Betsy Huber, State Master

From the Master's Desk

 

Betsy with Clyde Berry and Kermit Richardson

 

The 135th Annual State Grange Session is now history. Hopefully you were there to participate in the activities, decisions, and fellowship we enjoyed in Williamsport. Much information about the Session is included in this Advocate, so please read it carefully. Because of costs we will not be mailing the Bulletin of Reports (Departments’, Master’s, Treasurer’s, Secretary’s annual reports) to every Grange this year, but if your Grange was not represented at the convention and you would like to have the Reports, call the State Office and we will mail you a copy.

Congratulations to all the Grangers from Bradford-Sullivan, Lycoming, Montour-Northumberland-Union, and Tioga Counties who hosted us in fine style. Thank you to all the Department Directors and committees, State Officers, Deputies, legislative committees, and other volunteers who worked hard to make the convention so successful.
Mark your calendars now to attend next year, October 18-21, 2008 in Lancaster.

Vermont
I had the privilege of representing National Grange at the Vermont State Grange Session in Montpelier October 19-21. It was a wonderful experience to watch how they conduct their business and to make lots of new friends and spend some time with Past National Master Kermit and Margaret Richardson. The weather was gorgeous up there too, and the trees were at their peak of color. I picked up some new ideas for PA to try, and hopefully gave them some new ideas too. The National Representatives to State Sessions program is, I think, a good use of our National Grange dues money.

National Grange
As I write this I will soon be leaving for the National Grange Convention in Reno, November 9-18. I just received the resolution packet and we will have lots of work to do discussing all the resolutions and making new policy for the National Grange. One of the major decisions will be on the proposed National dues increase of $2 per member to be effective Jan. 1 if approved. As soon as I return I will send a letter to all Granges, but regardless of the National decision, PA state dues will remain at $30 per year or $65 per family for 2008. It is also a full election year for the National Grange officers.

It is a very intense few days but also very enjoyable, working shoulder to shoulder with State Masters from across the U.S. for the betterment of the Grange. I’ll give you a full report next issue!

Hot Issues
We have been very busy over the last two weeks getting the word out about policies approved by the delegates at State Session. The Agriculture & Environmental Issues Committee policy statement adopted at Session included the statement: “Consumer education is important to prevent us all from falling prey to misleading or misunderstood labeling.”

Governor Rendell and Secretary of Agriculture Dennis Wolff appointed a Food Labeling Advisory Committee to investigate issues relating to food labeling. The committee discussed a wide range of food labeling concerns and expressed particular concern that “absence labeling” – where a label states what substances are not in a product – has the potential to mislead consumers.

PDA reviewed labels from 140 companies to consider whether label statements are accurate, verifiable and truthful and whether they might tend to be misleading to consumers. Sixteen companies were advised of PDA’s concerns with their labels and notified that these labels must be discontinued by January 1.

I wrote a letter thanking Sec. Wolff and the Governor for listening to the Grange’s concerns and taking this action. Following up on that issue, I also wrote to Attorney General Tom Corbett asking him to take similar action on labels of other food products. For instance, many products are labeled “Natural” when there is no standard definition of the term. Meats and poultry are being labeled as “antibiotic-free” when no product that contains antibiotics is permitted to be marketed. Products are advertised as “cholesterol-free” when there is no cholesterol in the competing products anyway. This type of labeling and advertising is misleading to the consumer by implying that other brands of the same product are less safe or inferior in some way. It is potentially harmful to other companies who use truthful labels on their products. If a claim is made on a food label it should be verifiable.

Another problem we see is the promotion of products as healthy, some actually featuring a picture of fruit or grain on the packaging, when in fact the amount of fruit or grain contained in the product is very minimal and the first listed ingredient is high fructose corn syrup. With today’s concern about obesity, consumers think they are eating healthy snacks when in fact they are loaded with sugar.

I told Gen. Corbett, “Grange members are concerned about the current marketing trend to print unverifiable statements and misleading claims on food labels. We urge you to investigate this practice and bring it under control.” I am looking forward to a response from the Attorney General’s office on this issue.

I also testified on October 25th before the House State Government Committee in favor of the divestiture of some of the Rockview Prison excess property to Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences. As our Land Grant College, Penn State helps us all by conducting cutting edge research in agriculture, energy, health, and many other topics. Acquiring 1100 acres of property adjacent to the College of Ag will enable them to continue to farm and study agricultural practices for generations to come.

Membership
Remember the Membership Challenge and report those new members you enlist between Sept. 1 and Dec. 31 to the State Office so we can pay your dues for 2008. One idea is to invite your friends to a holiday party or meeting so they can see how much fun we have at Grange meetings and how friendly our members are. Let’s really work hard this year to see a net gain in all of our Community Granges!

May you and your family have a blessed and happy Christmas season.