Rep. Dennis Kuchinich Speech on "Organic in Congress"
forest <[email protected]> Mon, 07 Nov 2005 05:29:20 -1000
| Newsgroups | gmane.technology.sustainable.ecobalance |
|---|---|
| Message-ID | <BF9496AF.9067%[email protected]> |
> This message is in MIME format. Since your mail reader does not understand this format, some or all of this message may not be legible. --MS_Mac_OE_3214186160_174511_MIME_Part Content-type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Sent: Monday, October 31, 2005 11:03 PM Subject: D.Kucinich speech on Organic in Congress To my agricultural friends. Dennis Kucinich spoke for us on Oct. 28th in Congress. Keep him on your radar. One of the most important initiatives that he has on his agenda is the creation of a cabinet level Department of Peace. All sorts of violent technologies, like nuclear, GMO agriculture, oil drilling, etc are very aggressive technologies belonging to an age of opposition. The Cabinet level Dept.of Peace would study and then offer non violent technologies as peaceful and harmonious alternatives to the current violence in agriculture and energy. We are not talking about just another agency, here. A Cabinet level Dept. of Peace, would have the same stature in the Cabinet as the Dept. of Defense. So, I urge you all to work on getting your State Legislatures to pass resolutions to support Congressman Dennis Kucinich's and Sen. Mark Dayton's Cabinet Level Dept.of Peace. See: www.thepeacealliance.org <http://www.thepeacealliance.org/> for the how to. Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I think the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro), our ranking member, has stated many of the concerns which Members of Congress have with this bill. I would like to state mine, and i ndicate why I am going to vote against the agriculture appropriations conference report. Section 797 undermines the organic food industry by changing the definition of organic food without a congressional hearing, without agreement by the National Organic Standards Board, and without consumer consent. All across America when people go shopping, there are millions of Americans who are looking for the organic label. Why? Because it is considered to be a label that is indicative of greater integrity in food, food which is not likely to be poisoned with pesticides, food which is carefully grown by organic farmers, food which is healthier. People trust that organic label. But Americans should know that this bill has changed the organic food law and that big food companies have prodded Congress to change the organic food law and that this would allow the use of several synthetic ingredients in organic products and potentially weaken the organic dairy standards. More specifically, the amendments which the industry has helped to put in this bill would leave unresolved whether young dairy cows could be treated with antibiotics and converted to organic within 12 months, which would create a serious new loophole in which organic ingredients could be substituted with nonorganic ingredients, without any consumer notice, based on emergency decrees. Now, consumer confidence in the organic label is absolutely essential to ensure a strong organic market. I have had the opportunity to meet with organic farmers all across America, and they take great pride in their product and in their produce. And what this bill does is it undermines organic standards. It could permanently allow synthetic processing aids and food contact substances including over 500 food contact substances to be used in organic foods without any type of public review for their safety and compatibility with organic production and processing. Let me tell the Members what this is reminiscent of. In 1992, the Food and Drug Administration ruled that genetically modified organisms were the functional equivalent of conventional foods. They had no scientific basis to make that decision, but they went ahead and set the stage for the very food that we eat to be altered genetically without any science behind it. Now, if we are what we eat, we should be careful about how our food is made so we know what we are going to become. And we have taken no concern about that in this Congress because today GMOs are found in hundreds of millions of acres of food in this country, and now we are weakening organic standards with this legislation. It is time for Congress to take a stand for pure food. It is time for Congress to take a stand for integrity in food. It is time for us to vote against this bill which undermines organic standards. Submitted by Eileen Dannemann Director, National Coalition of Organized Women www.ProgressiveConvergence.com <http://www.progressiveconvergence.com/> www.SlavetotheMetal.org <http://www.slavetothemetal.org/> 917 804-0786 LoveLight, Joy and Peace, --MS_Mac_OE_3214186160_174511_MIME_Part Content-type: text/html; charset="US-ASCII" Content-transfer-encoding: quoted-printable <HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE> Rep. Dennis Kuchinich Speech on "Organic in Congress"</TI= TLE> </HEAD> <BODY> <BR> <BLOCKQUOTE><FONT SIZE=3D"2"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, October 31, 2005 11:03 PM<B= R> <B>Subject:</B> D.Kucinich speech on Organic in Congress<BR> <BR> <B>To my agricultural friends.</B> Dennis Kucinich spoke for us on Oc= t. 28th <BR> in Congress. Keep him on your radar. One of the most important = initiatives <BR> that he has on his agenda is the creation of a <B>cabinet level Department = of Peace</B>. <BR> <BR> All sorts of violent technologies, like nuclear, GMO agriculture, oil drill= ing, etc <BR> are very aggressive technologies belonging to an age of opposition. The Cab= inet <BR> level Dept.of Peace would study and then offer non violent technologi= es as <BR> peaceful and harmonious alternatives to the current violence in agriculture= and energy. We are not talking about just another agency, here. A Cab= inet level <BR> Dept. of Peace, would have the same stature in the Cabinet as the Dep= t. of <BR> Defense.<BR> <BR> So, I urge you all to work on getting your State Legislatures to pass resol= utions <BR> to support Congressman Dennis Kucinich's and Sen. Mark Dayton's Cabinet <BR= > Level Dept.of Peace. See: www.thepeacealliance.org <http://www.the= peacealliance.org/> <FONT COLOR=3D"#0000FF"> for the how to.<BR> <BR> <B>Mr. KUCINICH.</B> Mr. Speaker, I think the gentlewoman from Connecticut = (Ms. DeLauro), our ranking member, has stated many of the concerns which <BR= > Members of Congress have with this bill. I would like to state mine, and i<= BR> ndicate why I am going to vote against the agriculture appropriations <BR> conference report. <BR> <BR> Section 797 undermines the organic food industry by changing the definition= <BR> of organic food without a congressional hearing, without agreement by the <= BR> National Organic Standards Board, and without consumer consent.  = ;<BR> <BR> All across America when people go shopping, there are millions of American= s <BR> who are looking for the organic label. Why? Because it is considered to be = a <BR> label that is indicative of greater integrity in food, food which is not li= kely to be poisoned with pesticides, food which is carefully grown by organi= c farmers, <BR> food which is healthier. People trust that organic label.  = ;<BR> <BR> But Americans should know that this bill has changed the organic food law <= BR> and that big food companies have prodded Congress to change the organic <BR= > food law and that this would allow the use of several synthetic ingredients= in <BR> organic products and potentially weaken the organic dairy standards. = <BR> <BR> More specifically, the amendments which the industry has helped to put in <= BR> this bill would leave unresolved whether young dairy cows could be treated = <BR> with antibiotics and converted to organic within 12 months, which would <BR= > create a serious new loophole in which organic ingredients could be <BR> substituted with nonorganic ingredients, without any consumer notice, <BR> based on emergency decrees. Now, consumer confidence in the organic <BR> label is absolutely essential to ensure a strong organic market. &nbs= p; <BR> <BR> I have had the opportunity to meet with organic farmers all across America,= <BR> and they take great pride in their product and in their produce. And what t= his <BR> bill does is it undermines organic standards. It could permanently allow <B= R> synthetic processing aids and food contact substances including over 500 <B= R> food contact substances to be used in organic foods without any type of pub= lic review for their safety and compatibility with organic production and pr= ocessing. <BR> <BR> Let me tell the Members what this is reminiscent of. In 1992, the Food and = <BR> Drug Administration ruled that genetically modified organisms were the <BR> functional equivalent of conventional foods. They had no scientific basis t= o <BR> make that decision, but they went ahead and set the stage for the very food= <BR> that we eat to be altered genetically without any science behind it. Now, i= f<BR> we are what we eat, we should be careful about how our food is made so we <= BR> know what we are going to become. And we have taken no concern about <BR> that in this Congress because today GMOs are found in hundreds of millions = <BR> of acres of food in this country, and now we are weakening organic standard= s <BR> with this legislation. <BR> <BR> It is time for Congress to take a stand for pure food. It is time for Congr= ess to <BR> take a stand for integrity in food. It is time for us to vote against this = bill which undermines organic standards. <BR> <BR> Submitted by Eileen Dannemann<BR> Director, National Coalition of Organized Women<BR> www.ProgressiveConvergence.com <http://www.progressiveconvergence.com/&g= t; <BR> <FONT FACE=3D"Comic Sans MS">www.SlavetotheMetal.org <http://www.slavetoth= emetal.org/> <BR> 917 804-0786<BR> </FONT><FONT FACE=3D"Arial"><BR> <BR> <BR> </FONT><FONT FACE=3D"Comic Sans MS"><BR> </FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT COLOR=3D"#0000FF"><FONT SIZE=3D"5"><FONT FACE=3D"Arial= ">LoveLight, Joy and Peace,<BR> </FONT></FONT></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE><BR> </BODY> </HTML> --MS_Mac_OE_3214186160_174511_MIME_Part-- ------------------------------------------------ To subscribe or unsubscribe to ecobalance go to: http://www.ecovillage.org/ecobalance/index.html ------------------------------------------------