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Health & Fitness

The Right to Grow in Georgia

House Bill 853, also known as the Georgia Right to Grow Act, may affect homeowners throughout the state.

When was the last time you ate a fresh tomato from your garden, enjoyed biscuits with honey from your own bees or scrambled fresh eggs from a chicken in your back yard? For many in the state of Georgia, those basic rights have been challenged beyond necessity.

While Forsyth County beekeepers are working with the Board of Commissioners to develop changes to the Forsyth County Unified Development Code (UDC), that will allow beekeeping in all residential areas, a bill is in the works with the Georgia House of Representatives that may prevent any governing body in the state from prohibiting, or requiring a permit for, rabbits, honeybees, chickens or home vegetable gardens on residential property.

House Bill 853, otherwise known as the Georgia Right to Grow Act, recently passed the Georgia House of Representatives Agricultural Committee by a vote of 10-4. A complete copy of the Bill can be found here.

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The intent of House Bill 853 is to allow those who live in residentially zoned areas to keep rabbits, honeybees, and chickens (with the exception of roosters) for personal use in their back yards, so long as they are kept in fully enclosed pens, coops or hives. With this bill, local governments will retain their ability to enforce nuisance laws.

House Bill 853 has been introduced during a time when concerns about sustainability and healthy food have risen to an all-time high. Several recent news topics have centered around foreign "counterfeit" honey, genetically modified crops, and animal cruelty. The right for an individual to raise their own animals and crops for food is more important than ever.

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According to statistics on the USDA Web site, more than 19 percent of Georgians are supplementing their income with food stamps or other government assistance programs. At the same time, municipalities in Georgia are outlawing home gardens, chickens and even honeybees from residential areas. Beekeepers in Forsyth County were cited for keeping honeybees on their property last year, resulting in the UDC change now underway. Several other individuals throughout the state have been deprived of their rights to keep chickens in their back yard.

It is a basic right to be able to provide food for your family. Citizens should be able to grow a garden, raise chickens for eggs and meat, and keep honeybees to pollinate their garden and provide honey and other hive products for medicinal purposes. Protect your right to raise crops and animals for personal consumption now.

To voice your support for this bill, visit the Georgia food rights Web site and contact your local Representative.

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