Food Safety Legislation Nears Final Vote At Last

I took the liberty of looking up the definition of liberty and here's what came up;

lib·er·ty (lbr-t)
n. pl. lib·er·ties
1.
a. The condition of being free from restriction or control.
b. The right and power to act, believe, or express oneself in a manner of one's own choosing.
c. The condition of being physically and legally free from confinement, servitude, or forced labor. See Synonyms at freedom.
2. Freedom from unjust or undue governmental control.
3. A right or immunity to engage in certain actions without control or interference: the liberties protected by the Bill of Rights.
4.
a. A breach or overstepping of propriety or social convention. Often used in the plural.


So, naturally you can see how the US not only does not protect the liberty of the people, but they use the term to define their actions then turn around and beat people over the head with it.

Obviously you can see how Americans are neither free from restriction nor control. E.g. Workplace drug tests

Why can't some who choose to use cannabis? Why can't homosexuals be open about it in the job place or military?

I don't think I need to even explain this one.

Examples of this would be crooked politicians, rigged votes, politicians receiving corporate paychecks, etc.


Face it, the US doesn't protect your liberty. You don't have liberty anymore, unless you're a white male with a lot of money. I didn't say the government should be destroyed. I think that people should decide that they're tired of the bullshit and should realize that they can change it if they just start to care and quit being taken in by the shiny objects and empty promises.

Once the corporate hands are forced out of the system and greedy assholes stop accepting their cheques, we might be on to something.

 

You could nitpick all day man. It doesn't mute the original sense of purpose that I'm alluding to. Also I wasn't saying this is something the Government has honorably upheld. In fact I expressed the exact opposite, a wish that they would. I'll try to restate my point you are directing at....

The government can be part of the problem without being the enemy. As I said, a enemy is desired to be destroyed. Somehow we need take advantage, and widen the part of the Government that does have some sense of this purpose. Trust me, it's okay to have faith that these folk exist within the Government.

You state that Government is the enemy because they allow the corporations liberty with their wealth and power, but that suggests that you think Government should have some role. You're holding a conservative and liberal viewpoint at the same time. You have to choose which is something that SHOULD be destroyed... the corrupt corporations or the entire U.S. Government system, that already does what oversight has been legislated in the past. Yes their is a lot of contradictions and hypocrisy within that system, what do you want me to say? That the government is completely criminal? Not that there are rough points within it that need to be properly addressed?

 

I think a more accurate nuance is that the corporate wealth, power, and VOICE come at the expense of ours.

 

I see what you're getting at and I agree somewhat. I suppose I should be addressing the point I was getting at last night. The thing is, corrupt government officials will not change, corporations will not change, so all that leaves left to change is the people. And although I have problems with the government, I blame the people to an almost equal degree. People are not taking responsibility for their country, for themselves and for their children. They need to get sick and tired of the corruption and decide to do something about it.

It's the same as with an alcoholic or drug addict. Most only get better once they've hit rock bottom. So what is it going to take for the people to hit rock bottom and say, "We have to change this?" WWIII? The government shamlessly murdering citizens and putting them in jail for relatively harmless crimes? Are we going to get to a 1984/totalitarian police state before people realize that something has to change?

Corrupt politicians and corporations aren't going to stop themselves, it needs to be the people who stop them. But for some reason, except one reason which I try not to assume, I can't understand why more people don't see this and don't care.

Have you ever read the novel 'Atlas Shrugged'? That's what I think needs to happen.

 

Okay, that I can't deny. That is a good way of looking at it, and definitely seems true.

Edited. Also True Lunar. I would totally agree with you and George Carlin on the public. I don't think the corrupt corporations or politicians will change either, but I still say there are some worthy ones that can be doing some better bidding.

 

Sorry if this has already been posted.
In some perverted reality the Senate has a bill up for vote that could make it illegal to not only grow your own food, but to store/own/eat/sell food not sanctioned by the government. Of course there is a lot more to it, but the fact that something like this could even be a possibility baffles the mind.

More at link:

http://current.com/news/92608768_se...o-grow-share-trade-or-sell-homegrown-food.htm

 

"Monsanto says it has no interest in the bill and would not benefit from it"

Monsanto lied.

I haven't read the bill... I've been made to understand that it doesn't explicitly prohibit backyard gardens but I haven't the time nor inclination to verify this. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if gardening were to be regulated via local zoning ordinance where gardening licenses were applied for and inspections, soil analysis, drainage, etc were prerequisite to the garden... and of course the permit would need to be purchased... good way to bring a bit more money into local governments and ease the need for federal help in running budgets.

This kind of change would be preceded by a period where we'd see increasing stories of people being hospitalized from food borne illnesses and poisoning from home grown food and the contrived crisis would be addressed by our oh-so-benevolent Uncle Sam swooping in to protect us via expensive regulation and creating a new criminal class.

 

a lot of the hysteria is just that - hysteria [and yes, this has been discussed here already]

even if, they've amended the bill to exclude small and local producers

as far as i can tell, nowhere does it ban growing things for your own consumption

[provided that such things are already legal :smoking:]

 

As far as I've read so far the bill doesn't ban or make illegal personal gardens.


To answer the question of your thread title, if I lived in a place where it was illegal to grow my own food I would move. For two reasons; 1) Because I couldn't grow my own food, and 2) Because I wouldn't want to live in a society where the people for whatever reason didn't stand up and fight some fascist bill that made it illegal to grow one's own food.

 

The only thing is that the health stories of the past are the result of large scale farming operations with little oversight over their operation. I can see and definitely would push for regulation of THAT sort of thing, but if it turns out true as the small time farming scene has seen it then that would be a tragedy. I can definitely still see why Monsanto would want to control local sustainable agriculture. I guess we'll have to wait and see the dynamics of this legislation. It is very unlikely that personal gardening will become "illegal" but if this bill passes without that amendment we could see the type of restrictions stinkfoot mentioned if the FDA chose to strictly enforce it, which I can see being a possibility with influence from Monsanto and Co. Still Not the most likely scenario. The restrictions would apply mostly to gardeners and part time farmers who want to sell their produce, and in my opinion that area of agriculture in the United States should not be fucked with and regulated so, that would still be a tragedy. Whether or not you're of the impression that things like Raw milk is healthier than pasteurized or far more dangerous for your health, the Federal government should not be raiding places where people can sell and buy raw milk. To drink Raw milk is obviously a choice, and no one is forced to pay the high prices for it.