HOGWASH & HORSE MANURE Problems with the GE seed 'debate' and the Kerr pandemic

County Courier
Written by Hal Bill
Thursday, 18 May 2006

For the last two years, I have written each of my columns to offer analysis of
a single event or subject. My columns express my opinions about and analyses
of issues after I've read news stories and engaged in background discussions
with people and politicians close to the stories. I usually avoid quoting
newsmakers because I do not want to imply that politicians close to these
stories might share my view on the subject. They might, but that's for them to
tell you.

Writing my column every other week gives me plenty of opportunity to find a
subject needing further analysis and debate. There have been times when I
wished to comment on events in the news but did not wish to write a whole
column on the subject. For the most part, these have been lost opportunities,
so I have decided to launch a new column that will periodically fill this
space and address such subjects with a brief look from a different
perspective. Because I write about politics and Vermont's rural nature, I am
calling this column "Hogwash and Horse Manure." Newsmaker quotes may be needed
at times to demonstrate the quantity of hogwash or the depth of horse manure.
During the last legislative session, I could have written many columns on the
GMO seed bill, S.18. I do have problems calling the process for S.18 a debate.
From the start, Gov. Douglas's administration had strong views in opposition
to S.18. The House had put forward a bill that was user-friendly for seed
manufacturers, a bill that was 180 degrees from the bill the Senate passed.
After the House passed its version, anyone interested in a compromise had to
deal with a great deal of political hogwash and legislative horse manure. For
example, some had said, "This pits farmers against farmers - organic farmers
against conventional farmers." By the time the Governor vetoed the compromise
bill, he had replaced the term "conventional" with the word "traditional" to
describe his supporters. However, a technology less than 20 years on the farm,
untested, and not accepted by much of the world outside of North America
should not be called traditional.
One mistake both sides made was failure to show that agriculture policy is a
consumer issue. Consumers have entered the fray now, and the majority, like
the majority of legislators, are lining up behind the compromise GMO bill that
passed the House and the Senate. Consumers are becoming fully engaged, but the
Governor says, "Farmers are best at finding solutions." This is hogwash! Given
that no one at the state level is looking for long-term solutions or
supporting sustainable agricultural practices, we can see why all of the
problems fall to the farmer. Yet, where is the solution when farmers choose to
inject cows with growth hormones to produce more milk when there is an
over-production of milk and the farmer is receiving the lowest price in 30
years for this over-production? All this is happening while the consumer is
asking for more milk to be BST-free and the demand for organic milk is
growing.
The Governor and his supporters will also tell you that "organic" is a
process, and in the end, their product is no different. That's horse manure,
and consumers are not buying it. Many conventional farmers feel threatened by
organic farmers. Steve Kerr, Vermont's Commissioner of Agriculture, is not
developing long-term agriculture policy that reflects the changing nature of
agriculture in Vermont. Organic farmers have recognized they are on their own
and have to work to create their own sustainable practices and policies. That
leaves the rest of the agricultural community to produce a commodity that they
are underpaid for as they watch for the next farm auction sign.
So what is Steve Kerr doing? He's running around the state saying to anyone
who will listen, "The sky is falling, and a pandemic is coming." There isn't
much he can do about the sky. As for the pandemic, he wants to know where
every farm animal resides, so when a bird - such as a duck or a turkey - shows
up with avian flu, he can say he is busy taking care of it as they go about
killing everybody's chickens.
Steve Kerr is the only pandemic we have in Vermont. Symptoms are delusions,
half-truths, and misinformation. When people disagree with Mr. Kerr, he
resorts to name-calling and ridicule, even though his boss, the Governor,
says, "Dialogue over division is the Vermont way."

Hal Bill writes biweekly for the County Courier. When he's not wading through
the hogwash and horse manure, he can be found in the cleaner areas of the
Statehouse. He can be contacted at halbill@vtlink.net.
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