Found this..thought some of you might find it very interesting.

this is a snippet from the article.

http://www.jlhudsonseeds.net/USDAComment.htm J. L. HUDSON, SEEDSMAN, STAR ROUTE 2, BOX 337, LA HONDA, CALIFORNIA 94020 USA USDA Plans Severe Gardening Restrictions Direct quotes from USDA Action Plan "Clean list" - Everything not on government approved list banned. Penalties - $1000 for home gardeners, up to $250,000 for nurseries. Interstate movement of seeds - Prohibited without permit and inspection. Send objections to the USDA Write your representative (Sample letter) What President Bush says Your help is needed. The USDA is now accepting public comments on their Draft Action Plan for the Noxious Weeds Program, which includes the "clean list" or "white list" proposal. They are now going beyond the clean list and are stating that they intend to require permits and inspections for ALL seeds and plants moving interstate – this will effectively shut down many popular seed exchanges like the North American Rock Garden Society exchange and the Seed Saver's Exchange. These exchanges have been hailed as important means of preserving biodiversity. How many home seed savers will be willing to get appropriate licenses and inspections when they cost a minimum of $100 (for a nursery stock or seed license here in California). Penalties of up to $250,000 are proposed with a minimum fine of $1000 even for home gardeners. Please link to this page.

-- Lynette (fear_the_bear@webtv.net), March 30, 2002

Answers

You can bet that some mega seed company, who despises the competition from the little guys, has made a hefty campaign contribution to make this happen. That's the reason for many of government's "programs".

-- gita (gita@directcon.net), March 30, 2002.

This was posted 3 days ago. I listed the USDA web site at which the document referenced can be found so that you can review it.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), March 30, 2002.

Here is the USDA url. http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/weeds

This will show the official position in addition to the Hudson Seeds opinion.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), March 30, 2002.

After reading the above, I get the unreal feeling that the world tilted without me noticing... Is the govt going nutz or am I the one in trouble???

It apprears that by the time King George the First and his buddies are finished with us that we will be forced into being a nation of strictly consumers of mass produced, chemically laden foods and hybrid plants we don't want and if we don't consume as required, paying thru the nose as we do so, we will all be criminals.

Doesn't feel quite right, does it?

-- Carol - in Virginia (carollm@rockbridge.net), March 30, 2002.

This is soooo typical. Just another move for and by corporate amerika. The next time a republican tells you he wants free and fair trade and less government involvement in our lives, puke on his shoes like G. Bush sr did on the Japanese president, and vote for someone else. BTW, I'm not suggesting Gore woulda been any better.

-- john (natlivent@pcpros.net), March 30, 2002.

The plant protection act, under which these authorities were originally authorized was signed into law May 25, 2000 by then President William Jefferson Clinton. This is now undergoing further refinements as it did in '93 and '96. The government has actively attempted control of plants and insects for decades. It has even been implemented at state levels. Try crossing the California or Arizona borders with "foreign" plants from another state.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), March 30, 2002.

I spent some time reading the whole thing over, and while lots of things make me nervious this really doesnt. The world is getting really too small and we are getting too many imports of things like fire ants, dutch elm diease, american chestnut, kudzu, and now something is killing out the butternut trees, the dogwoods has a virus that will probably kill all them. The world is now so small I am probably writing this to several countries around the world that have plants that while there are no problem but here could be a real disaster. We have imported several weeds into the USA in the past few years that are causing some crop land to be abandoned. Sorry but I don't feel that I have the right to import or grow plants that could damage or destroy our food production. Just my opinion. But read the whole thing before you react. Its not seed swaping they want to stop its just spreading really bad plants, Kudzu is already banned from most states and wish it had been banned before it was brought here from Asia. David

-- David (bluewaterfarm@mindspring.com), March 30, 2002.

David,

Kudzu was, of course, introduced by the same Federal goverment that now purports to make your world safer. Akin to the INS that just sent visas to dead terrorists, APHIS will now command and control another facet of your prior freedom. It is hubrus to think that ultimately we can control dispersal of such organisms and ignorance to believe that, outside of their niches that the great majority of plants are dangerous. If you look at the specific cases you mentioned, nothing in the new set of regulations would have prevented any of these.

The result will be that we will have forfeited our birthright (freedom to make decisions and be creative as individuals) for some perceived safety.

{I spent some time reading the whole thing over, and while lots of things make me nervious this really doesnt. The world is getting really too small and we are getting too many imports of things like fire ants, dutch elm diease, american chestnut, kudzu, and now something is killing out the butternut trees, the dogwoods has a virus that will probably kill all them. The world is now so small I am probably writing this to several countries around the world that have plants that while there are no problem but here could be a real disaster. We have imported several weeds into the USA in the past few years that are causing some crop land to be abandoned. Sorry but I don't feel that I have the right to import or grow plants that could damage or destroy our food production. Just my opinion. But read the whole thing before you react. Its not seed swaping they want to stop its just spreading really bad plants, Kudzu is already banned from most states and wish it had been banned before it was brought here from Asia. David

-- David (bluewaterfarm@mindspring.com), March 30, 2002An agency like INS that just sent visas to dead terrorist

I spent some time reading the whole thing over, and while lots of things make me nervious this really doesnt. The world is getting really too small and we are getting too many imports of things like fire ants, dutch elm diease, american chestnut, kudzu, and now something is killing out the butternut trees, the dogwoods has a virus that will probably kill all them. The world is now so small I am probably writing this to several countries around the world that have plants that while there are no problem but here could be a real disaster. We have imported several weeds into the USA in the past few years that are causing some crop land to be abandoned. Sorry but I don't feel that I have the right to import or grow plants that could damage or destroy our food production. Just my opinion. But read the whole thing before you react. Its not seed swaping they want to stop its just spreading really bad plants, Kudzu is already banned from most states and wish it had been banned before it was brought here from Asia. David

-- David (bluewaterfarm@mindspring.com), March 30, 2002

-- charles (cr@dixienet.com), April 01, 2002.

whoops, I didn't mean to repost your whole comment, just to read it again as I responded.

-- (cr@dixienet.com), April 01, 2002.

All the more reason to save some seeds THIS YEAR.

-- sersphima (seraphima@ak.net), April 01, 2002.