Re: Genetic engineering & SAL -Reply

David S. Conner (dconner@zoo.uvm.edu)
Tue, 19 Nov 1996 08:40:46 -0500 (EST)

Well put!

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David Conner
Center for Rural Studies
207 Morrill Hall, UVM
Burlington, VT 05405
(802) 656-3021
FAX: (802) 656-0776
dconner@zoo.uvm.edu

On Mon, 18 Nov 1996, Sal Schettino wrote:

> I don't think it is right for the State of Ca. to charge you money to
> grow organic. This is a extra tax that you have to pay if you label is
> organic and I don't think that is fair. The state of Ca. should be
> supporting organic farmers not charging them extra money . No Fair Not
> right . I don't not know what the USDA is going to do because they will
> not post the standards so all I can say about them is that they have a
> law but will not tell us what the standards are. I hope they will not
> also burden the small organic farmer with even another tax. I want to
> know how many people does it take to prove you are organic. I am a
> member of CCOF and I pay them and their inspectors . I have to pay
> the STate of Ca. and now the Feds want to
> get into the act. I don't understand why one needs so many people to
> prove you are organic when I have done nothing wrong. Why am I being
> forced to pay the State of Ca. No Fair and why do I need so many people
> (The State,The Feds, CCOF, their inspectors, etc . This is getting
> nuts. I have been farming for years and did not have to pay anyone why
> the big move to suck money out of the organic farmer. What does paying
> all these folks off have to do with being organic. If they feel they
> need better enforcement don't charge me for it. I don't mine keeping
> paper work of what products I use but don't any of these folks trust
> each other. Why do I have to bow to a certifier, an inspector,the
> state,the states inspectors, the feds and who know who else for the same
> dam thing. What the
> heck is going on here. How much of my time and my money do I have to
> give up to these Mafia type folks that force their mandates and laws of
> good folks and steal our money . If you want information on how I farm pay
> me for it don't make me pay you. A few folks get to meet in a little
> room and frame their wickedness and after its framed call it a law and
> they use this law to tax all
> organic farmers and burden them with way to much paper work and we are
> supposed to
> like it. Yet the whole world is crying out
> for gene altered foodstuff to
> be labeled and they do nothing. Pick on the poor organic farmer and let
> the gene tinkers run a muck thats par for the course.
> they got it back words. I wish I had a good lawyer I don't see how they
> force me to pay to grow and sell organic. I pay because I can not fight
> them because they have the big guns not me.
> People are not fearful of organic food they are worried about the folks
> that can take a gene from anything and put it in anything changing life on
> earth as we know it. We are the white mice and we don't get to know what
> they are doing to the food we eat. Why don't they label their handy work?
> I'm just a poor farmer and I can label mine.
> What gives?
>
>
> On Mon, 18 Nov 1996
> MARCIEROSE@aol.com wrote:
>
> > Bob,
> >
> > I understood Sal to say the USDA mandates extreme amounts of paperwork in
> > order for something to be labled as organic NOT the mandating of organic
> > labling. As another farmer using organic methods, I can attest to the
> > onerous paperwork.
> >
> > Marcie
> >
>
>
> Sal Schettino,Organic Farmer,don't panic eat organic,sals@rain.org
> or check out my homepage: http://www.rain.org/~sals/my.html .
>
>
>