Crossposted with French toast lathered with pure 100% NH maple syrup at The Yankee Doodler.
New Hampshire Republican public servants want to allow chemicals and corn syrup into your pure New Hampshire maple syrup.
Yes, you read that right. The National Uniformity for Food Act (how Soviet-sounding!), co-sponsored by NH Senator "Powerball" Gregg and passed in the House with the support by our two hapless lackey reps, Jeb "Homophobia" Bradley and Charlie "BassMaster".
Read it and weep:
the legislation... would effectively block states from controlling what goes into food produced or sold in the state, said New Hampshire Agriculture Commissioner Stephen Taylor.
...New Hampshire law requires that anything labeled "New Hampshire maple syrup" be derived entirely from maple-tree sap and have nothing added to it.
..."If our law gets pre-empted, you could put corn syrup in it for all I know," Taylor said. "It's just outrageous."
...The Food and Drug Administration allows salt, chemical preservatives and anti-foaming agents in maple syrup, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
(Nota Bene: Steve Taylor hails whence I hail, and he is widely known as a person of great integrity by people of both political parties.)
Now, the Republicans who hold their sway over our representation in Congress may be mean-spirited, Bush-enabling, and tone deaf to the people, but they aren't stupid. Why on earth would three out of four of them go on record with a law that would pervert one of New Hampshire's oldest traditions, never mind a source of great tourism dollars?
Here's why:
[The law] would overturn Proposition 65, a California law that requires producers to place warning labels on food that California officials believe could cause cancer or birth defects.
...Benjamin Cohen, a senior staff attorney for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said the food industry hates Proposition 65 because it forces producers to reformulate food to avoid the warning label.
It's much clearer now. With Republicans it's all about the Benjamins, baby. Sorry about your cancer and your baby's birth defects! Big-Agro must have its profits; too much work, too little benefit for telling consumers about major health risks. Besides, their lobbyists put on the best DC parties!
What's next? A Halliburton prison on top of Robert Frost's homestead?
The Granite State GOPJP (Grand Old Phone Jamming Party) can howl all they want about Democratic attempts to futz with the primary calendar, but they if they really cared about New Hampshire's character and traditions, and the health of her citizenry, they would be shaking in anger over this.
I know I am.