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KIds Contaminate Farms?????
Are sterile fields an idea
that will soon become
national farming policy?
Family farmers have a lot to fear from the FDA
and the state health agencies bringing a “sterile”
attitude to farms.
__CAFF
The NATIONAL LEAFY GREEN MARKETING ASSOCIATION
submitted their request to the USDA July 8.
The following day, the key ideas from
President Obama's Working Group on Food Safety
came out. Moves to clean up Leafy Greens was
mentioned.
The ideas in the Leafy Green Campaign
mindset appears to have found favor with
the creators of #HR 2749.
Children under five out of the field
is one idea expressed by industry who
want to decontaminate the fields.
--an article by CAROLYN LOCHHEAD.
I am looking forward to hear more
where the Green Leafy Marketing Association
stands on these sterility practices.
Date: 7/21/2009 10:24:51 AM ( 15 y ) ... viewed 2035 times &Itemid&feedBr>
PLEASE MAKE YOUR INTENTIONS
KNOWN
You can reach your reps
through this petition
ACTION PAGE:
Ask Congress to Defeat HR 2749
9,554 Submissions so far
111th U.S. Congress - House Bill HR 2749 [Click here for FAQs]
A new food safety bill is on the fast track in Congress--HR 2749, the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009. The bill needs to be stopped!
HR 2749 gives FDA tremendous power while significantly diminishing existing judicial restraints on actions taken by the agency. The bill would impose a one-size-fits-all regulatory scheme on small farms and local artisanal producers; and it would disproportionately impact their operations for the worse.
HR 2749 does not address underlying causes of food safety problems such as industrial agriculture practices and the consolidation of our food supply. The industrial food system and food imports are badly in need of effective regulation, but the HR 2749 does not specifically direct regulation or resources to these areas.
http://www.ftcldf.org/petitions/pnum993.php
I would like to see a Healthy Food Safety law passed.
This one needs a lot of work.
Amendments are in process.
8:15 AM
July 21, 09
We sure do have a lot of rethinking to do,
all of us. This is going to take some time.
I highly recommend slowing down
#HR 2749, so all concerned can get on
the same page. This is going to take
a lot of talking.
12:56 PM
July 21, 09
O.K. here seems a clear understanding:
The LEAFY GREN MARKETING GUIDELINES
are the same people who are promoting the
Sterility on the farms.
Turning a New Leafy Green
Diagnosis and Treatment: Sterilizing the family farm may not be the best way to keep E. coli out of your salad.
http://www.miller-mccune.com/science_environment/turning-a-new-leafy-green-195
(9:18 AM
July 21, 09
At my last reading of the Lochhead
articles described below,
It does not appear that the LEAFY GREEN
MARKETING PRACTICES are being
put forward by the same regulators
who have been sterilizing the fields,
but what is the position of
the GREEN LEAFY MARKETING GUIDELINES?
THIS IS FROM CAROLYN LOCHHEAD'S
PIECE JULY 13 called:
Crops, ponds destroyed in quest for food safety
KEEPING CHILDREN OUT
"They're used to working inside the factory walls," said Ken Kimes, owner of New Natives farms in Aptos (Santa Cruz County) and a board member of the Community Alliance With Family Farmers, a California group. "If they're not prepared for the farm landscape, it can come as quite a shock to them. Some of this stuff that they want, you just can't actually do."
Auditors have told Kimes that no children younger than 5 can be allowed on his farm for fear of diapers. He has been asked to issue identification badges to all visitors.
Not only do the rules conflict with organic and environmental standards; many are simply unscientific. Surprisingly little is known about how E. coli is transmitted from cow to table.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/12/MN0218DVJ8.DTL=rs...
I learned about the
LEAFY GREEN MARKETING GUIDELINES.
from this Carolyn Lochhead article.
Many farmers in CA have signed on to the program.
Take a look at the NGMGA site
to learn more about this program.
From the way the Lochhead article was written,
or my misreading, I thought that
the LEAFY GREEN MARKETING GUIDELINES
were sponsored by those who want
to sterilize the fields.
This the first of two articles by Lochhead on
last week, was introoduced into the
testimony July 16 before the HOUSE AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE.
ROBERT G REINHARD
CLARIFIES and also seems
CONFUSED
Testimony of Robert G. Reinhard
On behalf of the
National Turkey Federation
Committee on Agriculture
Review of Current Issues in Food Safety
7
Despite the fact that the Energy and Commerce Committee has made changes to addresslegitimate concerns, the Internet and some print media are full of specious chargesagainst the bill. It is clear the legislation has become a target for people who are angry and frustrated about a multitude of other problems that would not be affected by the law.
8
For example, on Monday, July 13, the San Francisco Chronicle ran a long articlecharging that farmers are being forced to dismantle important conservation practices anddestroy wildlife habitat. The article was passionate, but not accurate, in suggesting thatH.R. 2749 is responsible for these changes. H.R. 2749, of course, has not passed Congress and is not in effect.
Moreover, provisions of H.R. 2749 protect against the
gross actions described in the article. The bill requires the FDA, if it promulgates produce
safety regulations, to use science based standards that take into account the impact the regulations would have on small-scale and diversified farms, wildlife habitat,conservation practices, watershed protection efforts, and organic production methods.
The problems cited by the Chronicle reporter and the people she interviewed arise from private, not government, actions. Private customers—food processors andsupermarkets—have imposed contractual requirements on their suppliers to create sterile borders. If the farmer wants to sell to the companies, he has to meet his customer’s requirements. Private contractual requirements do not have to be science-based or
consider environmental impact.
NICK MARIVELL, of NICK's ORGANIC FARM in
Marlyland, in another Lochhead review of
that July 19 hearing said:
Nicolas Maravell, a small organic farmer in Maryland,
said the ancient practice of raising livestock and food on the same farm
is banned under the FDA's current voluntary rules.
He said the rules put sustainable farming methods at risk.
"This is a fast-moving train," Maravell said. "Nobody wants to stand in front of legislation that has the words 'food safety' in it."
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/17/MNB618Q3UU.DTL#ix...
The intent was to make #2749 law before
the August Congressional Break. That will likely
now happen, in my opinion.
Here are a few paragraph from the first Lochhead Article
that caught my eye:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/17/MNB618Q3UU.DTL#ix...
GOING NATIONAL
For many giant food retailers, the choice between a dead pond and a dead child is no choice at all. Industry has paid more than $100 million in court settlements and verdicts in spinach and lettuce lawsuits, a fraction of the lost sales involved.
Galvanized by the spinach disaster, large growers instituted a quasi-governmental program of new protocols for growing greens safely, called the "leafy greens marketing agreement." A proposal was submitted last month in Washington to take these rules nationwide.
An Amish farmer in Ohio who uses horses to plow his fields could find himself caught in a net aimed 2,000 miles away at a feral pig in San Benito County. While he may pick, pack and sell his greens in one day because he does not refrigerate, the bagged lettuce trucked from Salinas with a 17-day shelf life may be considered safer.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/12/MN0218DVJ8.DTL&fe...
PHOTOS FROM THE LAKESIDE ORGANIC FARM
http://www.lakesideorganic.com/Produce_current.aspx
Many witnesses at the JULY 16 hearing
expressed concerns over #2749:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/17/MNB618Q3UU.DTL#ix...
I have been looking to understand
how much the Sterility mindset
is in harmony with the mindset that is producing #2749.
The Organic farmers I have spoken to
believe the popular mindset behind #2749
does not yet understand organic farming.
Numbers of these farmers are working to create amendments
to inform the committee members and improve the bill #2749.
REQUEST TO ESTABLISH a FEDERAL LEAFY GREENS MARKETING
AGREEMENT
http://nlgma.org/fresh-produce-industry-associations-peti.php
HERE ARE Q and A about the
PROPOSAL of the NATIONAL GREEN LEAFY ASSOCIATION
http://nlgma.org/faqs.php
RUSSELL LIBBY of the MAINE ORGANIC
FARMING and GARDENERING ASSOCIATION has
been answering questions to explain the organic
point of view to members of the ENERGY and COMMERCE
COMMITTEE. It is the Energy and Commerce Committee
that brought this bill #2749 to Agricultural Committee of
the House. This is Rep HENRY WAXMAN's original bill,
now co-sponsored by Rep JOHN DINGLE.
THE POSITION OF THE CALIFORNIA
ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY FARMERS
as of last updated June 4, 2009
http://www.caff.org/policy/foodsafetyfederal.shtml
POLICY :: Food Safety
The Issue
Leafy Greens
Federal Food Safety News and Legislation (last updated June 4, 2009)
Recent food-related illnesses and deaths from processed peanuts, Mexican chiles, Chinese pet food ingredients, fresh-cut leafy greens, and an upsurge in contamination of meat has led to a renewed effort to reform food safety laws and agencies in Washington DC.
The legislative effort in 2009 is centered in the House of Representatives’ Energy and Commerce Committee, chaired by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles). The Committee has posted a draft bill and as well as a summary of the bill.
A hearing was held on June 3, 2009. The committee plans to mark up the bill the week of June 8, 2009. It then goes to the floor of the House and then on to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP!).
CAFF is not happy with the inclusion of explicit authority for the FDA to promulgate mandatory on-farm food safety practices for fruits and vegetables. There is a tendency in such regulations to create “one-size-fits-all” metrics that in fact are inappropriate for most farmers who do not grow large tracts of individual crops. And we believe that the FDA’s own data show that whole raw commodities are not what is making people ill, rather it is processed products, such as the fresh-cut leafy greens in plastic bags.
Family farmers have a lot to fear from the FDA and the state health agencies bringing a “sterile” attitude to farms. We have written up what happened in the California sprouts industry after the FDA decided that all sprouts were dangerous.
Glide Ranch Mailing Address: PO Box 363, Davis, CA 95617
Physical Address: 36355 Russell Blvd., Davis, CA 95617
Telephone: (530) 756-8518; Fax: (530) 756-7857
http://news.santacruz.com/2009/07/14/santa_cruz_farmers_oppose_scorched_earth...
Peixoto adds that regulation creep, whether by large buyers or the government, will eventually make it impossible for small farmers to meet their guidelines. “We just tell them that’s all we can do, and we have to turn down that customer.”
Meanwhile, small farmers in Central California are waiting anxiously for the outcome of a bill proposed by Representative Henry Waxman (D) of Los Angeles, which would give even more power to the FDA to regulate all farms. Read more at the San Francisco Chronicle.
MORE
WE FEED THE WORLD
http://www.lumiere.net.nz/reader/item/824
Food for Thought: We Feed The World
In We Feed The World, our daily bread literally goes down the tube, just a fraction of the excess and waste created by multinational corporations with a foothold on the global production of food. CALEB STARRENBURG uncovers some of this documentary’s sobering truths, screening at this year’s World Cinema Showcase in March and April.
The documentary – mostly a series of talking head interviews – travels Europe and further a field, examining how traditional agriculturalists and fishermen are being driven out of business by massive multinational corporations. The doco reveals the profit driven motives of these corporations is resulting in gratuitous waste and a lessening in the quality of our food.
An employee for Pioneer – a seed technology company – discloses with surprising candor his belief genetically modified produce is inferior to the naturally grown variety.
WE FEED THE WORLD film
review
insightful review about food globalization.
http://www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/wftw.html
TRAILER:
http://www.youtube.com/user/interislands
BLOG ARTICLES ON HR 2749
http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h2749/blogs/6?sort=newest
SUSTAINABLE FOOD
http://food.change.org/blog/view/food_safety_bill_in_the_house
I need to join this..
ENERGY and COMMERCE COMMITTEE
http://energycommerce.house.gov/index.php?option=com_jcalpro=54
BLOGS ON HR2749
http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h2749/blogs/1?sort=newest
FROM JILL RICHARDSON
author of a great new book
on FOOD SAFETY
July 19, 09
I know Leslie's been posting to this list about the food safety bill in the House. I just put up a post on Change.org summarizing a timeline of how the bill has progressed through Congress and where it stands now, with links to additional information (below). The sum total of where it stands now is that it's a flawed bill that will do some good things to regulate Big Business (which we want, of course) but also can harm small businesses & farms. The question as to "how bad is it?" depends on what the FDA actually does with the power its given. If the bill passes in its current form and the FDA has enough brains to leave small farms alone because they arent where our food safety problems are at, then it's really not that bad. If it passes in its current form and the FDA picks on small farmers/small businesses because they are easier to pick on than big companies, that's bad. However, the bill most likely WON'T pass in its current form. Collin Peterson has his claws on it right now... he's a shill for Big Ag and he's threatening to kill the bill if it isn't changed to meet his demands. He did the same thing with the global warming bill and he watered it down to make Big Ag happy and then passed it out of the House. It's likely he'll do the same thing here. No idea yet what changes he'll make though.
http://food.change.org/blog/view/food_safety_bill_in_the_house
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