I’ve been reading a lot of federal legislation lately. I’d call it a hobby, but hobbies are supposed to bring one enjoyment, and reading legislation doesn’t bring me any enjoyment at all. It’s a serious time-sink and tends to make my head hurt. It’s more like a duty, since so many other people run around waving their hands and pulling their hair out about possibly legislation … without having bothered to read for comprehension.

A few weeks ago, I set about understanding a few “farming” bills that kept popping up on blogs and in news reports shrieking about how organic farming, farmers markets, and back yard gardens were going to be illegal. Statements like that do tend to get my attention, particularly when I am confronted with them multiple times every day for weeks on end and from sources that tend to be reliable. Rather than simply trust that other people weren’t having fits over nothing, I dug in to find out the truth of the matter for myself.

You may have noticed I haven’t been making any posts about federal legislation lately, even though I have been some weeks now researching and reading a set of proposed laws and changes to our food safety system and farming practices. There can be only one reason for that: I found nothing supporting all these outrageous claims. The fact is, some of the proposed lgeislation is slightly vague in wording, but even as vague as it is, it would do nothing that leads me to gnash my teeth or go on the war path (even if passed in it’s current unfinished, still-in-committee-and-review state).

So, if you read anything anywhere about legislation involving farming, food safety, or food production, and it sounds a little outrageous and crazy, it is. The commentary has undoubtedly been written either by someone who hasn’t bothered doing any reading or research or by someone who wasn’t capable of understanding what it was they were reading. Also, always keep in mind that even people you tend to agree with on most things –or everything– often have agendas to which you are not privy.

In closing, for anything starting on the path of reading legislative documents (or any legal documents at all), the most important section of all to read carefully and understand fully is the section containing the definitions. I can’t stress this enough. Most people simply gloss over this section, because they think knowing the English language means they will automatically know the definitions of things as presented in a legal document. This is not at all true, as the definitions section of legislation describes point-blank and in precise detail exactly what the terms being used in the document mean … in relation to that very document. Any other possible definitions of those terms simply do not apply. Always keep that in mind.

And … the Going Galt rant is still in the works. I have decided I need to read Atlas Shrugged before I start ranting. The reading has been slow going, because if there’s one thing I hate more than stupidity, it’s poorly written dystopian, quasi-scifi, political fiction from the 50′s. I doubt I will ever read any more Ayn Rand in the future, and I am not even certain I can make it all the way through this tome. But yeah, that rant is still in the works.

Time for more coffee.