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It seems that a bill was introduced into the Florida Senate (SB 1246) that would make it illegal to take a photo of a farm (or anything on it) from a public road.

More info here:

http://photography.about.com/b/2011/02/25/bill-introduced-in-florida-senate-would-make-farm-photography-a-felony.htm

http://fltrib.com/photographing-cows-or-other-farm-scenery-could-land-you-jail-under-senate-bill

http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2011/1246/BillText/Filed/HTML

It isn't law in Florida yet either. I have to believe that the sheer stupidity of it will mean it'll never actually become law. If the concern is undercover videos from people on the property posing as a farm worker, then deal with the deception involved with that - to the extent that existing laws don't already provide adequate relief.

The urge to be seen to be "doing something" that drives politicians to such actions is so damaging...

Exactly. I think you might struggle to find a jury willing to convict someone who discovered something of public concern too. Enforcement would be another resource-heavy issue for anything other than the genuine serious cases.

great point. I didn't think of the social responsibility angle. and you're right, good luck enforcing it.

is Jeb Bush still around down there? bah, he's probably too drunk to care anyways

How utterly (udderly?) assinine!  As a Floridian, I will be contacting my state senator.  

Considering that tourism, and NOT farming, is our biggest industry, it's crazy to tell those tourists they will have to put their cameras away when driving through the picturesque agricultural areas of the state.  

Just wrote my state senator.  Although I am in the Tampa Bay area, Jim Norman isn't it (thank God!) but I guess my guy probably works with him pretty closely.

I doubt there's any way this can be implemented, but it wouldn't be the first time some crazy sh*t was passed when it seemed impossible...

As an American citizen, this doesn't surprise me at all. The USA has the highest incarceration rate in the world. One in every 100 Americans is in jail or prison. We house 25% of the world's prisoners, yet we only account for 5% of the world's population. Incarceration is big business in the US, and many people are getting rich off of it. We have for profit prisons now, and prisons are the primary employer for many communities. The Drug War keeps the system supplied with a steady flow of 'customers'. Meanwhile the expense is bankrupting state's budgets.

Our politicians are bought off, and the system is rigged. This is not a Democracy, it's a Corporatocracy. Now Big Food is in on the act, they don't want the world to witness the horrendous abuse of farm animals that takes place on Factory Farms, so they lobby politicians to make it illegal to collect the evidence. We are are in the process of being systematically conditioned to accept ever greater assaults on our freedom.

I think the American people will wake up when things get bad enough. And then well, think of the revolutions we're seeing in the middle east. I think it's only a matter of time before it happens here.

They only want to limit the government from doing things that could help people. Locking people up is encouraged.

That sums it up nicely.  Scary thing is how easy propagandized most people are.  

@Allsa - agree 100% with everything you said, except possibly the part about people rising up and not taking it anymore.  I am shocked at how many people not only ACCEPT the infringement of their civil liberties, but enthusiastically support the people who are doing it.  

Our country is filled with gullible sheep who can be easily fooled into misdirecting their anger.  Saddens me to see it.  

I think it will need to get very very bad. However, we might all be too sick to even do anything about it. If you haven't heard of or seen the documentary "Gasland", about natural gas and fracking, it is a must see for every American. This is going on right  now and it is of course being marketed as harmless, but the evidence proves quite the contrary.

Gasland: Dangers of Natural Gas Extraction (Extended Trailer)

Photographing decreases dairy cows yield and steals cows souls. 

I've read somewhere that the next clever thing they're briging up is a new type of corn, called Cyanicorn. It's going to be genetically modified to be completely resistant to cyanide. They will spray the fields with cyanide killing everything but the corn and increase their yield 500%. Hungry people will be fed!

Now who in their right mind could be against such a smart invention? Some commie liberals maybe, but patriotic Americans will pay the required licensing fees to taste the goodness of Cyanicorn!

So I'm with RacePhoto on these issues. I'm for common sense over hysteira. And RacePhoto is right about DDT too. I can drink a whole bottle of the stuff, and apart from getting a little high I feel great and it keeps me free of malaria!

Of course not and I never have been, When we discussed the people arrested for taking photos in train stations in the UK or New York I felt the same way.

Standing on public property we should be able to photograph pretty much anything we can see. I'd be against using a telephoto and looking into a window, where someone would have the expectation of privacy.

In a private building, mall, or factory, (or buying a ticket to an event) we have no rights, because it's private property and we would need permission.

Farms are open air, just like a park or a street or anything else. The cows, chickens, workers picking oranges, whatever else, have no expectation of privacy. We should be able to photograph anything we can see, outside.

Someone else brought up freedom of speech and I was pointing out that slander is not protected. Truth is the basic defense against any charge of slander or libel. The laws protecting perishable foods are just as stupid and unnecessary as this new one, trying to block people from taking photos of farms.

As someone else has pointed out, the laws we have should be good enough to cover the situation. Trespassing, invasion of privacy and illegal entry under false pretenses, for starters. Breaking the law for a cause, doesn't suddenly make it legal.