Strange Bedfellows List on S. 510
Thanks to Jill Richardson for this,
and Gov. Track
The International, National, and Local
Farm bed scene is indeed creating some
"Strange" "Farmbed" "Bedfeollows."--
sezs Keep The Beet Media Star
The World's First Talking Beet Plant.
She sees us all as Stars in her Rock Your Soul Opera
called "Beet Keepers'Return!
Date: 11/17/2010 10:54:32 PM ( 14 y ) ... viewed 42003 times
Keep The Beet Media Star,
The World's First Talking Beet Plant
asked me to give a shout to Jill Richardson,
author of one of my favorite Food System Books
for this very interesting idea:
S. 510, The Food Safety Modernization Act,
is creating some very interesting Bedfellows.
She asks, which company would you rather be in?
Very good question, Jill.
Jill points out that the John Birch Society
is among those opposed to S.510. I remember
them as a ultra Right Wing organization of my youth.
Interestingly, in look them up on Wikipedia,
they do have some values some values that I
like. You would have thought that Republican
John Coburn M.D. would have turned out to be
one of my heroes, but I would be the first to
send him an Real Food Basket from Eden Organic Food
as a token of appreciation for his David against
Goliath stand that stalled S. 510 before the
recess.
JOIN THE DIALOGUE ON SCIENCE, ETHICS, and FOOD on FACEBOOK
to STAY IN THE CONVERSATION.
Our ideal is to create a Dialogue that includes
special interrests acorss the wide spectrum of government,
technology, and food including GEO and Organic Lovers,
as well as Conventional famers, big and little.
CALIFORNIA SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE
GIVES HIS BLESSING TO THE DIALOGUE ON SCIENCE,
ETHICS, AND FOOD
The California Secretary of Ag, A. G. Kawamura,
who farms both conventionally and organically gave
his blessing on the dialogue when we met at the
California Small Farm Conference in February 2010.
SO HOW DOES AGRICULTURE BECOME
TRANSFORMED????
Keep the Beet has a plan that includes
creating a Moment of Awakening where
through growing an organic beet in a pot,
we each individually and collectively return
restore our broken chain of being on both
land and sea.
FOR MORE LINKS TO KEEP THE BEET
and an EXCELLENT EXPLANATION Go
TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE OF LOVE MAGAZINE
Strange Bedfellows
by: Jill Richardson
Wed Nov 17, 2010 at 14:55:12 PM PST
Which company would you rather be in?
Jill Richarson
ORGANIZATIONS THAT SUPPORT
TH FOOD SAFETY BILL S. 520
Consumers Union
Center for Science in the Public Interest
Food Marketing Institute
Consumer Federation of America
National Restaurant Association
General Mills
National Association of Manufacturers
International Dairy Foods Association
American Public Health Association
Grocery Manufacturers Association
American Bakers Association
International Foodservice Distributors Association
National Consumers League
American Frozen Food Institute
National Confectioners Association
Snack Food Association
Trust for America's Health
Produce Marketing Association
United Fresh Produce Association
American Beverage Association
American Farm Bureau Federation
American Veterinary Medical Association
Kraft Foods North America
Safe Tables Our Priority (STOP)
Center for Foodborne Illness Research and Prevention
National Fisheries Institute
Pew Charitable Trust
International Bottled Water Association
National Coffee Association
KEEP THE BEET ADDS
Organic Trade Association
Codex Alimentarius Commission
ORGANIZATIONS THAT OPPOSE S. 510
American Grassfed Association
National Family Farm Coalition
Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund
Weston A. Price Foundation
The John Birch Society
Raw Milk Association of Colorado
Farm Family Defenders
Small Farms Conservancy
National Independent Consumers and Farmers Association
Carolina Farm Stewardship Association
This information came from Govtrack.us
AMONG THE VALUES OF THE JOHN BIRCH SOCIETY
The society is against "one world government", and has an immigration reduction view on immigration reform. It opposes the United Nations, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), and other free trade agreements. The society argues that there is a devaluing of the U.S. Constitution in favor of political and economic globalization, and that this trend is not an accident. It cites the existence of the Security and Prosperity Partnership as evidence of a push towards a North American Union.[9]
S.510
Title: FDA Food Safety Modernization Act
Sponsor: Sen Durbin, Richard [IL] (introduced 3/3/2009)
Cosponsors (20)
Related Bills: H.R.1332
Latest Major Action: 9/29/2010
Senate floor actions. Status: Cloture motion on the motion to proceed to the bill presented in Senate.
Sen Alexander, Lamar [TN] - 3/3/2009
Sen Bingaman, Jeff [NM] - 11/18/2009
Sen Burr, Richard [NC] - 3/3/2009
Sen Burris, Roland [IL] - 6/24/2009
Sen Casey, Robert P., Jr. [PA] - 9/21/2010
Sen Chambliss, Saxby [GA] - 3/4/2009
Sen Dodd, Christopher J. [CT] - 3/3/2009
Sen Enzi, Michael B. [WY] - 11/30/2009
Sen Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [NY] - 10/14/2009
Sen Gregg, Judd [NH] - 3/3/2009
Sen Harkin, Tom [IA] - 11/30/2009
Sen Hatch, Orrin G. [UT] - 11/9/2009
Sen Isakson, Johnny [GA] - 3/3/2009
Sen Kaufman, Edward E. [DE] - 9/13/2010
Sen Kennedy, Edward M. [MA] - 3/3/2009
Sen Klobuchar, Amy [MN] - 3/4/2009
Sen Menendez, Robert [NJ] - 9/13/2010
Sen Nelson, E. Benjamin [NE] - 6/16/2010
Sen Udall, Tom [NM] - 7/28/2009
Sen Vitter, David [LA] - 5/27/2010
COUPLE OTHERS ADDITIONS
FROM KEEP THE BEET MEDIA STAR
THE WORLD'S FIRST TALKING BEET PLANT
New Publication: A Sustainable Agriculture Perspective on Food Safety
November 11th, 2010
On Thursday, November 11, the NSAC Food Safety Task Force released a new paper, “A Sustainable Agriculture Perspective on Food Safety,” in anticipation of the upcoming debate and vote on the Food Safety Modernization Act (S.510) when Congress returns next week and looking ahead to more food safety rules and activities at USDA and FDA in the next few years that will have significant impact on farmers.
The paper offers sixteen guiding principles for achieving sustainable, safe, and healthy food systems, which emphasize that while risk can never be entirely eliminated, minimizing risk begins on the farm and must continue through every step until it reaches the fork.
“All farms, farmers, and farm staff, from the owners to the most transient farm helpers, have a role in producing safe food,” the authors assert, but “public health requires awareness and effort from each of us, even in our own kitchens.”
Several of the Task Force’s tenets address the food safety regulations proposed in S.510. The authors challenge the relevance of HACCP management system used in food processing facilities for small farms, where there are few uniform ‘control points,’ rebut consumer groups’ claims that certain raw foods are inherently risky, and underscore the harm that inappropriate, overreaching regulations may impose on family farmers.
One of the tenets speaks to the need for the acceptance and application of sound, proven sustainable farming and conservation systems rather than single-minded pursuit of traditional “search and destroy” approaches to farming.
“We commit to proactively working with farmers and all players in local and regional food systems to reduce the risk not only of pathogenic outbreaks, but of other risks to the environment and our health, while upholding the quality, freshness and transparency that consumers deserve,” the authors conclude.
ADDED
3:33 am
November 13, 2010
SHIFTING CODEX OUT OF THE s.510?
IS IT STLL THERE?
In the US, we use a similar approach. For example, we have opposed both the House and Senate Food Safety Bills because they threaten honest food and supplement producers with jail and will tend to drive small producers out of business and create even larger, industrial farms. But despite opposing these bills, we were able to change a vital provision of the Senate bill that would have committed the US to global harmonization of food and supplement standards through the guidelines and standards of Codex Alimentarius. So, while we continue to oppose the passage of the Food Safety Bill, you can rest assured that, if the bill does pass, its final form will be significantly better than if we’d done nothing.
Big Pharma has almost reached the finish line of its decades-long battle to wipe out all competition. As of 1 April 2011—less than eight months from now—virtually all medicinal herbs will become illegal in the European Union. The approach in the United States is a bit different, but it’s having the same devastating effect. The people have become nothing more than sinks for whatever swill Big Pharma and Agribusiness choose to send our way, and we have no option but to pay whatever rates they want.
Big Pharma and Agribusiness have almost completed their march to take over every aspect of health, from the food we eat to the way we care for ourselves when we’re ill. Have no doubt about it: this takeover will steal what health remains to us.
It Begins Next April Fools Day
In the nastiest April Fool’s Joke of all time, the European Directive on Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products (THMPD) was enacted back on 31 March 2004.(1) It laid down rules and regulations for the use of herbal products that had previously been freely traded.
This directive requires that all herbal preparations must be put through the same kind of procedure as pharmaceuticals. It makes no difference whether a herb has been in common use for thousands of years. The costs for this are far higher than most manufacturers, other than Big Pharma, can bear, with estimates ranging from £80,000 to £120,000 per herb, and with each herb of a compound having to be treated separately.
GOOD ONE FROM RADY ANANDA
SUMMARY OF NOVEMBER 17 ACTIVITY
BREAKING: Senate votes cloture on S 510 – must now be voted on in 60 days
Posted on November 17, 2010 by Rady| 11 Comments''
By a vote of 74 to 25, at noon today, the U.S. Senate voted for cloture on S 510, the Food Safety Modernization Act, which means it must now be voted on in the full Senate within 60 days. All amendments to the controversial food control bill must be completed by that time.
One of S 510′s supporters, Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, opposed cloture because modifications to the bill do not reflect its original intent, he said on C-SPAN. Chambliss fully supports giving the FDA more power over the US food supply, but is unhappy with the Manager’s Amendment submitted in August.
He objects to the small farm exclusion on the grounds that the $500,000 annual gross revenue limit is an arbitrary number that is too quickly reached by small farms. He called for numerous amendments to the bill as it appears today.
Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio supports S 510, and called out the statistics by the Centers for Disease Control that report there are 76 million foodborne illnesses a year, with 5,000 resulting in death. What Brown did not say was that the FDA — the very agency further empowered by S 510 — is responsible for the approval of pharmaceutical drugs that result in 100,000 deaths a year.
None of the supporters of S 510 will acknowledge the corrupt nature of the Food and Drug Administration. Monsanto executives now work at the FDA or on President’s Obama’s Food Safety Task Force.
What legislators continue to ignore from the public is that we do not support giving federal agencies even more power — especially over something as inherently private as food choices.
None of the legislators will discuss the FDA raids on natural food operations which sickened no one, while it allowed Wright County Egg to sicken people for decades before finally taking action.
The Union of Concerned Scientists find that some special interests and public officials hamper food safety
POSTED BY BILL MARLER ON SEPTEMBER 15, 2010
If you want a disturbing read, see the Union of Concerned Scientists, “Voices of Federal Food Safety Scientists and Inspectors.” Clearly, a system that allows undue influence on those that are bound to protect the public should not be allowed.
To evaluate how well the government uses science to protect the food supply, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), working with researchers at Iowa State University, sent a 44-question survey to nearly 8,000 food safety employees at the FDA and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which together oversee our food system. More than 1,700 employees responded. The results reveal a food safety system where special interests and public officials all too often inhibit the ability of government scientists and inspectors to protect the food supply.
A POST ON THE MARLER FOOD SAFETY BLOG
NOVEMBER 18, 2010
3:29 am
draft one
Congratutions to Jill Rchardson and Bill Marler for inspiring a very thoughtful National Conversation here on Food Safety News. I enjoyed all the comments. My take is that we need a thorough national conversation, a chewing slowing on the issues of Food Safety.
No one wants one more person to be hurt by contaminated food, but in truth, from a natural health perspective, we have more people potentially dying from pasteurization of milk and
the ills of the factory farm system than we do from raw milk consumption. Michael R. Taylor
of both FDA and Monsanto Corporation alliance is clearly in the camp of the Codex Alimentarius Commission that clearly has aimed to influence U.S. policy for trade reasons more than
consumer protection. THe FDA clearly wants to harmonize U.S. Law with Codex international standards. Take a look at Mr Taylors comments at the Kucinich hearings last July. He is here
to bring the US into compliance with Codex laws and his own Risk Assessment brand of
scientific approach.
My position is that we need to chew slowing on this measure. We truly need to all get off the sidelines and no longer accept government as a spectator sport. I want to see the 100 senators pay a visit to our local Hillcrest Farmers Market or at least start talking to the local organic and conventional farmers about the burdens they already feel regarding beaucratic red tape and paperwork.
I like the comment that grants will be offered. The FDA is already on the farm out here
with or without further laws begin passed. THey are already visiting our local butchers and farmers and it is not easy for the locals to get these grants. The FDA, under Michael R. Taylor is clearly in the pharmaceutical camp rather than the Let Food Be Thy Medicine Camp.
As of April 2011, TCM and Ayurvedic herbs are already illegal in the UK and EU. The FDA would like nothing more than to spend lots of new funds making it more and more difficult for the upholders of thousands of years of natural healing modalities to go away.
I cannot see turning the future of our food supply over to 100 Senators, or House Reps.
More of us need to be in on the voting on this measure.
That is the essence of the petition I started on CHange.org.
Google Chewiing on Food Safety for more links on this.
Again, thanks to Bill, Jill, and all those who commented here.
This is what we need, a thorough and deep vetting of the FDA,
a lot of conversation and understanding.
Kudos to Senator Feinstein for attempting to stand up to the Chemical lobby
and push to have the FDA seriously look at outlawing the dangerous and
FDA approved BPA. Kudos to Bill for pointing out each and every person
in the US who gets ills.
And let truth be told. Our food system is already seriously adulterated
and incapable of producing the kind of health that real food is intended to
give us.
I am calling for a return to the stanzas of America the Beautiful, the ones
that ask:
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till selfish gain no longer stain
The banner of the free!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain divine!
Let's get with the program.
Hippocrates, the father of medicine would be arrested
for practicing food without a license after s.510 passed,
unless we thoroughly take time to clean up our food supply,
and look squarely at a contaminated food supply adulterated
for commericial gain over human health.
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