PLEASE HELP YOUR LOCAL FARMERS!

It takes about 15 minutes to send 3 emails. For those 15 minutes spent on the computer, what you gain is an enormous potential outcome. That of being able, one day, to buy real local Florida food! Fresh eggs, dairy, meat and produce from local farms that desperately need our support and money but, because of outdated laws, cannot sell their products to us. How messed up is this system?

Please email your state senator and house representative. Ask them to support the Florida Food Freedom Act. It is a bill being introduced in the FL Senate right now by Senator Baker. The bill number is S-1900. At this link you can look up who is your senator and representative:

http://www.flsenate.gov/Legislators/index.cfm?Mode=Find%20Your%20Legislators&Submenu=3&Tab=Legislators&CFID=188819893&CFTOKEN=79715679

Here is the email I sent to my senator and representative (don't forget to put your address at the end!):

Please support Senator Baker’s bill – currently bill S #1900 in the Florida Senate.

Family farms and farmland are decreasing in Florida. The average age of Florida farmers in 2007 was just over 58 years of age and only 44% of those farmers didn’t have off-farm jobs. Most farmers have off-farm jobs because their farming efforts don’t provide the income they need to live comfortably – 56% of farmers work two jobs – the farm and another one to generate income or benefits. 65.4% of farms earn less than $10,000 a year from their farming efforts.

The economic, environmental and community impact of dwindling Florida family farms affects every citizen. The Florida Food Freedom Act proposed by Senator Carey Baker helps alleviate excessive permitting requirements on family farms and will in turn grow jobs and strengthen local economies. The Florida Food Freedom Act will allow family farms to remain profitable and viable by defining a short food distribution chain and exempting it from burdensome regulatory oversight that a longer, multi-layered food distribution chain should be required to have.

When consumers are able to shop for food with local businesses and farmers, more of that dollar stays in the local community, providing what is known as the local multiplier effect of money. Buying local keeps money in the local community and helps farms and ranches remain economically viable. For every dollar spent with a local company (or farmer) 45 cents stays in the community. For every dollar spent with a corporate chain, only 15 cents is reinvested in the local community.

The biggest threats to food safety—and the USDA agrees—are centralized production, centralized processing, and long distance transportation. Small farms and local food processors are part of the solution to food safety. Raising meat, dairy, eggs, fruits, and vegetables as close as possible to the kitchens of the end-user increases our food security. Lessening the regulatory burden imposed by the State of Florida will enhance the economic condition of family farms, improve public health, decrease environmental degradation and build a sense of community. Local food systems are inherently safer and more traceable.

Thank you very much for your attention

Then, when you are done, you can write or call your city council member and ask them to support the FL Food Freedom Act by passing a City of Jacksonville Resolution in support of this bill! Here is another sample letter for the council member:

Dear Council Member,

I am writing to ask that you consider sponsoring a resolution in the City of Jacksonville in support of the Florida Food Freedom Act. The bill S-1900 is being introduced in the Florida Senate by Senator Baker.

Please support Senator Baker’s bill – currently S #1900. Here are a few reasons I think our support of this bill is so important:

Family farms and farmland are decreasing in Florida. The average age of Florida farmers in 2007 was just over 58 years of age and only 44% of those farmers didn’t have off-farm jobs. Most farmers have off-farm jobs because their farming efforts don’t provide the income they need to live comfortably – 56% of farmers work two jobs – the farm and another one to generate income or benefits. 65.4% of farms earn less than $10,000 a year from their farming efforts.

The economic, environmental and community impact of dwindling Florida family farms affects every citizen. The Florida Food Freedom Act proposed by Senator Carey Baker helps alleviate excessive permitting requirements on family farms and will in turn grow jobs and strengthen local economies.

The Florida Food Freedom Act will allow family farms to remain profitable and viable by defining a short food distribution chain and exempting it from burdensome regulatory oversight that a longer, multi-layered food distribution chain should be required to have.

When consumers are able to shop for food with local businesses and farmers, more of that dollar stays in the local community, providing what is known as the local multiplier effect of money. Buying local keeps money in the local community and helps farms and ranches remain economically viable. For every dollar spent with a local company (or farmer) 45 cents stays in the community. For every dollar spent with a corporate chain, only 15 cents is reinvested in the local community.

The biggest threats to food safety—and the USDA agrees—are centralized production, centralized processing, and long distance transportation. Small farms and local food processors are part of the solution to food safety. Raising meat, dairy, eggs, fruits, and vegetables as close as possible to the kitchens of the end-user increases our food security. Lessening the regulatory burden imposed by the State of Florida will enhance the economic condition of family farms, improve public health, decrease environmental degradation and build a sense of community. Local food systems are inherently safer and more traceable.

Thank you very much for your time and attention

For more info on this, write to http://www.info@cognitofarm.com/