Senate Bill 510

[bigredfeather]

I did a search and didn't see that anyone has brought this up, so I thought I would share.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/6029056/senate_bill_510_creating_a_nation_of.html

Not saying anymore than that as I don't want to start anything, just want people to be aware it's out there.

Also, her's a SS link:
http://www.sufficientself.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=7319&p=2

 

[hypnofrogstevie]

Whats new? The government loves to take over anything that they cant make money off of. Land of the free my butt!

 

[hypnofrogstevie]

here is another link http://www.dailypaul.com/node/149518

 

[jojo54]

That is so bizarre - but when does government actually do anything that makes sense? Not as often as we would like.

 

[digitS']

A local food advocate, farmers' market manager, and Presbyterian pastor Craig Goodwin has been keeping track of this bill.

Year of Plenty

I think we all need people like Craig within about 20 miles from our homes.

Steve

 

[Collector]

I've always heard that the way to control a population is to control the food supply, and control health care. Something smells fishy.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Would you mind posting exactly what language in the bill you are referrring to? A link to the bill and which articles you are specifically referring to and your take on what the effects would be would be great. Thanks.

 

[journey11]

Ridgerunner, here's one I found. They have a link to the full-text of Senate Bill 510.

I haven't had time to read it thoroughly yet. I have heard/read lots of buzz out there on this from many random sources, but it sounds so extreme and implausible that I will not be jumping to any conclusions until I've read the bill myself.

Steve, seems the Year of Plenty author has reason to believe it is a good thing for small farmers? His article was definitely different from the others I've seen.

 

[damummis]

The bill has been delayed.
http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2010/11/19/food-safety-bill-delayed/

Yay.

Correct me if I am wrong. But just the motion to proceed with the bill passed not the bill it's self. Even then it would have to still go to the house and then the Pres.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Yeah, I found that. With all the struck outs I have trouble reading it. Those bills are written in legalese and are hard for me to understand anyway. It is a lot of work to chase down the definitions and exemptions to see what is actually being said. It makes it a lot easier if someone can refer to a specific article in that proposed bill that is causing concern so I can better understand for myself what it is saying.

You have to read the legal definitions to understand what they are really saying. Some of those definitions are contained in different documents, which makes it even harder and more work to properly understand what is being said. And sometimes those definitions are for that section only, not necessarily for the whole document. For example, the way I read that, farms are exempt, at least from some of the provisions, though I don't believe they are exempt from deliberate acts of terrorism. I am not convinced foreign "farms" are exempt in the importation of food section. This is the definition of an exempt farm I found by following one of the references. Exactly what they are exempt from is where the work comes in. And if you read it, a lot of things concerning registration is voluntary not mandatory.

Farm means a facility in one general physical location devoted to the growing and harvesting of crops, the raising of animals (including seafood), or both. Washing, trimming of outer leaves of, and cooling produce are considered part of harvesting. The term farm includes: (i) Facilities that pack or hold food, provided that all food used in such activities is grown, raised, or consumed on that farm or another farm under the same ownership; and (ii) Facilities that manufacture/process food, provided that all food used in such activities is consumed on that farm or another farm under the same ownership.

It is possible the federal government is exceeding its constitutional limits by reaching into the individual states in the name of homeland security. Usually the federal laws apply to interstate commerce or import/export only and leave the intrastate to the states. Most states tend to follow up and impose those rules and regulations so their farmers can sell produce nationwide or overseas; sometimes the individual states impose even more severe restrictions. There are times that federal agents go overboard, but often those stories that go viral on the internet are the result of state, county or city regulations, not federal regulations. And sometimes they are taken out of context or the whole story is not known. And to me homeland security is important, but once we go too far in restricting our freedoms, we have lost and they have won. It is a tough balancing act.

Yes, this vote was Senate cloture. The way I understand it, that is a procedural vote to stop amendments so the Senate can vote on the bill itself. Then it has to go to to the House for their approval, possibly after a committee works out House and Senate differences, maybe back to both House ansd Senate for final approval on the committee version, then eventually to the President for signature.