Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Link: http://www.offthegridnews.com/2013/10/1 ... -business/

PLEASE READ THIS IF YOU STRIVE TO FARM OR GARDEN ORGANICALLY/SUSTAINABLY. A CAMPAIGN IS BEING LAUNCHED TO PROMOTE GMO PRODUCE OVER ORGANIC. A SECRET AMENDMENT WAS SIGNED INTO LAW WITHOUT MUCH FANFARE ON APRIL 2013 AND COULD POTENTIALLY OUTLAW BACKYARD GARDENING IN THE USA!!

Bullocks... it's a Food Safety Bill... designed to implement basic food safety measure into a National law... and in line with world standards that the US signed up to... primarily HACCP implementation (an easy thing).. and basic food safety hygiene practices...

It applies to the sale of produce to the public...

It does not apply to any produce grown in the backyard...

It doesn't even apply to produce eaten on the farm by the producer...

It doesn't promote GMO food.. or Organic produce... or favour either one...

It's a basic national food safety bill... read it...

http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulat ... 247546.htm

Not wanting to have too much of a tin foil hat but...

Some years ago here in Victoria Primesafe decided to deem live yabbies as dead meat and that meant that producers had to meat the regulations for dead meat rather than live. This cut the heart out of the fledgling yabby industry as farmers could no longer leagally harvest yabbies in their dams and pass them on to a holder of a multiple waters yabby license and many small producers decided that it was all too hard and expensive t continue.

Yea its dropped a lot of the yabbie farming industry off. Theres still a good few battlers out there though, I also hope to be one of them one day.

I beg to differ, RupertofOZ, at least in regards to the Corporate-owned Senate and Congress here in the USA.

LinK:

http://www.naturalnews.com/030418_Food_ ... seeds.html

Once a foothold is gained induced by consumer fears here, say a single case of e-coli found on marketed spinach where raw manure is applied on commercial fields instead of composted manure, then who gets the shaft? The ordinary citizen trying to do the right thing...the schoolyard mentality of whomever disrupts the order causes the whole classroom to be punished.

Oftentimes if the situation is researched, it will be discovered that the trailers which haul the vegetables to market are leased to haul garbage to the landfill off-season. No restrictions or safety inspections for the middleman here...so let's punish the only obvious culprit for the outbreak, the dastardly farmer...ALL the farmers in fact.

Personal experience of the case made in previous paragraph, I once bought a can of turnip greens from the local grocer and once the can was opened I noticed a strong odor of diesel fuel...it could have been the fault of the cannery which may have lubricated its machinery and failed to dispose of the contaminated greens afterwards. It could have been contaminated during shipment. But the easiest and least debatable culprit is the FARMER!

Now the backyard farmer cannot be controlled unless a Federal Law is passed here in the USA. So the best way to report a criminal? Your neighbors and so-called friends, and of course the Big Brother cameras on every corner.

Yes, I admit I am paranoid. It is obvious that the citizens in this country have NO voice ever since the 16-day government shutdown we just experienced...the same representatives who almost sent the national and world economies down the tubes during the debt-ceiling debacle this week. BE PREPARED is the message.

Nothing you said above diminishes the need for good food safety practices by any farmer growing produce and selling to the public....

And nothing said, or in the bill... validates the suggestion that the bill is oriented towards the "organic" farmer... or more particularly the backyard grower consuming their own food...

I've got to admit that I would be suspicious of the FDA's real agenda with the new amendment as well, especially with the likes of Monsanto in the background. I'm all for making sure what is sold to the public is safe but when you learn about what the American government is willing to do to it's own for the almighty dollar you would at least have to wonder who is going to "benefit" from the new bill, after 911 I wouldn't expect anything they do doesn't have an ulterior motive.

I struggle to believe much that comes from that website, almost all of their articles are over sensationalised, and fear based. This doesn't mean that everything they have on there is wrong, just that it's hard to sort the wheat from the chaff.

but there's too much money in the "doomsday market" to ignore

Now that 2012 doomsday has past the new wave of conspiracy theorist can only speculate on political/food security/resource management theory.
After all a society controlled by fear is an easy pic, plus it's the same public that spread that fear just like a viral infection.
I do not fear these departments as I understand about pathogens and harmful bacteria and the need to keep the public safety in our target is to comply with all food processing regulations as the public health and safety that apply our business, in my case I deal with many different processed products and methods as well as an array of different animal product which all need to be processed in separate areas and carry different risks of contamination or spoilage.
FARMAGEDDON documentary had exacerbated some of the issue to use it as a mind blowing info for a public mentality fuelled by ignorance and fear.
I still respect Joel Salatin at list!

LMAO, like I would obey them even if this was true. I will do what I want on my property end of discussion.