The Harm Of The Save Our Bacon Act
Dear Editor:
In advance of next week’s Senate Agriculture Committee meeting, several Florida-based news outlets have highlighted a proposed addition to the Farm Bill that threatens to undermine state animal welfare laws and policies. The Save Our Bacon Act (SOBA), backed by large pork industry interests, including Smithfield Foods, would limit the ability of states and farmers to implement and uphold animal welfare standards.
As the first state to ban gestation crates, which are enclosures that restrict pregnant pigs from turning around freely, Florida demonstrated its commitment to humane farming practices and the values shared by both farmers and citizens. Public support for these protections remains overwhelming. A 2025 national poll found that 84% of Americans believe confining mother pigs in gestation crates is unacceptable, showing broad consensus across political and geographic divides that this practice is cruel and unnecessary.
If SOBA is included in the Farm Bill, it would override voter-approved laws in states that have also taken a stand against gestation crates, including California’s Proposition 12 and Massachusetts’ Question 3. Such federal overreach would undermine the will of voters and weaken hard-fought animal welfare protections.
Osceola County does not want or need foreign-owned corporations and profit-driven special interests threatening standards that reflect our agricultural and animal welfare values and standards. Senators Rick Scott and Ashley Moody have previously supported measures to protect animal welfare and support local farmers, and this addition to the Farm Bill would strip that away.
As a Central Florida constituent, I respectfully urge Senators Scott and Moody to oppose and publicly denounce any version of the SOBA and to vote against it in the coming days as the Farm Bill is slated for reevaluation this month.
I empower readers to ask the same from our representatives before the Senate Agriculture Committee next week. This can be quickly and easily completed by using the ‘Contact Us’ option on Senator Scott and Senator Moody’s websites, or by leaving a voicemail through the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. Thank you for your advocacy for protecting the agricultural and animal welfare measures and rights that Florida has fought hard for.
Marissa Lamperis
Capitalism vs. Socialism in voting
Dear Editor: This election is very important. It is time to get off the couch to vote and here is why, from a “Capitalism vs. Socialism” point of view: Capitalism: Understand man’s imperfection. Socialism: Insist in the perfection of man.
Capitalism: Respects individuality. Socialism: Demands conformity.
Capitalism: Empowers the individual. Socialism: Empowers a ubiquitous leviathan.
Capitalism: The Individual is master. Socialism: The state is master.
Capitalism: About voluntary arrangements. Socialism: About coerced conduct and arrangements.
Capitalism: Decision making is dispersed. Socialism: Decision making is centralized and exercised by a few.
Capitalism: Relies on the people making their own decisions. Socialism: Relies on a beneficent mastermind making a decision for the people.
Capitalism: Is compatible with the Constitution. Socialism: Destroys the Constitution.
If you want a socialist society coming to America, and it is already here in many communities, then go ahead and sit on that couch and don’t vote.
It is imperative that every American who loves this country must vote. Just know that Socialism along with Sharia Law is coming soon if you don’t get off that couch.
I love my country and don’t agree with everything going on in either party, actually I hate both but one more than the other, but I at least vote for the lesser of two evils in every election without exception as I feel it is my civic duty.
If you want to continue to live in an exceptionally great country then you must vote, and get in the habit of voting in every election.
Everyone loves to spend other people’s money, but it is the elected officials who have the capacity to take yours and give it to those that do not work or here illegally and whatever else they want, as they could care less about what you want. Do you really want the government to continue to take and spend and give away.
To change that and elect them out, then everyone must vote as every vote counts.
David Searcy
St. Cloud
Wildfires on the rise—and what you can do about it
Dear Editor:
We can all agree that wildfires are a threat to lives, property and health. Fortunately, there is legislation with bipartisan support making its way through congress that addresses this growing threat. The Fix Our Forests Act (FOFA) addresses the need to manage our forests by clearing brush and utilizing prescribed burns to clear away the fuel that makes wildfire spread quickly and become more intense. These preventative actions save tax dollars, property and lives. FOFA has passed the House and is now in the Senate. Please write to Senators Rick Scott and Ashley Moody to ask them to pass this important legislation. https://citizensclimatelobby.org/ get-loud-take-action/fix-ourforests-act/ The U.S. Forest Service needs to be able to retain, hire and train personnel at a level that allows them to do the thinning and controlled burns that decrease the severity and intensity of wildfires. Recent cuts to the Forest Service workforce resulted in a steep reduction in the number of acres that have received hazardous fuels reduction treatment in 2025.
Wildfires may be a natural part of Florida’s landscape, but catastrophic losses do not have to be. I encourage Senator Scott, Senator Moody and Congressmen Mike Haridopolos and Darren Soto to fully fund our Forest Service.
Ellen Cruse
Cocoa Beach
Citizens’ Climate Lobby
