No more tomato seeds if this thing passes.

[Karen Kraft]

Senate Vote on Food Safety Bill Expected Today​

​

Posted in News, Regulatory, Food Safety, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Inspection, Recalls
http://www.foodproductdesign.com/news/2010/11/senate-vote-on-food-safety-bill-expected-today.aspx​

WASHINGTON—The Senate is expected to begin a series of votes on the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (S.510), which would overhaul the U.S. food-safety system by granting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) greater authority, turning the agency into one that proactively prevents the incidence of foodborne illness, rather than an agency that simply reacts once an outbreak occurs.

The bill, which has been put on a number of times this year, would give FDA greater authority to initiate recalls, rather than waiting for food companies to voluntarily recall food products. Further, food processors and farmers would be required to develop strategies to prevent contaminations, and would be required to allow FDA access to all records. Under the bill, FDA would be required to make regular inspections for farms and food manufacturing facilities.

As reported by Food Safety News, the bill now contains an amendment by Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) to exempt small farms and producers under certain circumstances. The Senate also will vote on four other amendments—two address paperwork issues related to the health care bill, and two address a controversial moratorium on legislative earmarks through 2013 and an alternate, scaled-back food safety bill.

Once the amendments are passed, the bill is expected to get the approval of the full Senate. While the House of Representatives approved a different version of the food safety bill in 2009, the legislation’s sponsor Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) has said members of the House have agreed to take up the Senate version of the bill if it is passed.

OTHER COMMENTS:

This tyrannical law puts all food production (yes, even food produced in your own garden) under the authority of the Department of Homeland Security. Yep -- the very same people running the TSA and its naked body scanner / passenger groping programs.

This law would also give the U.S. government the power to arrest any backyard food producer as a felon (a "smuggler") for merely growing lettuce and selling it at a local farmer's market.

It also sells out U.S. sovereignty over our own food supply by ceding to the authority of both the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Codex Alimentarius.

It would criminalize seed saving (http://foodfreedom.wordpress.com/20...), turning backyard gardeners who save heirloom seeds into common criminals. This is obviously designed to give corporations like Monsanto a monopoly over seeds.

It would create an unreasonable paperwork burden that would put small food producers out of business, resulting in more power over the food supply shifting to large multinational corporations.

I encourage you to read more about this dangerous bill at the Food Freedom blog on Wordpress: http://foodfreedom.wordpress.com/20...

Watch this excellent video on NaturalNews.TV which explains S.510 in more detail:
http://naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=9209B...

 

[koalabear]

Shhhhhhhhh, drink you kool-aid.

 

[off2bed]

How did mankind survive the last million years without the FDA?

And, what is the illness rate in countries without police-state food nazis watching over things, compared to the USA?

The third world has its share of sanitation problems, but I seriously doubt they have a significantly different rate of food-borne illness.

 

[Karen Kraft]

Act Now

It’s easy to call. Go to http://www.congress.org and type in your zip code in the box in the upper right hand corner. Click on your Senator’s name, and then on the contact tab for their phone number. You can also call the Capitol Switchboard and ask to be directly connected to your Senator’s office: 202-224-3121. Once connected ask to speak to the legislative staff person responsible for agriculture. If they are unavailable leave a voice mail message. Be sure to include your name and phone number.
The message is simple:

“I am a constituent of Senator___________. I ask that he/she support the Tester Amendment to the food safety bill. The Tester Amendment will exempt the safest, small, owner-operator farms and food facilities and farmers who direct market their products to consumers, stores or restaurants. Food safety legislation should not create inappropriate and costly regulatory barriers to family farms and the growing healthy food movement in the drive to crack down on corporate bad actors. Please support the Tester Amendment and market opportunities for small and mid-sized family farms, and small food processing facilities.”

Fighting this sort of thing is why
I'm never invited to attend shareholder meetings.
LOL
"Just sign the proxy dox and your trust fund is secure, Karen."​

 

[off2bed]

How about just "vote no on the whole bill."

 

[Beco]

Best scene in Independence Day was when they blew up the White House....where are the UFO's when you need them?

 

[Liar]

How did mankind survive the last million years without the FDA?

...and penicillin?

 

[Beco]

...and penicillin?

and gay marriage

 

[Liar]

and gay marriage

And Rock n Roll.

 

[off2bed]

And Rock n Roll.

And Literotica.

 

[Beco]

And Literotica.

and Pizza

 

[Karen Kraft]

How about just "vote no on the whole bill."

Not all aspects of the thing are bad.

Food safety is an important consideration.

American health has improved through the good works of the FDA/ USDA
They just have to exclude people who are not genetically engineering stuff -- just growing it in our back yards, selling or giving seeds and fruit away.

There are a lot of folks who don't much care for the "Farmer's Market" deal. The supermarket chains, for starts...

I can understand why the feds should regulate imported foods, seeds, etc., and those which cross state lines. As for Jose selling his oranges at the bottom of the freeway ramp? Fuck off, feds. Go find honest work!

 

[off2bed]

American health has improved through the good works of the FDA/ USDA

You can thank Communists like Upton Sinclair for that I suppose. I've always been skeptical things were as bad as he wanted people to think. There was sensationalist propaganda to further hidden agendas back then, too.

 

[Karen Kraft]

You can thank Communists like Upton Sinclair for that I suppose. I've always been skeptical things were as bad as he wanted people to think. There was sensationalist propaganda to further hidden agendas back then, too.

There are valid purposes for government, valid uses of tax dollars.

We need a strong central government in many areas (interstate commerce, national defense, etc.).

We also need to have state and local governments assume most of the responsibility for people's health, safety, general welfare, and morals, beyond the limited scope of the central government, because the smaller the number of constituents represented, the more carefully the elected official will hear their voices?

It is a lot easier to convince the school board not to ban Santa than it is to convince the Congress not to pass Communist Health Plans.

 

[zipman]

Senate Vote on Food Safety Bill Expected Today​

​

Posted in News, Regulatory, Food Safety, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Inspection, Recalls
http://www.foodproductdesign.com/news/2010/11/senate-vote-on-food-safety-bill-expected-today.aspx​

WASHINGTON—The Senate is expected to begin a series of votes on the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (S.510), which would overhaul the U.S. food-safety system by granting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) greater authority, turning the agency into one that proactively prevents the incidence of foodborne illness, rather than an agency that simply reacts once an outbreak occurs.

The bill, which has been put on a number of times this year, would give FDA greater authority to initiate recalls, rather than waiting for food companies to voluntarily recall food products. Further, food processors and farmers would be required to develop strategies to prevent contaminations, and would be required to allow FDA access to all records. Under the bill, FDA would be required to make regular inspections for farms and food manufacturing facilities.

As reported by Food Safety News, the bill now contains an amendment by Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) to exempt small farms and producers under certain circumstances. The Senate also will vote on four other amendments—two address paperwork issues related to the health care bill, and two address a controversial moratorium on legislative earmarks through 2013 and an alternate, scaled-back food safety bill.

Once the amendments are passed, the bill is expected to get the approval of the full Senate. While the House of Representatives approved a different version of the food safety bill in 2009, the legislation’s sponsor Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) has said members of the House have agreed to take up the Senate version of the bill if it is passed.
OTHER COMMENTS:

This tyrannical law puts all food production (yes, even food produced in your own garden) under the authority of the Department of Homeland Security. Yep -- the very same people running the TSA and its naked body scanner / passenger groping programs.

This law would also give the U.S. government the power to arrest any backyard food producer as a felon (a "smuggler") for merely growing lettuce and selling it at a local farmer's market.

It also sells out U.S. sovereignty over our own food supply by ceding to the authority of both the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Codex Alimentarius.

It would criminalize seed saving (http://foodfreedom.wordpress.com/20...), turning backyard gardeners who save heirloom seeds into common criminals. This is obviously designed to give corporations like Monsanto a monopoly over seeds.

It would create an unreasonable paperwork burden that would put small food producers out of business, resulting in more power over the food supply shifting to large multinational corporations.
I encourage you to read more about this dangerous bill at the Food Freedom blog on Wordpress: http://foodfreedom.wordpress.com/20...

Watch this excellent video on NaturalNews.TV which explains S.510 in more detail:
http://naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=9209B...

Facts in Blue

Lies and fabrications in Red

 

[Karen Kraft]

Facts in Blue

Lies and fabrications in Red

You think Jon Tester (D-Mont.) is lying?

Read up on that first:

http://billingsgazette.com/news/local/article_43411811-48fc-5fbf-a074-e4bf7bd22480.html

“When I looked at this bill, I looked at it and it really does do some things to small processors and family agriculture that would be negative and further concentrate the food industry in the hands of a few guys,” Tester said in a telephone news conference Wednesday. “I don't think that is healthy or good for the country.”

Is the Senator lying, as you see it?

 

[Karen Kraft]

From the Billings Gazette article:

Dick Espenscheid has been farming on his 740 acres outside of Bridger for 40 years.

Every week, he brings up a carload of produce and meat to the Good Earth Market, and each summer he sells goods during the Yellowstone Valley Farmers' Market.

Wednesday, he brought boxes of fingerling potatoes, assortments of squash, turnips and different types of pork to market, just behind a local garlic farmer.

It's small food producers like Espenscheid that make up 30 percent of the business at Good Earth Market. That same group is waiting anxiously to find out if if their farms will be able to maintain the status quo.

On a 75-24 vote Wednesday morning, the U.S. Senate agreed to debate a food-safety bill that would increase requirements for food producers, with the expectation of a final vote today.

The goal of Senate Bill 510, the Food Safety Modernization Act, is to strengthen the Food and Drug Administration's ability to prevent food-borne illness. The bill would give the FDA power to mandate recalls and would require better record keeping, testing and tracking from food producers of all sizes.

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., takes issue with the way the government would regulate small food companies, the ones who stock farmer's markets and community groceries

Tester has proposed an amendment to exempt small food producers from the bill. Small producers do not contribute to the problem, he said.

“When I looked at this bill, I looked at it and it really does do some things to small processors and family agriculture that would be negative and further concentrate the food industry in the hands of a few guys,” Tester said in a telephone news conference Wednesday. “I don't think that is healthy or good for the country.”

Tester's amendment would exclude small food producers who fall under the Food and Drug Administration's definition of a “very small business.”

To qualify for the exclusion, small food producers would have to sell a majority of their product directly to consumers, restaurants or retailers within the same state or 400 miles and make less than $500,000 annually from the business.

Tester, who owns a small organic grain farm, would not benefit from the amendment because he does not sell directly to consumers.

“I market it through an outfit that bags it and sells it all over the world,” Tester said. “They are regulated, as they should be.”

Critics of the amendment say local food should not be exempt from food safety reforms, and that food-borne illnesses can affect small producers just as easily as major operations.

Sandra Eskin, who oversees food safety issues for the Pew Charitable Trusts, cited a case in 1995 where E. coli-contaminated lettuce sickened nearly 100 people in the Missoula area.

The outbreak was traced to a half-dozen lettuce farms selling produce under the same brand, but that's where they lost the trail. The hope with the new bill is to increase the traceability.

Perry McNeese, manager of Good Earth Market, doesn't think traceability is an issue when it comes to small producers. He said to his knowledge, Good Earth Market has never had any food-borne illness issues since it opened in 1994.

“If I get a jar of jelly or lettuce in question, in a couple of phone calls, I can deal with it very effectively,” McNeese said.

McNeese said he met with Tester a year and a half ago to support the smaller producers. If the amendment doesn't pass, he fears for the future of his producers.

“I think it would be unmanageable for a large number of my smaller producers to have tracking systems,” McNeese said. “Even my bigger local suppliers are pretty much just a family, a couple of people on a farm.

“They do what they can to grow their produce and make their jellies and syrups to get it to market on a profitable basis. If you dump on top of that a bunch of tracking regulations ... it would be unmanageable for a large share of them.”

Espenscheid is an organic farmer. He said he already has to complete extensive amount of paperwork to keep his business going. He's not sure he can handle much more.

“We do this because we love it and we are all trying to make a living,” Espenscheid said. “People look to Washington to regulate, but hopefully they keep the small person in mind.”

Tester said his goal is to protect the smaller growers who contribute to farmers' markets and local grocers.

“When I read this bill, it is a brush approach, there are no exemptions,” Tester said. “It could be that the FDA doesn't have the people to regulate all the small folks, but God help you if you are the one small farmer they do regulate.”

Tester said he hopes the amendment is added to the final version of the bill. If not, he fears it could be the end for many smaller producers.

“It puts a nail in locally grown food, and I don't want that to happen,” Tester said. “We have dealt with banking issues and consolidation. Our food system is already very, very consolidated. It doesn't make sense to pass bills that further consolidate that.”

http://billingsgazette.com/news/local/article_43411811-48fc-5fbf-a074-e4bf7bd22480.html

 

[chillywilly2]

Well who in the hell leaked that information...hang the traitor

 

[koalabear]

People may want to note that all the food recalls have been for large corporations. Not people growing their own.

 

[koalabear]

Well who in the hell leaked that information...hang the traitor

Make a scarecrow out of him.

 

[zipman]

You think Jon Tester (D-Mont.) is lying?

Read up on that first:

http://billingsgazette.com/news/local/article_43411811-48fc-5fbf-a074-e4bf7bd22480.html

“When I looked at this bill, I looked at it and it really does do some things to small processors and family agriculture that would be negative and further concentrate the food industry in the hands of a few guys,” Tester said in a telephone news conference Wednesday. “I don't think that is healthy or good for the country.”

Is the Senator lying, as you see it?

I'm not against the amendment at all nor do I think Tester was lying.

What I was doing is commenting on the ridiculous claims that you posted under "Other Comments" which are outright lies.

But you know that.

 

[Karen Kraft]

People may want to note that all the food recalls have been for large corporations. Not people growing their own.

Yeah, this is true.

That said, however, one must not forget the time that Governor MoonBeam, Jerry Brown, had a bunch of Med Flies released into the state's environment -- his dopey department of agriculture had failed to sterilize the released flies (oops! too bad it was before George Bush's time or they could blame him).

Most of the problem was back yard fruit, not major ag players.

They had to spray the state with Malathion in order to cure Jerry's Famous Delivery. His response: Yeah, well, those things happen. Next question.



So, there are times when back yard stuff can cause a health problem. Having the feds regulate back yard produce is silly, however. Just one more example of nanny-state intrusion. That's why they are trying to force it through during the lame duck Congress. If it passes, hopefully the 112th Congress' House of Representatives will fund the program with a huge $2,000 per year stipend.

 

[Karen Kraft]

I'm not against the amendment at all nor do I think Tester was lying.

What I was doing is commenting on the ridiculous claims that you posted under "Other Comments" which are outright lies.

But you know that.

The other comments were not my comments but the comments of people responding to the linked articles.

But you knew that.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Looks to me like a competition squeeze. Most large producers pay for their own FDA inspectors, and the little guys cant afford to do it.

 

[zipman]

The other comments were not my comments but the comments of people responding to the linked articles.

But you knew that.

I did indeed. The question remains why you felt the need to bolster your argument by including such blatant lies and ridiculous nonsense?

I think we both know the answer to that one which is to create partisan outrage agains the government from the brain-dead rightwing reactionary morons you seem to cater to.

But you know that.