Bucket Guild | FUBU BH Forums

DALLAS, TX - American agribusiness groups are up in arms about efforts to overturn Section 43.23 of the Texas Criminal Code - a law, which, they say, is vital for their "continued survival and success against a flood of Chinese and Mexican imported goods."

Section 43.23 makes it a crime to "promote any obscene material or obscene device." The law is credited by the American Farm Bureau and other groups as "ensuring domestic production and consumption of bananas, zucchini, carrots, squash, and even corn-on-the-cob and sweet potatoes."

"43.23 creates jobs for good American citizens," says fruit dealer and AFB spokesperson Douglas White. "The efforts by radical leftists to overturn it will result in the shopping carts of American women being filled with inferior plastic substitutes from China instead of good, wholesome American vegetables, raised by good American men.

"After all, that's why they can't always be there when their women need them - they have jobs in agribusiness, growing the vegetables women enjoy. This law threatens to further undermine the American family, by putting hardworking American farmers out of work and driving women to seek comfort with foreign-made products instead of the men who just came home from the fields."

But some say, this is just another effort by business to profit off the exploitation of American women.

"The farm lobby is trying to make sure women stay where it wants them - in the kitchen, with nothing to give them pleasure in their life but some vegetables," says Mary Shikki, a professor of women's studies at Richland College. "It's not only a quality of life issue, but also a women's health issue. Studies have shown a positive correlation between cervical cancer and exposure to vegetables high in pesticide."

The Texas state legislature will be voting on a motion to overturn 43.23 later this week. Debate continues in subcommittee.

"What we really need to ask is, whether the law is serving the public interest," said Representative Wayne Smith. "Are organic solutions such as zucchini and bananas really competitive in the 21st century market, what with the advances in miniaturized electronics and synthetic materials?

"I'd like to see some good research as to the effectiveness of vegetables compared to plastic vibrators, before we go passing any legislation. I intend to speak to my constituents - real women - about their preferences. All we have at this point is rumor and Google."