Please read, scroll down to the blue link and suggestions for action (in purple), and pass it on to your friends!:

The Gestapo Food Act, H.R. 2749, Must Be Stopped

Here we have yet another phony food safety bill, which does NOTHING
but grant the FDA massive new police powers without actual policy
oversight. And it would do NOTHING to solve the actual problem, the
stinking cesspools which call themselves "modern" factory farms, the
SOLE source of whatever filth there is in our food supply. We don't
need burdensome new tracing regimes to drive small farmers out of
business, we already know exactly where the problem is.

H.R. 2749 would give some FDA administrator (read self-serving
corporate lobbyist) the power to dictate what farming practices must
and must not be used nationwide (read enforced GMOs, growth hormones,
and weird chemicals in our food). How can Congress make sane policy
without identifying the specific problem and its source before
empowering 10 year criminal sentences and $100,000 fines? It can't.
But only if we stop them from doing it, by speaking out now.

Stop HR 2749 Action Page: [www.peaceteam.net]

This hideously ill-conceived bill (unless you are a chemical food
conglomerate) is so terminally vague about what its PURPOSE is, it
can only do massive harm and no good whatsoever. Aren't bills in
Congress supposed to start with some kind of preamble, something
like, "This is the problem we have identified, and this is what has
to be done to fix it and WHY." No such forethought in HR 2749, just
unlimited and unaccountable new police state powers, while President
Obama continues to appoint the WORST possible nominees for just about
every administrative position.

It's time to wake up folks. It's just one corporate power grab hand
over fist out there. Not ONE major bill has Congress passed yet since
the last election that did ANYTHING to confront the actual real
problem. Credit card so-called reform was some kind of sick joke on
the American people, rejecting the only provision that actually
mattered, constraining usurous interest rates. Has anybody seen any
BIG savings on their credit card bills yet? Did we have to ask?

And they TRYING to do the same thing with health care reform, to do
nothing to disturb the existing corporate medical industry gravy
train. It is ONLY because of the alerts we have done on this already
that single payer is actually getting a hearing. What kind of lunacy
is it when the plan supported by a majority of the American people is
not even allowed in the room? It's the lunacy that happens when more
of us do not speak out more often. And we'll have another alert on
that later in the week.

Stop HR 2749 Action Page: [www.peaceteam.net]

But for today, please speak out against HR 2749. Tell Congress to
directly regulate factory farms and them ONLY. That's all that has to
be done. And anything else they do that does NOT do that by
definition will only make the problem worse, by punishing those who
are NOT huge, filthy, factory farms.

And if you want a step by step explanation of how to set up the
Twitter thing here is the link for that.

Twitter Activism Step-By-Step: [tcxs.net]

Please take action NOW, so we can win all victories that are supposed
to be ours, and forward this alert as widely as possible.

If you would like to get alerts like these, you can do so at
[www.peaceteam.net]

I agree with kwan; Please contact your Congressman/Senator in regards to this bill and oppose it! I don't have very much faith in the "system" at all, but we need to do what we can to try and protect our food supply in a way that is sensible.

I already wrote to my Congressman, but, uh, kwan, the above seems rather shrill to me. "Gestapo Food Act?" Really? As you know, I find that approach vexing. And I am beginning to smell the Price-Pottenger "Nutrition" Foundation and their desire to economically even the playing field for small animal production operations behind this. They can be downright hysterical.

My main concern is with these food regulation bills is the small produce grower/processor, although I have nothing against the small animal-raising family farm, as a Midwesterner. Still, I'd rather these bills favored plant-based farming over animal-based, you know? The small scale produce farm always comes last, even after the small-scale egg farm. This is the real lack of equity.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/30/2009 02:34PM by Tamukha.

Hi Tamukha,
I know, he's a little shrill. But I like him and have found him trustworthy. (I think it's a he...?) His e-mails, for the last several months, have been geared toward holding the Bush administration accountable. Now he is focusing on food issues, and although the language is the strongest I've heard from him to date (perhaps to wake people up?-- Americans are so passive, especially on food and medical issues), my sense is he is intelligent and thoughtful.

I don't think there's any Weston-Price connection, actually, although I can't prove it. 'The Peace Team' webpage is a generic political petition site. I hadn't been aware of Weston-Price's take on the food bills; I'll have to go to their website and see what they're saying. I can well imagine they're upset.

These bills are very worrisome to me, because there's tons of language in there that can be extremely harmful to small local farmers. I do not trust Congress anymore, whatsoever. This seems to be the era of globalization, and a type of globalization of the worst sort, in which corporations are asserting and reinforcing their power, with an agenda which is clearly to shut out the competition in every way possible. And Congress is in their hip pocket.

Our letters, petitions and phone calls count, big-time. The Congressional staff members, when they field a phone call or letter, have a forumla: each citizen who expresses his opinion is said to represent 13,000 other constituents. If enough of us speak up, we can have a powerful impact. If there isn't a strong public outcry, however, they will do whatever the corporations want them to do. Same with the healthcare reform: the only way we can get what we want (and 72% of us want single payer healthcare) is to call, write, petition and show up at rallies.

(Just my opinion-- sorry, I could ramble on and on.) ;-p

Sharrhan:


[www.facebook.com]

kwan,

It's OK; this was a very comprehensive argument. I guess I am too cynical to think that my strongly worded letters will have any effect. When was the last time The Public's opinion truly dissuaded politicians from a particular action? The Vietnam War ending before expectations, maybe? That was a long time ago. As I recently wrote to a close family friend who was despairing about health care reform: these days, we cannot really threaten Congress en masse with sending them back to the boonies. These days, they merely take refuge post-politics in lobbying or academia. Where they are untouchable. Fear not, I shall continue to read the bills and petitions and to urge my Congressman to act responsibly, but . . .

"Our letters, petitions and phone calls count, big-time. The Congressional staff members, when they field a phone call or letter, have a formula: each citizen who expresses his opinion is said to represent 13,000 other constituents. If enough of us speak up, we can have a powerful impact."

kwan -

I sure wish I could believe that, but I personally believe that ALL politicians are bought & paid for. I do not trust a single one of them...after all, what do those overstuffed shirt fat cats care about us for? They have everything they need handed to them on a silver platter.

Can you point to a recent example of where the petitions/phone calls had an effect? I would like to have my faith restored, but I feel all is lost.

I haven't given up the fight, I just feel it's a losing battle.

Guys,
I share your cynicism, believe me. (I guess in my case it's more like profound sadness and frustration.) Yet I also remember in recent years incidents in which public outcry shamed the politicians into changing their agenda-- not because they wanted to, but out of fear of what we the people would do to them if they didn't.
* Lyndon Johnson didn't want to embrace civil rights legislation so much as he HAD to because of the riots and protests that were going on all over the nation at the time. (Okay, not so recent, but a good case in point nevertheless.)
* In recent years (late 90s), there was a very real threat of DSHEA (supplement act) being overturned by Congress, and supplements being regulated by the FDA. The people called, wrote letters and signed petitions like crazy, and Congress caved. I believe there have been similar victories for organic food and other holistic causes.

I'm sure there are a lot of other instances, but I'll have to do some research and come back with more facts. I also, sadly, realize that since 2001 (or so) we've seen increasing unwillingness on the part of our representatives to listen to us, and more collusion of government with the corporate sector. However, I do believe if large enough numbers of people -- and I do mean LARGE -- protest, they will have to bend to our will. Unfortunately, they want us to believe there is no point in protesting; already more and more people believe there is no hope and they have resigned themselves passively to a sense of futility and powerlessness. This is exactly what 'they' would like.

Let's be heroic and continue to work for change, even if we're not sure it'll work. If we don't, we may have deep regrets in the future about what could have been had we pushed a little harder.

Thanks for the "pep" talk, I needed it. Like you mentioned early on, I possess a profound sadness and frustration with the current situations. I am a fighter, but also a realist. Maybe I need to fight harder, take a stronger stance & energize those around me to take action as well.

As far as "recent" goes, there were those "tea party" demonstrations several months ago, I guess that counts for something. Taking our country back is such an uphill climb, as so many Americans are "fat, dumb & happy" and are contented with the "status qou". As a political radio host I used to listen to some years ago used to state frequently;

"It time to get off our apathy & do something"

More recently, John Hagee;

"Get off your Blessed Assurance & do something"

In honer of the July 4th holiday, maybe things will start resonating with folks; it is high time we resist the crazy change & ideas...

I've been thinking a lot lately about why Americans don't get politically involved or engage very much in citizen activism, and I think it's mainly because of the unique culture of the self-help movement. Here's a quote from J. Hari in an article at Common Dreams.org entitled "The Selfishness of the Self-Help Industry":

"The rise of self-help exactly coincides with the decline of faith in collective political solutions. You won't find an answer out there, through getting involved with the society you live in, it says."

They don't have to cancel each other out; nor are they mutually exclusive (activism v. having a positive mindset), but we seem to have internalized the belief that you have to choose one or the other. Some of the most thoughtful, positive and wonderful people I've ever met are the ones who have learned to be positive while still looking at 'what is' unflinchingly and rolling up their sleeves and doing what they can to change things-- all the while meditating or praying and living from a deep spiritual commitment.

Sharrhan:


[www.facebook.com]

kwan,

That's an intriguing supposition. To my mind, I think our collective apathy is rather the result of a subtly encouraged solipsism that took hold of our popular culture sometime in the late 60s. A lot of good came from that era, but it was also the time when it became de rigeur for an entire generation to thumb their nose at the admittedly sometimes suffocating conventions that mainained order in society. It was the first time when young people were allowed to think mostly of themselves and their own needs, the participation by some of them in Freedom Riding and Women's Lib, notwithstanding. And I believe it led directly to the sociopathic avarice that marked our culture in the 80s. Me, me, me, me, me. That's the mantra of the children born to those people and growing up today. For every one that keeps track of the WTO and FDA and protests their doings, there are five thousand who just want to be left alone to play Wii with their frat brothers. It's an epidemic of navelgazing, and I don't think we can stop it.

> For every one that keeps track of the WTO and FDA and protests their doings, there are five thousand who just want to be left alone to play Wii with their frat brothers. It's an epidemic of navelgazing, and I don't think we can stop it.<

Well said, Tamukha. I notice the apathy is much more pervasive in the U.S. compared to most of the European countries, though.

Sharrhan:


[www.facebook.com]

Another quote from J. Hari that ties into the non-activism issue:

"One of the reasons Bush got away with so much is that ... Americans have internalised the cruel myths of the self-help industry. ...the One God, One Thought Church is screening 'The Secret' to their housing counselling program "to show people who feel hopeless that they can own a home". Don't create political pressure for cheap houses for Katrina refugees; just tell them to visualise it very, very hard."

Sharrhan:


[www.facebook.com]

P.S. Just to clarify: I do believe passionately in the power of personally harnessing positive energy-- whether it be visualization or meditation or prayer or just keeping thoughts on the positive side. I do believe it makes one's life so much richer and has enormous impact. What I can't get with is this culture of blame that projects the failings of those in positions of power--- who have oppressed and even enslaved people for their own gain--- onto their victims, saying that they themselves created the inequities through thinking wrong. I consider that really disingenuous and untrue. I believe that is the achilles heel of the positive thinking movement... that along with the over-concern with making piles of money and gaining personal prestige rather than living in balance and pursuing higher spiritual truths. Imagine if the positive thinking groups applied all the wonderful positive energy to social justice causes, healing the environment, world peace, etc., rather than its present preoccupation with personal gain and self-aggrandizement. It may yet happen as people begin to awaken and empathize more with the suffering of those around them, and then... WOW!, we would really begin to see 'heaven on earth.'

Sharrhan:


[www.facebook.com]

kwan,

Agreed with your post above, and it got me thinking--the main problem with the self-help movement is that it, too, encourages navelgazing. Dear God, it's like a milder, patchouli-scented version of "me, me, me, me, me"! If only there were a selfless-help section in every New Age bookstore?

I appreciate the Political Nature of all three of you. Sorry
I can't join you.
Katz....I can't help from laughing when John Hagee preaches. He's so
obese. "What are you thinking" keeps coming to my mind....WY

"Katz....I can't help from laughing when John Hagee preaches. He's so
obese. "What are you thinking" keeps coming to my mind....WY"

lol, I know. But, doesn't everyone in Texas look like that (just kidding, no offense to anyone) but look at the screen when the camera pans through the congregation - it's all a "meat & potatoes" crowd.

Yes, John should do something about the weight problem; he should take some lessons from his son Matt, who used to be just as large or larger, but now is a thin & trim guy.

And WY - why not interested in the political side of things? Did I miss something?

juicerkatz,

WY may be abstaining because there can be no strictly political discussions on these Forums. I don't know if you were here during the brief time of a Politics Forum several months back--it was crazy divisive, and was wisely shut down. And I say that as an avid poster there. When discussing things that pertain to food or health care regulation, it is necessary to skim the periphery of politics, as they are intrinsically linked. But we are much more civil here : )

Hi Tamukha ,

Yes, I know that politics are not permitted here - it is one of the main reasons I frequent this forum, because I basically abhor politics & political discussion. However as you mentioned, it is a necessary thing from time to time, especially to raise awareness in regards to the current food bills floating around congress.

If there were a political sub-forum here, I wouldn't even click on it, as I pretty much refuse to talk politics with anyone - it is a losing battle, & I understand that. Most everyone has a set of values that they have grown up with, & most do not stray from those set values, they same idea as with a person's faith.

But, in this instance, I feel it is appropriate of kwan/others to bring radical legislation such as these food bills to light. I do appreciate the fact that the posters here are quite civil and do take a "high road" approach when dealing with these issues.

>But, in this instance, I feel it is appropriate of kwan/others to bring radical legislation such as these food bills to light. I do appreciate the fact that the posters here are quite civil and do take a "high road" approach when dealing with these issues.<

Right--- food politics are now deemed appropriate for discussion on the "Other Health Related Topics Forum," but we steer clear of partisan politics and discussion of non-food-related political issues, because that tends to lead to hopeless debates and ruffled feathers.

Sharrhan:


[www.facebook.com]

Yet another sobering article about this bill from another natural health freedom organization, the AAHF:

http://
aahf.nonprofitsoapbox.com/index.phpoption=com_content&task=view&id=825&Itemid=