My dear BWS friends, you aren't going to believe this if I
simply relay the information; so you don't have to take my word for it please look at my latest blog for the details. I know it is a fact, signed several petitions, made some calls and yet the entire concept boggles my mind. As women, wives, mothers, grandmothers etc., this new law they are trying to pass should make our blood boil.

Hi Chatty,

I checked on Snopes with regard to this issue, and I pass on their link: HR 875 on Snopes

While I haven't read ALL of the Snopes clarification yet, it looks like another one of those "tempests in a teapot."

At this point, I suppose we ought to check with our own state representatives to see what THEY say is going on...

I think the bill in question is now up for cloture in the Senate. There are a couple of amendments that would exempt small farmers and backyard gardeners. This bill was in the house over a year ago and hasn't gone anywhere there.

Warrantless entry is an unsettling thought. Snopes says what's
there is mostly untrue, if I read it correctly. But who are the
jerks that sit around and get paid to think up this junk. Geese!
Aren't there more important things to discuss in the Halls of
Congress????

I think food safety is important. But there are members in congress who want to do away with the depts that monitor food safety (mostly Tea Party).

Considering the recalls lately on tainted food, I think there needs to be more oversight of food production. So where do we draw the line? The bill in question requires sanitary conditions for any food production that will be sold to the public. Exemptions for small farmers and backyard gardeners are included in the Tester amendment; this includes those who sell only locally. It all comes down to if you buy from local farmers then you get to know them and what their growing methods are. When you buy from a big conglomerate, you don't know where your food came from and how it was grown. Which would you rather have?

I think I'd rather buy the locally grown. It doesn't compute
that someone would grow and eat tainted items. We really get into it, don't we. Gotta go!

I like the poem you have on your blog, yonuh; the world living as
one is a wonderful concept.

Thanks, Jabber. I love John Lennon. I think he was a visionary; so sad his life was cut short. Who knows how much he could have accomplished had he lived.

I too would rather buy locally grown food and food that comes from my region. And I would love to buy more from growers I know... It really puzzles me that we can't do this more easily.

For example, this afternoon Steve and I went to a local restaurant for lunch. We got soup and homemade bread, and I had coffee.

Now geographically, we live in extreme NW Illinois, and are within 10 miles of crossing the borders into Iowa or Wisconsin. We live in an area where agriculture and tourism are big business, and in fact, one of our local restaurants - which happens to be owned by the same owners who own the restaurant we were dining in -- makes a point of only serving locally grown food...

So I am looking at the wrappers that came with the butter and the packaging for the little half and half containers... And I was astounded to discover that the butter came from TEXAS and the half and half came from upstate NEW YORK!!

This is a big pet peeve with me. WHY -- when I am sitting within 10 miles from the DAIRY STATE -- do my dairy products come from halfway across the country!!?

Likewise, I was putting some ground beef into a pot of chili the other day, and I noted from the packaging that my beef was a product of CANADA, despite the fact that beef cattle are raised all around me...

I know this has to be economics somehow, and I am sure that if I made a point of driving 10 miles to a local butcher shop I might be able to buy some locally produced beef, for example. But I suspect I would pay more for the opportunity.

I would love to buy more of my meat, dairy and vegetables at our many local farmer's markets, but early Saturday mornings -- when they are always held -- are not a convenient time for me to shop.

During the summer, I frequent a local grower who sells locally grown produce, honey and flowers from a shed on her farm property -- but she's only open seasonally - and then only a few days a week. And you still have to get there before Noon...

Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas on this?

Try CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture). You get seasonal produce from local farms. It's usually a subscription-based service - you pay a set amount each month - and you pick up your produce once or twice a week.

See: http://www.localharvest.org/

Click the tab for CSA and type in your town and state.

Also on this site are local farms, food co-ops, and other local food producers.