More Government HELP

Following is taken from an e-mail I received from a friend. She has a wonderful small farm right in the middle of downtown Austin. You can find more about them at www.boggycreekfarm.com.


Last year, Leafy Greens in California's fields, irrigated by huge sprinkler systems, became contaminated by migrating cattle manure, and the leaves, mixed together in huge washing systems, shared the virulent strain of e.coli that caused sickness, and even death in those across our nation who later consumed the bagged salads. Hands were wrung over what caused this, how to correct it, and how to protect the eaters of America's salads.
Since the "official word" is that we will never entirely know how this all happened, finally (and, I guess, reasonably) it is decided that the responsibility to end all contamination rests on the bowed shoulders of the Leafy Greens farmers. Not just the corporate-sized farmers who grow 95% of the Leafy Greens, but all farmers, including those who grow very modest amounts. Proposals range from pathogen lab tests at every harvest to sterilizing fields so that no life lives in the soil other than the Leafy Greens.
Common sense has no power here. And, really, we may be too far down the path to a centralized system of food production, harvesting, handling and packaging to continue to allow small growers to produce for their local communities. For how can a small grower, growing three acres of Leafy Greens, pay for lab tests four times a week, for every variety grown, sterilize the soil, remove all vegetation around the growing area, and then persuade customers to buy two or three week old Leafy Greens, once they've passed the lab tests?
The proposals smell of the same type of regulations (NAIS) that are in line for the folks who own livestock. Eventually, if regulations become The Word, there will be few small farms left.
Information comes through the grapevine slowly, even in this computer age. So it is that in just the last few days, we find out that we are facing a huge threat to our collective nutrition. Monday it turns out, is the last day to comment to USDA if you are displeased over the impending regulations.
If you care to comment, here's a link: http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main Select "open document" and choose from the list "Leafy Greens." Monday is your last chance.
Here are two sites with information....
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_8679.cfm
http://cornucopia.org/index.php/protect-fresh-leafy-greens-and-family-farms/#more-362
This winter may be our last chance to eat Leafy Greens produced on our local farms.