There is a certain class of lawmakers in our state who have decided to take our state back into the good old days.  I’ve seen some pretty interesting laws that are floating around the chambers lately.  There’s a law regarding legalizing herd sharing of raw milk, legalizing the cottage food industry, and regulating midwives.  Our own Ag chair won’t even hear a farm bill because she perceives it as solely supporting biotechnology.  There’s also some movement towards growing your own food also.  Wow, we’ve moved so far forward that we are now wanting the wheels to spin backwards.

Why are we suddenly clamoring for the past?  Was the past really that great that we have to turn back the hands of time to return there?  I find that very hard to believe that the past was that great.  

The irony of these lawmakers is that it is clear that they enjoy the use of technology all over the place.  They are on Twitter quite often tweeting their accomplishments and news.  They use digital photography to share their adventures and create blogs and websites to connect with their followers.  They also take advantage of email and other social media venues to communicate with their constituents.  They use global corporate made devices freely with no thought of supporting and evil entity.  These lawmakers clearly enjoy and incorporate this technology made by a corporation in their daily lives and so do their followers.

What I have a hard time understanding is that despite their acceptance and reliance on technology, they want to restrict technology to farmers who grow food and ag products.  They will claim that they do not want a global monopoly on food but support that global monopoly on technology for communication.  They don’t want a newer technology that puts pesticides in the the plants and has been shown to reduce the amount of pesticides being sprayed in the air.  They are worried about the safety of GE foods but then want to encourage others to drink raw milk that has been proven dangerous.  These people will buy the latest and greatest tech product developed through research, with no human test done on the effects of it, but reject something that may have taken 10 years of testing to be approved.  There are even lawmakers wanting to redefine ag as the growing of food but then listen to activists who want to grow non-food crops like marijuana and hemp instead.

Are the lawmakers really listening to their constituents with the direction that they are heading?  Are we as a state using our resources wisely to make it better for all?  Or is it just easier to make the activists happy so that you avoid being the target for considering the silent majority’s take on the issues?