a voice for the voiceless
The obvious answer is yes.
The USDA doesn’t agree. Not that we’re clueless as to where they get their paycheck, this nevertheless is a slap in the face.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced on May 21st that it plans to cut its Pesticide Reporting at National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). The program tracked national pesticide use and proved critical for consumer groups, scientists, farmers and environmental groups to monitor pesticide trends and impacts.
NASS’ elimination of the Agricultural Chemical Use Database will have a major impact on consumers’ Right to Know about pesticide residues and food safety.
Pesticide Reporting has become particularly important in the last ten years since Genetically Engineered Crops have become widely used and pesticide use has actually increased!
This is a serious issue. Reading Silent Spring outlines in horrifying detail just how important this is, and how far-reaching the consequences. The impact these poisons have on the animals and the food, water, and general environment they require for life are usually devastating. Which is exactly why the poison companies and their government sidekicks want to stop recording the damning information.
Now would be a good time to contact your Congressional Representative and let them know what you think. Can we assign them summer reading?
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“Can we assign them summer reading?”
Unfortunately many of the bureaucrats I know who can read, do not. For example, I am often told that they are too busy to read my lengthy e-mails. The next time they say that, I am going to tell them to sign up for a remedial speed-reading course at the neighborhood middle school and that they should leave their M.S. and Ph.D. titles unannounced.
The USDA has been gutted and it once served an important public function. Perhaps the next administration will recognize the need to reinstate many of the Department’s functions and staff it with competent, ethical officials and employees.
I wish I could be optimistic about the changes the next administration makes. Unfortunately, I mostly see that big ag, and big corporations in general, are the ones in power in Washington. Maybe if we could abolish lobbyists, we’d get somewhere. Or put a $5 limit on what those lobbyists and those corporations could spend in their purchasing-of-politicians.
It would be SO nice if these departments that have such a huge say in very important things were filled with ethical people.