OCF Candidate Survey 2006

Candidate: John Hall
Party: Democrat
District: 19
Running For: US House
State: New York

1

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

A Yes

Comment: Organic agriculture deserves support from farm programs to help farmers transition and maintain healthy farms and retain the integrity of organic. Farm programs right now favor large-scale agriculture that is neither good for the consumer, the community or the planet.
2

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

A Yes

Comment: Absolutely, Organic needs the integrity that it had for so many years when it was developed by small farmers and trusted by consumers.
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: Agricbusiness and pharmaceuticals get away with huge profits while poisinging our environemtna, our food and harming thier emplyees. We know there are good farming practices that increase the value of farm porducts, protect our natural resources and employ more people -things that beneift all of us. On farm research and whole farm planning are tools that deserve government funding to bring solutions to growing problems into fruition.
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: Higher standards to protect people and the planet should always be the rule.
5a

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

A Yes

Comment: Labeling is an important tool for information. In a democracy, labling should be extensive to give people the choices they need -by thier own decision.
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: Abosulutely. If the farm programs were going towards local food systems we would not have lost so many family farms and our food system would be far more sustainable.
6a

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

A Yes

Comment: GMO crops are a big problem in our ecosystem. Food needs to be lableled, and agriculture should be steered towards more sustaibablr methods.
6b

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

A Yes

Comment: Obviously, we just need the political will to get there.
7

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

A Yes

Comment: This is obvious, but our elected officials and regulatory agencies need to get on board with consumer demands.
8

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

A Yes

Comment: US trade policies are a disaster, harming farmers, consumers, the enviroenmtnat and workers.
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: We have the solutions to help family fares, we need the political will to enact them. The incentive programs do more than give incentives, they provide needed support - US ag policy unfairly favors large-scale agriculture which is ruinous to our ecomomy, and our farmland.
10

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

A Yes

Comment: Funding for CSP, EQIP and other conservation programs are critical. Appropiraitong bills are a struggle year after year and these progrmas should get full funding at 5 year levels.
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: Agin, these prograsm are fought for year in and year out in the apporpiraions cylec. I would favor their full funding with increases yearly as part of the Farm Bill.
12

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

A Yes

Comment: Universal health care is one of my priorities.
13

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

A Yes

Comment: Yes, I have been working to promotoe alternative energy for decades, which will reduce greenhouse gasses and slow global warming trends significantly.
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 am opposed to the war in Iraq. The money from that war should be spent on supporting family farms, protecting the environment, developing alternative energy, creatinhg a just food system, and providng universal health care.
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: I have been an advocate for paper rcords and believe that in a democracy, our system is failing.
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 absolutely necessary if we are to call ourse,ves a democracy. The current system makes it next to impossble for anyone to run who isn't of the wealthy class.
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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