Is USA to Ban Growing Organic Food at Home?

[Muddywheeler]

Hi, everyone
Our local paper runs an article on countryside matters this week it told us of the possible ban of home grown food in the USA, I found this on the web and wondered what our US friends think?
This proposed legislation sounds like it only wants to protect you. Read here:

"To establish the Food Safety Administration within the Department of Health and Human Services to protect the public health by preventing food-borne illness, ensuring the safety of food, improving research on contaminants leading to food-borne illness, and improving security of food from intentional contamination, and for other purposes."
HR 875 sounds friendly, right?
If you read between the lines of this seemingly innocuous liturgy, you will find that the closing words "for other purposes" leave a lot of room for a lot of undefined interpretation.
Also many interesting Q & A's here on the subject; http://www.govtrack.us/users/questions. ... l:h111-875
I wonder, In the Q & A's some think it will affect gardens some not, but If the bill is introduce whats to stop them adding amendments to make growing your own illegal?
Finally could this type of thing happen in the UK, knowing our lot, my thoughts are yes!

[Ellendra]

I probably sound jaded, but this scare gets recycled every few years.

If anyone ever actually tried to pass a law banning home-grown food, they would no doubt learn rather quickly just how stubborn and sneaky people can be. After all, certain "recreational" plants are illegal to grow, and yet they're still grown. And only a fraction of the population uses that, the percentage of gardeners is much higher.

I have read HR875 (although not it's younger senate brother S510), and the law was so vague it would be nearly impossible to enforce. All you'd have to say is that those plants are there for "decoration", not "food".

[Flo]

Well there are already ornamental cabbages so no doubt there's "form" on the matter