Modern Criminals

This story can be found here:


http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/07/michigan_woman_faces_jail_planting_veggie_garden.php


and many, many other places on the web, as it has caused quite a stir. While it may be old news (and, as you will read, it has been resolved, for now) the heroine of our story, Mrs. Julie Bass, has become a sort of rallying point for those concerned with systemic issues in our currents laws and regulations.


Let's review the facts -
Mrs. Bass' lawn gets torn up, for some sewer repair.
She, being a forward-thinking, example-setting citizen, re-plants the area with vegetables.
She is then ticketed, ordered to appear in court, and threatened with 93 days in jail.


Where to start? The egregiously overzealous prosecutor? The archaic laws on the books? How about the general absence of common sense?


It would be easy here to play to the hand of the conspiracy theorists: are small jurisdiction with these laws paid by the food lobby to keep people dependent on the industrial food system? Is there some plot to keep us from being self-sufficient, as that it might harm corporate profits?


Most likely not.
But what this illustrates all too clearly is a pervasive legal pattern in the US that has built up over decades to discourage independence, and self-reliance, in the name of uniformity and predictability. Now, to bring us back to the issue at hand: these laws Mrs. Bass has found herself in violation of are laws regarding aesthetics. It would be a real stretch for even the most creative prosecutor to make a case for the negative impacts of her garden on her neighbor's health, safety and welfare. In fact, a very strong case for the exact opposite could be made! By planting a vegetable garden Mrs. Bass has set a fine example of living an active, outdoor lifestyle, eating fresh vegetables, and making her front yard a dynamic, productive place.


It is essential to the well-being of a society that the legal system be relevant to the issues of the day. Laws like the one violated in this example are a waste of everyone’s resources, to prosecute it, defend it, and blog about it.


The follow-up article is here:


http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/07/front_yard_vegetable_gardens_different_is_good.php