Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Peter Cottontail

I bet you guys didn't know that Peter Cottontail lives in front of my apartment in the woods? It's true. Tillie wakes up every morning just dying to go outside and hunt him down and chase him off. I think she's more about Jesus' resurrection than about the fluffy bunny. She's not a fan of the cottontail. Not a fan at all.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Have You Heard About This?

There is currently a House and Senate bill that will virtually kill all organic farms and produce. It's called the Food Safety Modernization Act (HR 875): Criminalization of Organic Farms. The bill is House H.R. 875 and you can find out more information here and bill Senate S 425 here. The Bills will require organic farms to use specific fertilizers and poisonous sprays. All farms and growers will be instructed and regulated by the newly formed agency to 'make sure there is no danger to the general public and the appending food supply.' The attempt is to 'standardize' the agricultural industry.

At first this may appear as if it is only directed at commercial farms but this WILL include backyard gardens that grow food for consumption by a single family and not intended for resale. Most prior Bills that started off with such intent are later expanded in their scope and become more restricted in nature.

Please click to SIGN UP to put an end to this bill and send to anyone you know asap. From what I understand, this bill is on the fast track and could get voted on very quickly.

The bill is lobbied by the Monsanto Company, the maker of Round-Up and GE (genetically engineered) seeds. You can get more information on Wikipedia or on the web elsewhere about them if you're interested.

The name of the plan is Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009. Safety, huh? I'm not feeling so safe. Let me know if you have any questions about what you can do!