Food Safety Modernization Act

The Common Room calls it CPSIA for farms. As far as I can understand it, for the sake of food safety, only certified-safe food will be allowed to be sold. It makes me wonder if the food co-op raid in Ohio a couple of months ago is only a foretaste of what we can expect to see all over the US.

A birthday

Almost spring today! That is, the calendar says three days to go, but I think it's here already. I'm sitting on a hill on campus, overlooking the baseball field, where there is a game going on--spring training, I think. The sounds from it come up the hill a little delayed: I'm hearing the clap of the ball in gloves and the dull clink of the bat (they use aluminum bats) a moment after I see things happen. I was going to post a picture of my view, but my phone won't cooperate. It's working now!

We are studying Elizabeth's reign in humanities right now (which always makes me think of summer for some reason). Shakespeare is putting on plays at the Globe and Sir Francis Drake's navy just held off the Armada in the Channel. England is happy with their victory, happy with their new Anglican religion, and happy with their Queen. "Now is the winter of their discontent turned to summer by this bright sun--" --of York, Shakespeare said, but I think it can be said of Good Queen Bess as readily as Edward IV. (Or was it V? bother.)

Well, I don't want to write a long post, because if I do it will be all rambling and wambling, but I couldn't let the day pass without mentioning a birthday. Rusticanda has been around four years today! Quite a bit has changed since then--I'm in college now, and brother J is in highschool, and brother L is almost a teenager, and Miss M--well, she's become Miss M :D. We've taken trips, read books, discussed much, and seen seasons change--and now this blog is chock-full of good memories. So--a happy birthday to it! and I hope it sees many more full, changing, blessed years.

The End of Gardening?

The CPSIA lead-certification law was just the beginning; now the government, prompted by Monsanto, plans to outlaw food co-ops, organic farming and backyard gardening.

Look up this bill on google: HR 875

Or, start with these links:

http://www.campaignforliberty.com/blog.php?view=12671

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Monsanto-s-dream-bill-HR-by-Linn-Cohen-Cole-090309-337.html

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1566685/food_safety_modernization_act_hr_875.html