OCF Candidate Survey 2006

Candidate: Jill Bussiere
Party: Green Party
District: 1
Running For: State Senator
State: Wisconsin

1

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

A Yes

Comment: I think that it would benefit us all if our government helped support a more serious transition to organic agriculture for many reasons: petroleum costs are rising, and thus, our corporate farming, which relies upon petroleum based fertilizers, will be stressed. I would love to see our government support rotational grazing, rather than CAFO dairy farms, too, to ensure better water quality, less use of antibiotics, better ground cover to minimize the effects of global warming, and less use of petroleum needed in CAFO operations to grow, harvest, and deliver the food to cows, and then to remove and distribute liquid manure - which is extremely potentially damaging to our water supply.
2

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

A Yes

Comment:
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:
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: We in the Green Party support local control - we states must have the right to legislate to ensure the health of ourselves.
5a

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

A Yes

Comment: I strongly advocate for the development of local food systems. I have been working in my community to do just that for many years - by helping to start a local farmers' market, working on the Farm Fresh Atlas in my region - which promotes locally and sustainably grown foods, working to start a community commercial kitchen (The Farm Market Kitchen in Algoma) where local producers can process their foods for sale, and, for several years, growing a market organic garden and selling at local farmers' markets.
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: I have been following the GMO safety studies for years - it has become clear that the protection of the genetic diversity of our humanly developed food crops, which humans have developed and maintained collective ownership of, has not been a priority. Instead, the profits of corporate agribusiness, such as Monsanto and Archer-Midland Daniels, have taken precedence. Our U.S. government has been an accomplice in this misguided priority, to the detriment of us, and the integrity of our diverse seed stock. It is appalling.
7

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

A Yes

Comment: Right now, our farmers are forbidden from testing their cattle in order to gain access to markets. Our government should always support practices that ensure our safety, rather than forbid them. Again, the government is favoring the profits of corporate agribusiness over the well-being of people.
8

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

A Yes

Comment:
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:
10

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

A Yes

Comment:
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: Universal, single-payer health care is the second priority of my campaign, after campaign finance reform. Preventative care and proper nutrition are effective, and also efficient use of our dollars.
13

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

A Yes

Comment: Global warming is the greatest challenge to the peoples of the world that there has ever been. We must rise to the challenge. It is our responsibility to the life before us, and to that that will (hopefully) follow us.
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: I have been working to stop the War on Iraq since before its inception. I worked on a "Bring the Troops Home" initiative that our Wisconsin Green Party started in Wisconsin. We got the initiative on the ballot in 32 communities. Twenty-four out of the 32 communities voted yes to bringing the troops home.
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: Absolutely! Our nation is well-behind others in this aspect. We must be able to verify our elections, and electronic voting machines have already shown that they can and are corrupted in their accuracy.
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: Campaign finance reform is the top priority for my campaign, and will be the top priority when I am elected. We can not address the other issues of concern to us as humans on the planet, when special interest money has control of our government. We need a government by and for the people, rather than by and for special interests.
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:

 

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