, harvesting, sorting, packing, and storage operations, minimum standards related to soil amendments, hygiene, packaging, temperature controls, animal encroachment, and water;

‘(C) consider hazards that occur naturally, may be unintentionally introduced, or may be intentionally introduced, including by acts of terrorism;

‘(D) take into consideration, consistent with ensuring enforceable public health protection, conservation and environmental practice standards and policies established by Federal natural resource conservation, wildlife conservation, and environmental agencies; and

‘(E) in the case of production that is certified organic, not include any requirements that conflict with or duplicate the requirements of the national organic program established under the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.), while providing for public health protection consistent with the requirements of this Act.

‘(4) PRIORITIZATION- The Secretary shall prioritize the implementation of the regulations for specific fruits and vegetables that are raw agricultural commodities that have been associated with foodborne illness outbreaks.

‘(b) Final Regulation-

‘(1) IN GENERAL- Not later than 1 year after the close of the comment period for the proposed rulemaking under subsection (a), the Secretary shall adopt a final regulation to provide for minimum standards for those types of fruits and vegetables that are raw agricultural commodities for which the Secretary has determined that such standards minimize the risk of serious adverse health consequences or death.

If nothing else, this will create more bureaucracy and paperwork and regulations that will raise the cost of food, and it's a massive expansion of government control over our food supply. A power grab.

I have no problem at all rab with criticism of stuff that's actually in the bill, so I appreciate most of your last post. What I do object to is coming up with perceived outcomes that aren't included anywhere in the bill. When we do that, we undermine our chances of successfully gaining credibility for our objections.

Regarding your first post, it's a rather long leap to go from safety standards for packing facilities and distributors (that aren't even proposed yet) to a scenario of someone coming to your home garden and destroying everything.

That's just not helpful if we really want to present some coherent arguments for our position.

I understand if you're concerned about how any future proposed safety standards for facilities will affect farmers. That is a logical and justifiable concern.
.
Another concern might be just what those safety standards would include. Would they include a requirement to irradiate certain produce, for example?

If we're truly concerned about the safety standards that "they" will come up with, we need to get really real with what is actually in the bill, we need to actually read the proposals when they come out, and we need to send in our comments during the comments period.

By then, "they" will have a proposal for us to comment on. If the proposal includes stuff we don't like - requirements for irradiation for example - we can blast 'em with our specific concerns, and I hope we will!

When federal rules were being proposed for organic, "they" proposed including irradiation and GM as allowable organic practices. "We" sent in thousands of comments during the comments period and effectively ousted those specific proposals.

We were successful because we zeroed in on the threats that were real. We didn't allow ourselves to go off on some imaginary tangent and blow the whole thing.

In fact, we were so successful with organic, in listing all the prohibited substances, plus coming up with a distinct set of rules applying to organic facilites, that it will be difficult for the proposals "they" come up with - whatever those proposals will be - to affect organic.

Basically, this bill will provide safety procedures for growing and storing conventional - not organic - produce. If conventional produce is all a person can afford, and they're not able to grow anything on their own, then I get the concern of maybe prices going up to the consumer because conventional food handlers will have to make more effort to keep crap out of their produce. Literally. That's really what's happening. Conventional growing practices are introducing harmful e coli into soil-depleted conventional fields.

Conventional handlers have not been using the same "reasonable, human standards for handling fruit for centuries and for thousands of years." They use polluted water, herbicides, pesticides, etc.

I think people here have the right idea. Grow your own. Grow organic. Save your seeds.

There's nothing in this bill that prohibits you from doing that.

Let's keep an eye on the proposed safety measures when they come out, and comment appropriately.

It is obvious to me (if no one else) that "they" are effing with anything that preserves good health and autonomy from factory farms, governmental bodies, Big Pharma, etc. Rather than run around like chickens w/our heads cut off, the more constructive action is to tap into resourcefulness even more. Research owning land, going off the grid, communal living, seed banks, and every other topic related to this. I am not surprised that this is occurring. And this is NOT a Dem-Republican thing. Look at who is pushing this and you will see.

"Let's keep an eye on the proposed safety measures 'WHEN THEY COME OUT', and comment appropriately."

So that would be the old - "We have to pass the bill, and then we'll see what's in it." --

-- rather than researching (by reading online sources) the ramifications of the innocuous wording in the bill and acting before it's passed?

Another bill I saw was an Internet one promoting censorship. Don't be gulled by political parties because it ain't what you think. Just see what an alternative is. Where there's a will, there's a way

First, to suncloud: thanks for remaining calm and resolute.

Second, I have read the bill. In its entirety[yeah, I have that kind of time]. It is nightmarishly complicated and(I have said this the last four times someone has posted on this subject)not IMPLEMENTABLE IN ITS PRESENT FORM.

Stop freaking out, people! It is prudent to be aware of these things and we must remain vigilant, but vigilance requires maintaining calm and being rational. Acting like this is a real-life version of the TV series "V" only makes us vulnerable to actually ceding control over our food supplies.

Nobody is "freaking out". I have been following this area for a while - I really do not even have to read the bill to know what they are up to. Yes, I read the bill before, and I re-read it again.
They are really restricting our freedoms in every possible way, now including gardening. This bill is "complicated" on purpose, and can be used as a ground for numerous additional "measures" and additional regulations. It is, of course, not going to be blatant, it has to be vague enough so that nobody really has a clear argument. Of course. That is how most of the bills and laws are written nowadays.

This bill is not naive in any way, and it means FURTHER RESTRICTION OF FREEDOMS.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/20/2010 01:42AM by rab.

Why did the US government decide to come up with this bill in the first place? What sort of serious problems were occurring that made it necessary?

Anyway, I'd keep my eyes on the Svalbard seed bank in Norway.

It looks like there's still a chance 'the people' can make a difference - It's postponed until the 29th --

[www.cidrap.umn.edu]

Victory! Leahy’s Draconian Food Safety Bill
Language Defeated For Now!

[www.anh-usa.org]

Some explanation of the bill here --

[www.healthfreedomusa.org]

[www.healthfreedomusa.org]

******************************

For those pro-active (rather than wait-and-see) individuals, I've posted further information on the Other Health Related Forum --

[www.rawfoodsupport.com]

rab,

Quote

I really do not even have to read the bill to know what they are up to. Yes, I read the bill before, and I re-read it again.

Have you read this latest version of the bill[sort of a modified amendment now]? Judging by the first phrase in the quote, you've already made up your mind that this is something wholly bad.

Here's how I interpret it(and this is not to say I think it's peachy): something that is finally going to regulate and streamline industrial production of foods is not a draconian infringement on our[non-commercial] rights--that's stretching it. I understand that to certain people it may seem excessive, and we shall disagree as to the extremity of this bill, but I'm from a farm state and a trained culinarian and most of the provisions make me go, "It's about darn time!" If one is a farmer, one should be as knowledgeable and up-to-date about this and other food bills as possible, and I know farmers in my state are; one of our pols just made chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee(the Committee is rife with ties to corn and soy BigAgra interests, but she, because of the diversity of our state's farming, isn't). Looking at this bill and seriously believing it could be applied on a micro level, certainly any time soon is, IMO, "freaking out."

I don't choose to be afraid about this, because being afraid makes me less effective at dealing with truly oppressive measures. Aware but not afraid, that's my watchphrase.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/20/2010 02:11PM by Tamukha.

I agree about being afraid...but one can be afraid to face the reality, therefore, one can have illusions of safety in order to be able to function. I like to know the crude, real reality and face it.

These people are very afraid --

S510 Summaries From the Around the Web

[foodfreedom.wordpress.com]

unclear phrasing ... ambiguous wording is always the true problem because yeah, it can be interpreted either way

when i read something that matters esp. a legal document
i tend to dissect it and scrutinize it with surgical tools

i then write a list of questions
and test the validity of my assumptions etc.

its a grim and unpleasant task
i can see that this is what will be required with this burdensomely worded piece of work ( aka "document"

as rab pointed out, it is worded in such a way that the lasso can have a great deal of girth but then perhaps have the potential to be cinched at the last minute like a noose around the neck

one feels like there is latitude but one can never be too sure

that is the magic and deception of wording

lawyers know all about this and use it to their advantage
lawmakers do this as well

so then its up to us to get extremely pointed in our scrutiny

ask extraordinarily precise questions concerning all and every detail

and find a way to ask the lawmakers

this is the hard part

try doing that and you will run into a huge wall of china

where you will get people having NO CLUE as to what the answers are

you will also get MAJOR run around

etc.etc.

so much so that you just feel like giving up the ghost

but actually, this is exactly what is needed

also it is helpful to have a collective effort wherein AFTER the questions are answered ,they are put IN WRITING

and a legal team is there to witness it

this is the way to go about it

otherwise, we are just chasing our tails with either too positive of a view or too negative of a view

and getting nowhere

but the question is, who wants to embark on this gruesomely grueling ordeal and volunteer thousands of hours of their time to actually decipher this cumbersome piece of super ambiguous document?

are there a slew of people who are retired, very rich or both who have the time resources AND desire to go about doing this?

otherwise, it really is a nightmare of a thing

where do you begin tackling this invisible beast that is equally undefinable?

something tells me that this bill is more than a way to protect consumers from poorly mandated "conventional" produce

but then again, the wording is such that you can't really tell unless specific questions are asked

just getting an answer is useless

if it is not in writing or witnessed by any legal measures, then who cares what such and such states

if it is not in writing, the "answer" is useless

if it cannot be traced back to those who created the bill, the replies have no water

so its not a very easy thing to find out the truth

but its a very worthwhile thing

but just thinking about all the work that it will take to actually dig for the truth and then

if the truth is "bad news"

to try to push for amendments or total abolishment of harmful legislature

is honestly

making me feel a bit

tired

so i will post later

when i am not feeling so overwhelmed

i enjoyed reading everyone's post

the calm ones, the scary panicked ones, all of them

cuz i didn't know which ones were true

so i entertained all of them

what was i supposed to do?

That is the way it is done - after you spent enough time, you figure out everything - but by then, you are among a small percentage of knowledgeable people, and you don't count at the elections. It is the average, poorly informed people that democracy relies on. If you try to educate the average, you will find a strong resistance from the officials. They will only let you share this information with the minority of researchers, they will isolate you, and, if necessary, make you look really bad in the media (they will likely call you "extremists" of any kind), so that you don't disturb the happy medium of voters.

Knowledge is a burden. Always has been, always will be.

I just got an Email Newsletter from Gabriel Cousens -- looks like he's one of us who is "freaking out" and "afraid" (rather than the "let's wait and see what's in the bill after it's passed" crowd) about the Food Safety Bill --

***************



Urgent call to Action against Senate Bill 510!



URGENT CALL FROM THE POP CAMPAIGN – ACT NOW FOR A MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2010 PUSH-BACK

Call Your Senators: Urge A Vote NO on S. 510–The Food Safety Bill

S. 510, Food Safety Legislation is slated to come to a vote on the Senate floor on Monday, November 29. While the bill has been improved from a year ago, it still provides an expansion of government into the lives and decisions of Americans regarding foods, farming, and dietary supplements. This bill includes provisions that authorize the government to map the entire food production system and to track every food product we purchase and grow.

Senator Reid of Nevada, after barely holding on to the majority in the Senate and keeping his job as Senator and Majority Leader, has made S. 510 a priority for passage before the 111th Congressional session ends this year. This Bill is expensive, intrusive, and will not make the food supply safer. It will however compromise your liberty and privacy while driving the costs of foods higher.

The numerous policies and guidelines to be developed are to be ‘science-based’. The problem with this is that most of the research the government will rely on comes from the agricultural giants who have been pushing small farmers and even heritage seeds out of the marketplace.

Behind the scenes, orchestrating ‘food safety’ legislation in the United States is a strategic plan of the UN’s Codex Alimentarius Commission for every nation to develop “national food control systems’ including legislation on food safety and which promote and adopt Codex Guidelines. The fabric of America does not include ‘food control’ laws, but that is exactly what S. 510 launches.

We have a “once-in-a-lifetime” chance to stop this Bill before it becomes law. WE CAN DO THIS! Call your own two Senators (listed below). ASK YOUR SENATORS TO VOTE NO ON S. 510 – THE FOOD SAFETY BILL. If we can convince 51 Senators to vote NO on S. 510, Victory is ours.

Target your emails and calls for Sunday night and Monday – and until the vote is taken.

Contact the Congress by clicking here: [www.contactingthecongress.org]


FOR MORE INFORMATION AND UPDATES GO TO: [popcampaign.org]

************************

Beware of the Senate Bill 510, the Food Seizure and Big Agra Act

[www.treeoflife.nu]

They're voting at 6:30 tonight, so you can still call your Senators to ask them to vote against it --

[senate.gov]

You can watch the Government Takeover of the Food Industry Live Here -

[www.c-span.org]

I watched two minutes and got sick from it. It is useless to hope that a bunch of crooks chosen by negative selection will do any good.

Senate just passed Food Safety Bill, 73-25.

Senators Who Voted Yes for Food Safety Bill

[www.senate.gov]

Send them a message when they are up for reelection!

well, "Guerilla Gardening" will have a totally new meaning...

I am really not happy over where things are heading:/...

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Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?