3,561,596 members
12,429,752 petition signatures
$19,571,785,510 diverted from Big Pharma
More States Create Anti-Whistleblower Bills
Here we go again! If you thought the recent legislation to criminalize those who film or photograph farm activity in states like Florida and Iowa is coincidental, it’s not. Similar bills are in process in Idaho and Minnesota, and other states are considering legislative action as well. Giant corporations like Monsanto are throwing money behind the Iowa version and possibly more in order further secure their “crop operations.”
Minnesota is at least the fourth state to introduce anti-whistleblower legislation. They got it from Iowa who got it from Florida. In the Minnesota bill, even just possessing undercover documentation of farm operations would be illegal. How they can enforce a law like that without invading people’s privacy, I do not know. These bills threaten to punish anyone who dares to highlight questionable behavior towards animals, seed and produce, sanitation and employees.
“We think it would be an important deterrent tool in our toolbox against trespassers,” says Daryn McBeth, president of the Minnesota Agri-Growth Council.
People, there are already strict trespassing and theft laws. Big Ag has all the legal recourse needed to sue or punish those who obtain footage of their operations, so why don’t they? Can you imagine dragging an activist into court and saying to the judge, “Look, he found out we were throwing live chickens into a grinder and put it on the internet. This violates my intellectual property rights!” No, their solution to the bad PR is slapping the whistleblowers with a major felony and throwing them in a cage with rapists, murders, and armed robbers. So they make the act of discovery into a crime to preclude such discoveries instead of accounting for their crimes, which, by the way, they believe to be perfectly acceptable industry standards.
Since when is crying foul on criminal behavior like animal abuse and breaking regulations considered a crime? Any law that imprisons you by superceding your constitutional rights is null and void. But that isn’t going to touch Mr. Policeman when you explain as he hauls you away. Laws are laws, intentions are irrelevant to a judge. That’s what makes them so dangerous to your rights. You may think it only applies to those overzealous “tree hugger” types, but no, it means you too!
Ironically, citizens are considered heroic when they turn in their neighbor or call in an anonymous tip to stop criminal behavior and abuse. Yes, even animal abuse! But boy, if you actually gather substantial evidence in a Big Ag operation and show the public when officials won’t listen – you go to prison for a long, long time.
These bills remove the pea from the whistle should you witness something vile, whereas before you at least had the recourse of sharing with others. This encourages more abominable behavior; with more cover up, such actions are sanctioned, and the perpetrators can rest easy knowing the whistleblowers are silenced in prison.
When USDA backed Big Ag operations are in violation of current standards, how do we know? Who cares – the USDA? Whistleblowers are often the only window for the public, and when embarrassing information is released, it often leads to raised standards. On a smaller scale, it works with the restaurant industry. Get an embarrassing (public) write up about cockroach infestations and suddenly the kitchen is overhauled, no expense is spared, and sanitation thrives in order to reassure those paying customers who like a fresh clean salad, hold the mouse poop.
When these bills first arrived on the scene there was a lot of backlash, but our concern is that with more and more cropping up and some scaling back punishment, they will be more readily accepted by the public. Some reporters called the scale backs, “more reasonable.” Why? First amendment rights are still going in the grinder, citizens will still go to prison.
The running theme here is force, force, force even if it’s currently undetectable. Forceful legislation from senators, funds from Big Ag and Monsanto to strengthen the force, the force of multiple states following suit, force from the ensuing law enforcement – force of slamming the door on the face of public scrutiny.
It’s going to be increasingly difficult to catch these viral bills, inform others, and take action when they keep rearing their ugly heads like a nationwide game of whack-a-mole. But with such replicated force, much like a virus, you can see it is more important than ever to do something.
States & Bill Numbers:
Florida, SB1246 (Health Freedoms petition coming soon)
Iowa HF431
Minnesota, S.F. No. 1118
Idaho HB166 *Part of their Right To Farm laws, this one would preclude “nuisance” suits from the public.
Update: If you have information of your state’s similar bill, please email tips@healthfreedoms.org and try to include bill number if possible, bill link, and/or source article.
~Health Freedoms
Related Articles:
http://healthfreedoms.org/2011/03/28/your-guide-to-the-illegal-farm-photos-bill/
http://healthfreedoms.org/2011/03/24/big-ag-lobbies-to-make-it-illegal-to-secretly-film-animal-abuse-iowa/
http://healthfreedoms.org/2011/03/17/florida-lawmaker-wants-to-make-farm-photos-illegal-2/
Other Sources Cited:
http://www.agweek.com/event/article/id/18230/
http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/04/12/1602672/bill-would-ban-video-of-minn-farming.html
http://www.startribune.com/local/119690504.html
http://www.startribune.com/politics/119690504.html
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Free press should never be illegal. Wake up. Withdraw our permission to be treated so inhumanely by these coporations.
I had no idea Florida where I live had passed that bill. How does one get it to be overturned in the future?
Let’s consider creating a name that suggests what is really going on in the 21st century. “The United States of Monsanto” or, “The Monsanto Bill of Rights” “The Monsantotuition of the United States of America”..shell
Is there a petition? what can we do ?
Petition coming soon
Right now the FL one is in criminal justice – so I don’t think it has passed entirely yet. You can talk to state reps and the governor’s office. Visit the FL senate website. We hope to post a petition soon.
Start referring to this country as “The United States of Corporate America”. I kid you not. When asked why tell them in as much detail as they will bear.
More examples of criminals in our government and corporations and judiciary. When will enough of us wake up and stop this maddness?
All I can do is point to the Solution , the A Recipe for a Nation , future shocking where all our wishes come true .
aRecipeForaNation.Wordpress.com
See also the Health solutions there .
America is a dump and the people twits for putting up with such laws
Once again, the powers that be want to silence those who would reveal the “truth” behind those who would do us harm. . Any government official that would punish someone trying to help others should be thrown out of office physically, and then I believe an application of tar followed by feathers would be appropriate.
IN VIEW OF PENALIZING FOLKS FOR DISCOVERING SUCH FELONIOUS ACTS BY WHO KNOWS, THEN IT EQUALLY WOULD SHUT DOWN THE WITNESS IN COURT FOR THAT WITNESS WOULD IN ESSENCE BE WHISTLING AT THE PROSECUTED. SO IF THEY DO PASS THESE IDIOTIC LAWS ON WHISTLEBLOWING, THE CORRUPTION WOULD RUN RAMPANT AND DESTROY ANY ACCUSATION ONE WOULD MAKE IN COURT WOULD IT NOT? IN EFFECT SHUT DOWN WHISTLEBLOWIN AND THE COURTS SHUT DOWN TOO. BYE BYE LAWYERS.
SOMEBODY JUST FLASHED ME A MESSAGE THAT I HAD SAID THAT BEFORE, I DONT BELIEVE, LOOKS LIKE A CONTROLLED NET IS IN ORDER. MY WORDS ARE LOGIC, KNOW WHAT THAT IS? LOOKS LIKE I TOUCHED A NERVE.
Simply send your evidence to WikiLeaks, they will take it from there.
If you have information of your state’s similar bill, please email tips@healthfreedoms.org and try to include bill number if possible, bill link, and/or source article.
IDAHO !!!! One of the last free states has caved in to special interest. Idaho has been going downhill over the past few years. This means there are a select few elected officials who are turning their backs on the country for their own personal best interests. It is still early enough to pluck these traitors out.
Good for the farmers, ranchers, breeders, etc. They need some protection from what in the business and industrial work place would be called industrial espionage. Far too few of those “whistleblowers” have real knowledge of what’s going on or hired on with sincere intent to do an honest day’s work and/or learn the job. Far too many of them film and film and wait for MONTHS AND MONTHS before reporting anything. If there were serious abuse/neglect/cruelty afoot wouldn’t one be able to get evidence fairly quickly (say within a few weeks not months and months) and get it reported to the proper authorities. Only if those authorities didn’t take action would you go to the media but it seems that it’s the media that gets the carefully edited “proof” of wrongdoing. (After months and months, if there isn’t hours and hours of film, one wonders how much real abuse there is vs how much editing went on.) AND, when one goes IN looking for wrongdoing isn’t one pretty much guaranteed to find it? Isn’t it like anything else, you see what you want to see. So, what good are these spies, how valid is their info when their real and usually SOLE intent for going to work there is to PROVE what they believe? The proposed laws do NOT prevent real whistleblowing. If an employee with the intent of doing a good job finds real problems, they are still able to report those problems. If you’re an eco-terrorist, a spy, or someone who just wants to control everyone else’s lives, no these laws are not a good idea. If you are a farmer, rancher, breeder or other agri-business person, you NEED this help to keep producing quality animals and food for the all those who want good pets, wool, eggs, meat, veggies, etc. at a reasonable price.
I’m thinkin’ Vonnie had no trouble believing Breitbart or O’Keefe videos, since they most likely fit his (her?) fantasy world. Uh-huh.
I’m lovin’ Vonnie’s comment. Since he (she?) was wondering ‘how much editing went on’, did he also ask that same question about Breitbart and O’Keefe’s “productions”, or is he selective about which lies he accepts? I think I know the answer.
So which Big Ag company do you work for?
@Galeeshea … does your state have an initiative process? Or, if Lois is right, is there a petition organization in the state? Is there a Green Party? Do you have friends who may have friends among all of whom maybe someone knows a leader/organizer? Or maybe it is do-it-yourself time … paint a sign, get a friend to walk beside you up at the capital building, go every weekend.
I would like to comment on all of these silly laws that are being presented, implemented, State by State to protect the “BIG” guy, from us little guys. I’m drained, and overwhelmed. I want to fight, support and even “Win” something here. The “Big” guys’ have money and motivation behind them, making money being the motivation. It’s like these Domestic Slaughter, BLM issues, Civil rights issues.. It’s state by state, it’s law by law. We get one thing under control, and we got 10 more to fight. Where does it end. I’m game, but I also have a life to attend to. I care, but I only have so much money, and time that I can give. It siphoned off, anything extra I got, money/time with little in return. Is there anyway, we can fight this once and for all on a higher level. i.e. Domestic Slaughter, on a Federal Level?? instead of State by State. I don’t have the resources to do that, whether it be time/energy/money I’m tapped out. These petitions we use, the Care2 once are a problem as well. They need to access your personal information, as well as your friends information. Why? To sgin a petition. There has to be a petition site we can use that doesn’t require that. I think we need a good ole fashion, revolution, rally or march with some legal support or protection. I can go for one or two big fights, I can’t maintain, for all of these little laws, regulation etc. It’s beating me down, and wearing me out. It’s depressing me, and I feel like it’s doing no good, at least not for the amount of effort put out, anyway. The big guys, have there motivation and reward, monetary gains. Use little guys. are fighting for the “Cause” and there no monetary reward, yet we still have to pay our bills.. Maybe I’m not the right type of person to be fighting this cause? Or maybe I’m just out of Aces’, but surely there has to be a better way than this? I don’t know how not to fight for this cause, but I don’t know how to keep putting it out there, and have nothing to fill the bucket when it gets empty. I’m just putting this out there, and maybe someone has some ideas, brain storming or something..??? I’m on empty!
this federal govt is being run by the corporations/ I have said it all along/ they will not stop till all the laws favor their ruthless acts/ they don’t care about consumer/citizen rights/ they only care about their profits and their stock holders/ I say get rid of lobbying in this govt and make it illegal and we will get rid of the criminals running our govt and this country/
it is becoming like a communist or nazi country here with all the anti freedom laws coming out to make the little guy scared of the big guy govt/ it keeps getting worse every year/ when we have to worry about what we can and cannot do to stop inhumane treatment of our animals we have gone too far already/ enough is enough/ a good revolution is what we need/ but with their new laws like the Patriot Act enacted after 9/11 it is now even impossible to get one going as U will be labeled and targeted as a traitor and/or a terrorist and imprisoned without a trial for it/ insane/ time to move out!
Thomas Jefferson(our forefather)remember him corporations??? he wrote
“give me Liberty or give me Death!” This govt is supposed to be “of the people, by the people and for the people” and not the corporations and their lobbyists!