OT: Government regulating plants

I am distressed that no one in Iris seems to be aware of what our government is up to concerning plants. It could imapct all of us. So I have copied this post from the Alpine garden society which I thinks is self explanatory. If you really would like to add any plants to your collection in the future you better pay atteention:
 
Dear Folks,

Just another reminder that the deadline for comment is March 10th.

The latest USDA proposal for phasing in a "white list" (which will ban
import of all plants and seeds except for a USDA approved list) (Docket 
No.
03-069-1) is up for public comment - the deadline for comments is March
10th. I hope you will find time to look it over and send them your 
thoughts.
I have posted the entire text of their proposal on my website, with
significant portions highlighted, and have also posted highlights of it 
with
brief comments on another page.

Go to: http://www.JLHudsonSeeds.net/DocketNo03-069-1.htm to read the 
entire
text,

or: http://www.JLHudsonSeeds.net/USDADocketNo03-069-1.htm to read the
extracts,

or: http://www.JLHudsonSeeds.net/Comments.htm to read a preliminary 
draft of
my own comments.

They are being quite cagey about saying everything in vague and
non-threatening ways, and you have to read the proposal carefully to
understand the full implications. Under the "first option" a true white 
list
would be instituted - a list of enterable species would be drawn up 
which
would include only those species currently being imported in 
"significant"
quantities, and a "black list" consisting of already-banned noxious 
weeds,
and everything not included in these two lists would be "excluded" 
subject
to "risk assessment" to determine if it will be added to the white list 
(or
clean list) of enterable commodities. The "second option" would be a 
more
limited "grey list" of possibly harmful species to be determined by the
USDA, rather than including everything not already permitted in the 
grey
list (option one). To quote directly from the Docket:

"All taxa of plants for planting that are not currently being imported 
in
significant amounts would then be excluded pending risk evaluation and
approval."
(page 71741 of the Federal Register: December 10, 2004 (Volume 69, 
Number
237)

I believe that they are using a strategy of asking for the outrageous 
and
impossible ("first option"), and giving the merely difficult and 
egregious
"second option" as the only alternative, so that we will all be happy 
to
accept the "second option", and be relieved that that is all we will 
have to
deal with. Then, some years down the road, they will again push for the
first option. We have already seen a slow, steady, and deliberate 
ratcheting
down by them over the past few years, and we are faced with a "frog in 
the
pan of heating water" situation.

What is interesting is that risk assessment has now expanded way beyond
concern about species being "invasive", to include risk from even 
invisible,
asymptomatic bacteria or viruses that may be present in the plant or 
seed.
The implications are staggering.

Yes, we all want to minimize movement of known pests, but have to 
accept
that this will happen, and new pests will arise, in spite of our best
efforts. For example, thousands of people die or are injured each year 
in
automobile accidents, or from adverse reactions from prescription 
drugs, but
we accept that the advantages to society from medicine and automobiles 
are
such that a certain amount of harm is acceptable.

There are also ominous portions of the proposal that would indicate 
that
each new area from which a species was to be imported would require 
separate
"risk assessment". That they even include "cultivar" in their 
definition of
taxon, would indicate that eventually all new cultivars would require
evaluation. There is also the "clean stock" program outlined that will 
be a
step towards bottle-necking all imports through a limited number of
exporters and importers. This will exclude organic growers, because 
"clean
stock" as defined cannot be produced without heavy pesticide 
application.

I think we should take them at their word, and see that the system they 
are
outlining is what they intend to phase in over the coming years. 
Eventually,
I believe we will even end up with a "common catalog" of vegetable 
varieties
like Europe, and the only seed that will be allowed to move will be
seed-to-seed inspected "clean stock" (probably virus-indexed, too) 
grown
under such pest-free conditions that will only be obtainable through 
heavy
pesticide application (no more exchange between organic growers).

This will place seed under central control, with the corporations that 
can
afford to comply with such restrictions in charge.

If you have any ideas on how we can get some "traction" on this issue 
with
the general public, let me know. It seems that every week I get emails 
from
some activist group or another with the latest petition for something 
that
has a couple of million signatures - I have no idea how to get people
interested in this issue, much less the activist groups that would be 
able
to mobilize significant opposition.

Since in the past the USDA has stated that they intend to eventually
prohibit interstate movement of all seeds, plants, and plant materials
without permit, inspection, and phytosanitary certificate, we need to 
start
taking all of this very seriously.

I hope you will give this a look-over and comment to the USDA and let 
other
people know about it.

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