Re: Genetic engineering & SAL -Reply

Sal Schettino (sals@rain.org)
Mon, 18 Nov 1996 21:55:08 -0800 (PST)

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 .