Feces in our Salad...? Here is the answer.
Get Educated/ Articles like this are here
to drum up business to get S 510,
Food Safety Moderization Act Passed.
Behind this is a desire to make our food
hygienically pure based on farming principles
that have nothing to do with health,
and more to do with harming local, organic
farmers.
Date: 2/7/2010 8:17:18 PM ( 14 y ) ... viewed 1888 times
BY TARA LOHAN
CATEGORY: FOOD SAFETY
PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 03, 2010 @ 11:30AM PT
I think Treehugger summed it up pretty well
with the headline: Is There Sh!t in Your Salad?
And the answer is: 39 percent of pre-packaged
salad greens have high levels of fecal matter.
(I'm thinking that any level is too high,
but according to some experts
"the unacceptable level of total coliforms
or Enterococcus is 10,000 or more colony forming units
per gram (CFU/g)," according to a new study
by Consumer Reports.) I'm not exactly sure
what that means, but I think ewww
is nevertheless the appropriate response.
6:16 PM
February 7, 2010
THIS IS THE SOLUTION
This is fresh picked, locally grown organic lettuce.
IF the lettuce you are eating does not look this vibrant,
start supported local, organic farmers.
Current Food Safety laws, such as US BILL # S.510
aim to take on the problem by legalizing Big Ag's
attempts to legislate Food Safety Laws that break
natural laws.
GET EDUCATED
FOLLOW THE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN
IMPENDING FOOD SAFETY LEGISLATION
and the EFFORTS TO FURTHER HAMPER
THE ONLY REAL FOOD LEFT,
LOCAL, ORGANIC GREENS grown
by farmers at you know.
BIG AG, BIG CHEMA, BIG PHARMA
wants protection for people
like this
SEE THE TRIALER TO FRESH
BIG AG, BIG CHEMA, BIG PHARA WANT PROTECTION
FROM PEOPLE who eat FRESH. your local, organic farmer
growing the last remaining food, and "Stealing"
too many people away from Unhealthy pre-packaged
lettuce, etc.
Grow some of your own greens in
pots if you have to.
Support local, organc farmers growing
the food you do not grow.
Send Washington a message right now
that you do not support Big Ag sponsored
FOOD SAFETY laws, being put forth to
bring us in harmony with international
regulators that do not have your health
at heart.
This is part of a PR campaign
to drum up business for US BILL S510,
the counterpart to HR 2749, that passed
through the House in a few days last July,
while most of us were looking the other way.
Most local organic farmers had done their best
to to influence that legislation.
It is is the best interest of big ag to have S510 pass.
It is not in the best interest of authentic earth based
homeland security, or FOOD SAFETY.
I spent a solid month studying this last July.
You can read a ton of Blogs on this subject here
and links.
EMBRACING THE "DIRT"
BUILD UP THE SOIL and you BUILD
UP THE HUMAN IMMUNITY SYSTEM.
MICHAEL TAYLOR
BEFORE the DENNIS KUCINICH
Hearing JULY 29:
"In addition, FDA is leading an effort
through the Codex Alimentarius Commission,
the international food safety standards body,
with support of the Food and Agriculture
Organization/World Health Organization,
to develop commodity-
specific annexes to the Codex hygienic code
for fresh fruit and vegetable production,
starting with an annex for fresh leafy
vegetables and herbs."
--Mr MICHAEL TAYLOR
Our Food Czar for the FDA
Senior Adviser to the Commissioner on food issues
The above quote is from the written testimony
of MICHAEL TAYLOR July 29 at the
REP DENNIS KUCINICH
SUBCOMMITTEE ON DOMESTIC POLICY
COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT
AND GOVERNMENT REFORM
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
The Subcommittee Hearing was Titled:
"Ready to Eat or Not? It Examined
the Impact of Leafy Green Marketing Agreements.
Besides FDA’s track record of favoring the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, there is other evidence that the agency would not enforce any food safety bill passed by Congress in a way that is in the best interest of the American people. The biggest cause of foodborne illness in this country is imported food; yet, in testimony on S. 510 (the Senate food safety bill) before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg stated that “the bill’s foreign inspection mandate may not result in the best use of FDA’s resources” [14–p. 6]. Hamburg indicated that the agency would rather have accredited third-party inspectors or foreign governments being responsible for inspections [14–p. 5]; this raises the question of whether foreign governments or third-party inspectors would act in the best interest of the United States when to do so could mean costing its own countrymen the loss of markets in this country. Hamburg made similar statements in her June 3, 2009 testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health when it was considering HR 2749 [15]. FDA intends to use most of its resources on domestic enforcement.
In the past, FDA has not respected consumer freedom of choice in areas such as nutritional supplements, alternative health treatments (particularly for cancer), and consumption of raw milk and raw milk products. If the food safety bill passes, the degree of access that consumers currently enjoy to foods produced by small farmers and local artisanal producers will be threatened. There is little money in the local food movement for pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. The continued growth of the local food movement will cause the profits of the two industries to decline. With passage of any current food safety bill, FDA would be in a better position to reverse that trend. The likelihood is that the agency would use a disproportionately high amount of its resources to enforce the new law against suppliers of the local food movement. With its added power to regulate produce under either HR 2749 or S. 510, will the agency issue a regulation establishing the use of genetically engineered seed as a good agricultural practice (GAP)? There is no evidence that FDA will use its increased power to do anything to help small sustainable farms. For more details on HR 2749, go to http://www.ftcldf.org/news/news-15june2009.htm
The full Senate will likely vote on S. 510 sometime next month; click here for the status of S. 510 or go to http://www.thomas.gov
and type "S. 510″ in the search (be sure to select "Bill number").
Now is the time to call your senators and inform them that you oppose S. 510 and any food safety bill that regulates small farmers and local artisanal producers any more than they are currently under federal law.
July 20, 09
Today I talked to RUSSELL LIBBY of the
MAINE ORGANIC FARMING AND GARDENING ASSOCATION.
I wanted to understand how closely interwhined were
The LEAFY GREEN MARKETING GUIDELINES and #HR 2749,
as well as the mindset that is calling for sterility in farming.
Some retailers, the ones who buy the food
from the farmers are learning toward sterility on the farm.
They have been instituted quasi-government rules and regs
that the farmers much follow to sell their crops.
This is described in the CAROLYN LOCHHEAD article
of July 13.
That article also mentions
the National Green Leafy Marketing Agreement,
I talked to RUSSELL LIBBY who has been answering good
questions posed by members
of the ENERGY and COMMERCE COMMITTEE
who sent #HR 2749 to the AGRICULTURAL COMMITTEE
of the HOUSE, July 16.
I talked to NICK MARIVELL the other day.
He was concerned that objectives of #HR2749
would affect his diversified farm. He had concerned
that they would pass agreements that livestock and vegetables
could not be grown within two miles of each other.
HR 2749 gets into manure use on the farm.
THe Leafy Green Marketing Guidelines
have been sent to the USDA. Some in Big
Ag would like to see this standard become National Policy.
"One does not preclude the other," Russell told me.
HOW PERVASIVE are the STERILITY IDEAS????
Russell pointed me in the direction of Japan, where
sterility in growing food has gained is practices
and popular among so.
Here is another piece of this puzzle
Rusell Libby pointed me in a number
of directions
1. REPORT FROM THE GOOD SAFETY WORKING GROUP
CAME OUT JUNE 9, A DAY AFTER THE NGLMG WERE SUBMITTED
TO THE USDA...THEY ARE ALL PARTICIPATING IN THIS
TRANSPARENT COMMITTEE...
Vice President Biden, Secretaries Vilsack and Sebelius announce key findings of food safety working group (7/9/09)
Today Vice President Biden was joined by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to announce the key findings of the Food Safety Working Group. Created by President Obama in March to advise the Administration on how to upgrade the food safety system for the 21st century, the Working Group is recommending a new, public health-focused approach to food safety based on three core principles: prioritizing prevention; strengthening surveillance and enforcement; and improving response and recovery.
Preventing Contamination of Leafy Greens, Melons, and Tomatoes: By the end of July, FDA will issue commodity-specific draft guidance on preventive controls that industry can implement to reduce the risk of microbial contamination in the production and distribution of tomatoes, melons, and leafy greens. These proposals will help the Federal government establish a minimum standard for production across the country. Over the next two years, FDA will seek public comment and work to require adoption of these approaches through regulation.
National Traceback and Response System
"There isn't a single American that isn't impacted by our efforts to protect the food supply," said Secretary Vilsack. "We owe it to the American people to deliver on President Obama's bold promise to greatly enhance our food safety system, moving our approach into the 21st century, employing the best surveillance techniques available, and ensuring that we are doing all we can to prevent illness before it occurs."
Today, the Working Group announced specific steps designed to advance its core principles:
HHS and USDA are targeting salmonella contamination by developing tougher standards to protect the safety of eggs, poultry, and turkey.
To fight the threat of E. coli, USDA is stepping up enforcement in beef facilities and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is developing new industry guidance improving protections for
leafy greens, (LEAFY GREENS....PLEASE NOTE!!!!!) melons, and tomatoes.
Let me repeat that
LEAFY GREENS
LEAKFY GREENS
LEAFY GREENS.
ON THE WORKING GROUP
and STERILIZATION STRATEGIES...
THESE HAVE BEEN A LONG TIME
COMING and STRATGIZED
Now to the Leafy Greens connection. Farmers who cut and sell heads
of looseleaf lettuce probably won't be considered "processors". But
if they pick and pack spinach, mesclun greens and maybe even items
like kale and collards they might be considered processors by some
businesses even if they are traditional salad growers and not are not
part of the huge national-scale bagged salad mix market. Small
farmers may now be subject to a "Marketing Agreement" put together by
the Leafy Greens Big Boys in California, the epicenter of the E.coli-
on-spinach outbreak in 2006 which killed three people and sickened
hundreds more all across the country. In an agribusiness-based
regulatory fait accompli a hundred or so handlers, shippers and
buyers put together a Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement (LGMA)
requiring their growers meet uniform food safety standards,
effectively fashioning self-serving mandatory standards across the
board for large and small family farmers alike.
Utilizing GAP parameters, the LGMA rules rely on a "sterilization"
approach to farming -- including removal of grassed waterways,
cancellation of conservation projects, fencing against wildlife,
compost prohibitions, sterilizing soil with ag chemicals, etc. which
completely flies in the face of the biological-ecological-organic
paradigm based on building a healthy biodiversity and recycling
nutrients. There are a number of groups gearing up to fight this. The
Center for Food Safety, Union of Concerned Scientists and Food and
Water Watch are actively involved. Please go to the Wild Farm
Alliance for the conservation concerns and effects on biodiversity
and habitat destruction: http://www.wildfarmalliance.org/
DOES BIOTECH and his APPROACH
to FARMING, and its support of
FOOD SAFETY EQUAL REAL FOOD TERRORISM?????
"The Gates Foundation has hired Rob Horsch, Monsanto's vice president for international development partnerships. "
CROP FAILURES IN INDIA
MONSANTO INTERRUPTS SEED SAVING
in INDIA. "FARMERS who knew their land
harvested ideally seeds suited for each area"
Monsanto prevented farmers from collecting
their own seeds."
The GM genocide: Thousands of Indian farmers are committing suicide after using genetically modified crops
By ANDREW MALONE
Last updated at 12:48 AM on 03rd November 2008
They look more like the brightly
lit shelves of a chemists shop than
the rows of a vegetable garden.
But according to their creators,
these perfect looking vegetables could be the future of food.
In a perfectly controlled and totally sterile environment -
uncontaminated by dirt, insects or fresh air -
Japanese scientists are developing
a new way of growing vegetables.
“If people let the government decide
what foods they eat and what medicines
they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry
a state as are the souls who live under tyranny”
THOMAS JEFFERSON
"Those who would give up essential Liberty,
to purchase a little temporary Safety,
deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN,
Pennsylvania Assembly:
Reply to the Governor,
November 11, 1755.—
The Papers of Benjamin Franklin,
ed. Leonard W. Labaree,
vol. 6, p. 242 (1963).
This quotation, slightly altered,
is inscribed on a plaque in the stairwell of the pedestal
of the Statue of Liberty:
“They that can give up essential liberty to obtain
a little safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
These comments above bring to mind
the FOOD SAFETY LEGISLATION
#US BILL HR FSEA 2749
and S-510. US BIll HR 2749
passed the House in late July.
S-510 is still forthcoming to the
senate floor as of January 27, 2010.
From the Rep Dennis Kucinich
SUBCOMMITTEE ON DOMESTIC POLICY
COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 29, 2009
This is my favorite quote from
The FDA's Michael R. Taylor, our Food Czar,
one of the most influential men determining
Food Policy for the generation.
"In addition, FDA is leading an effort
through the Codex Alimentarius Commission,
the international food safety standards body,
with support of the Food and Agriculture Organzation/
World Health Organization,
to develop commodity-specific annexes
to the Codex hygienic code for fresh fruit
and vegetable production, starting with an annex for fresh leafy
vegetables and herbs. In June 2009, FDA conducted the first Codex international electronic working group with members of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFÐ to advance the
drafr Annex for Fresh Leafy Vegetables
to the next stage of completion. In November 2009,
CCFH will consider how to proceed
with the next tier of priority commodities
"The Committee was addressed by Mr. Michael R. Taylor, Acting Under Secretary for Food Safety. The subject of his speech was “Accomplishments and Challenges for the Future”. Mr. Taylor stressed the importance of Codex Alimentarius Commission in addressing food safety and stated that the future challenges for the Codex Alimentarius Commission and this Committee were great. He pointed out the need to base Codex standards on science; to involve the public more fully; to revitalize Codex through strategic planning and ensuring a more efficient standard setting process; and to support the incorporation of risk assessment principles into the Codex process." --1997, FAO document.
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