OCF Candidate Survey 2006

Candidate: Grace Ross
Party: Green Party
Running For: Governor
State: Massachusetts

1

QDo you think organic agriculture should receive a fair share (at least 2.5%) of government resources spent on agriculture?

A Yes

Comment: given the direct and indirect (environmental) health benefits more than 2.5% especially if it can help bring down prices.
2

QDo you support strict standards for processed foods, dairy, and body care products that are labeled or marketed as organic?

A Yes

Comment: Organic should mean organic. but the body care & beauty product industry is largelyunregulated and all sorts of bad toxics are use din these products - so we need review and regulation for much more than organics
3

QDo you support more aggressive government action to assess the harms of pesticides, take harmful pesticides off the market, and hold companies responsible for diseases and environmental damage caused by pesticides?

A Yes

Comment: to my konwledge, there is already plenty of research. We need government policy that leads to use of already existing safe alternatives (which exist for almost all pesticide uses) which includes not just regulation but effective public education - since you cannot shift social behavior quickly through only regulation. money for funding such initiatives would be grea to fund from previous corporate profits.
4

QShould people have the right to pass consumer safety laws at the state or local level that require food labels to include information on dangerous ingredients?

A Yes

Comment: nationnal legislation should be used as a floor for health standards (not corporate profits) but not a a ceiling - since most innovation needs to start small and local to be tested and then spread as model once it has withstood local experience.
5a

QDo you support Country of Origin and labeling that helps consumers choose local products?

A Yes

Comment: Yes, although, it needs to be at least state level labelling. The US is too large for that labelling to be helpful. if I live in New Mexico, it would be better to buy over hte border than get imports from New York State and vice versa
5b

QDo you support government action to help US farmers develop local and regional markets and to reduce non-renewable energy use on their farms?

A Yes

Comment:
6a

QDo you support mandatory labeling of foods containing genetically engineered ingredients?

A Yes

Comment:
6b

QDo you support mandatory pre-market safety testing for all genetically modified foods and crops?

A Yes

Comment:
7

QDo you support universal testing for Mad Cow disease and a ban on feeding slaughterhouse waste to farm animals?

A Not Answered

Comment: I absolutely support a ban on slaughterhouse waste as feed. Testing for Mad Cow must be much more extensive, however, I qeustion testing every animal - in general infected herds, to my understanding can be identified with less testing - and then the whole herd must be tested. I'd like to compare to procedures in other countries.
8

QDo you support a restructuring of trade-distorting US farm subsidies?

A Yes

Comment: but such restructuring must also look at subsides and how they may unevenly benefit farm centralization and large farm production over local and family farms.
9

QDo you support a significant shift in US farm subsidies to help family farmers and ranchers make the transition to organic?

A Yes

Comment: and we need to look at cutting other subsidies to level the playing field
10

QDo you support a significant shift in subsidies to help US farmers adopt conservation and renewable energy practices on farms?

A Yes

Comment: I am rolling out a blue print for Massachusetts energy and economy toward decrease in green house gas production in all ways - this is part of it.
11

QDo you support increases for WIC (Women, Infant and Children), the Farmers Market Nutrition Program, and other programs to help low-income Americans buy organic food?

A Yes

Comment:
12

QDo you support universal health care with a preventive focus and a major emphasis on better nutrition?

A Yes

Comment:
13

QDo you support 80%-by-2050 reduction in climate destabilizing greenhouse gas pollution?

A Yes

Comment: Although with proper understandin gof how to shift public perception and use of the best existing technologies we can and need to get there faster. a key reason I ran for office.
14

QDo you support ending the Iraq war and redirecting funds from the $500 billion annual military spending in the U.S. toward greening the U.S. economy, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and converting U.S. agriculture to organic practices?

A Yes

Comment: and towards home needs, and economic justice
15

Q Do you support requiring electronic voting machines to produce voter-verified paper records and election officials to use these records to conduct mandatory audits of election results?

A Yes

Comment: and the addressing of voter suppression techniques - which were at least half of the vote distortion.
16

QDo you support eliminating the distorting effect of special interest money on our elections and politicians by requiring full public funding for all federal, state, and local elections?

A Yes

Comment:
17

QDo you support legislation to prevent internet companies from rigging the system to serve only the highest-paying users and discriminate against users they don’t like?

A Yes

Comment: Or discriminating on the basis of income or to squelch equal access

 

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