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Why the Tester Amendment Does NOT Help Small Food Producers Under S.510
The Tester "Small Farm" Exemption to S.510 Exposed as a Scam: Part 1-
- GLOBALPOLITICAL
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- 1 year ago
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Food Safety Bill Passes Senate, Including the Tester Amendment
Editor's Note: Thanks to all the groups who campaigned tirelessly on this issue. OCA is pleased that the Tester Amendment passed along with the bill, but like the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance (quoted below), we have some concerns about the implementation of these regulations and will continue to monitor this issue and keep our eye on the FDA.
WASHINGTON - The Senate on Tuesday passed a sweeping overhaul of the nation's food-safety system, after recalls of tainted eggs, peanut butter and spinach that sickened thousands and led major food makers to join consumer advocates in demanding stronger government oversight.
The legislation, which passed by a vote of 73 to 25, would greatly strengthen the Food and Drug Administration, an agency that in recent decades focused more on policing medical products than ensuring the safety of foods. The bill is intended to get the government to crack down on unsafe foods before they harm people rather than after outbreaks occur.
Despite unusual bipartisan support on Capitol Hill and a strong push from the Obama administration, the bill could still die because there might not be enough time for the usual haggling between the Senate and House of Representatives, which passed its own version last year. Top House Democrats said that they would consider simply passing the Senate version to speed approval.
Both versions of the bill would grant the F.D.A. new powers to recall tainted foods, increase inspections, demand accountability from food companies and oversee farming. But neither version would consolidate overlapping functions at the Department of Agriculture and nearly a dozen other federal agencies that oversee various aspects of food safety, making coordination among the agencies a continuing challenge.
While food-safety advocates and many industry groups preferred the House version because it includes more money for inspections and fewer exceptions from the rules it sets out, most said the Senate bill was far better than nothing.
"This is an historic moment," said Erik Olson, deputy director of the Pew Health Group, an advocacy group. "For the first time in over 70 years, the Senate has approved an overhaul of F.D.A.'s food safety law that will help ensure that the food we put on our kitchen tables will be safer."
Among the Senate bill's last major sticking points was how it would affect small farmers and food producers. Some small-farm and organic food advocates warned that the legislation would destroy their industry under a mountain of paperwork, and Senator Jon Tester, a Democrat of Montana, pushed for a recent addition to the bill that exempts producers with less than $500,000 a year in sales who sell most of their food locally.
...Judith McGeary, executive director of the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance, an advocacy group that sees government regulation as a threat to small farms, said she was satisfied with changes made to the bill to reduce paperwork for small farmers and exempt them from some requirements.
"We still have concerns about the scope of the power that F.D.A. has and its tendency to write rules and regulations that favor agribusiness instead of small farmers," Ms. McGeary said.Editor's Note: Thanks to all the groups who campaigned tirelessly on this issue.... more-
- JanforGore
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- 1 year ago
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Organic food will no longer exist on Monday, November 29, 2010, Senate Bill S.510
This urgent call-to-action video by the Health Ranger calls upon grassroots food freedom supporters to call their U.S. Senators on Monday, November 29, 2010, to oppose S.510.
Video Keywords: food safety,food supply, Senate,S 510,Senate Bill 510,food freedom,health freedom,tyranny,FDA,Big Government,agriculture,legislation,raw milk,America
510:FDA Food Safety Modernization Act
A bill to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with respect to the safety of the food supply.
This bill was considered in committee which has recommended it be considered by the Senate as a whole. Although it has been placed on a calendar of business, the order in which legislation is considered and voted on is determined by the majority party leadership. Keep in mind that sometimes the text of one bill is incorporated into another bill, and in those cases the original bill, as it would appear here, would seem to be abandoned.
If this atrocious bill is passed don’t expect to see SWAT teams waiting outside every organic farm waiting to toss a flash-bang grenade. Modern tyranny most often comes first in the form of a suit knocking at your door and demanding to see your licenses and documentation. And that is precisely what this bill outlines. Exhaustive records must be kept for anyone producing food, which will place growing, production and sale of food outside the reach of the average small time operation. Just think back to the Oregon Lemonade stand that was shut down by Health Inspectors.
The restraints placed on local farms, food co-ops and farmers markets will destroy whats left of independent agriculture. A wise move in the midst of the Great Recession. Without the freedom to strive for self sufficiency, a god given right endowed to all creatures, we are left only one option. Dependence. The forced symbiosis to factory farms, process plants and the GMO mafia, without so much as the freedom to store and save seeds.
Scale Appropriate
In addition to the focus on facilities that manufactures, processes, packs, or holds food for sale farmers who supply the nation with fresh produce would also be subject to a number of new regulations and recommended practices. The new rules haven’t been written yet, but are expected to focus on water quality, employee hygiene, the use of manure and compost as fertilizer and wildlife intrusions.
Because farmers across the nation have warned against punitive rules and many feel they are already taking extreme steps to make sure their food was safe, FDA officials and bill supporters have professed their commitment to ensuring that the final bill is “scale-appropriate.”S. 510:FDA Food Safety Modernization Act
A bill to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with respect to the safety of the food supply.
This bill was considered in committee which has recommended it be considered by the Senate as a whole. Although it has been placed on a calendar of business, the order in which legislation is considered and voted on is determined by the majority party leadership. Keep in mind that sometimes the text of one bill is incorporated into another bill, and in those cases the original bill, as it would appear here, would seem to be abandoned.
If this atrocious bill is passed don’t expect to see SWAT teams waiting outside every organic farm waiting to toss a flash-bang grenade. Modern tyranny most often comes first in the form of a suit knocking at your door and demanding to see your licenses and documentation. And that is precisely what this bill outlines. Exhaustive records must be kept for anyone producing food, which will place growing, production and sale of food outside the reach of the average small time operation. Just think back to the Oregon Lemonade stand that was shut down by Health Inspectors.
The restraints placed on local farms, food co-ops and farmers markets will destroy whats left of independent agriculture. A wise move in the midst of the Great Recession. Without the freedom to strive for self sufficiency, a god given right endowed to all creatures, we are left only one option. Dependence. The forced symbiosis to factory farms, process plants and the GMO mafia, without so much as the freedom to store and save seeds.
Scale Appropriate
In addition to the focus on facilities that manufactures, processes, packs, or holds food for sale farmers who supply the nation with fresh produce would also be subject to a number of new regulations and recommended practices. The new rules haven’t been written yet, but are expected to focus on water quality, employee hygiene, the use of manure and compost as fertilizer and wildlife intrusions.
Because farmers across the nation have warned against punitive rules and many feel they are already taking extreme steps to make sure their food was safe, FDA officials and bill supporters have professed their commitment to ensuring that the final bill is “scale-appropriate.”
http://electricbrave.wordpress.com/2010/11/29/organic-food-will-no-longer-be-availiable-monday-november-29-2010-to-oppose-s-510/This urgent call-to-action video by the Health Ranger calls upon grassroots food... more-
- electricbrave
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- 1 year ago
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- 130 comments
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Take action: Agribusiness fighting against Tester-Hagan amendment in S.510
ACTION ALERT: Factory Farm Vegetable Lobbyists Go After Organic/Local Growers in Food Safety Debate — One Last Phone Call to Your Senators Could Make a Difference
Even though an agreement was reached on the Tester-Hagan amendment last week, by the leadership in the Senate, this issue in the food safety bill is still not over!
The Tester-Hagan amendment would exempt smaller, organic and local growers from expensive regulatory burdens.
For over a year, the big Agribusiness trade organizations have supported passage of S.510, the Food Safety Modernization Act. From agribusiness’s perspective, the bill was a win-win: they could absorb the costs of the regulations because of their size; they’d gain good PR for supposedly improving food safety practices, gain some protection from legal liabilities—and hobble the competition—local food producers by crushing them with new regulatory burdens.
Their anti-competitive motivation was only speculation until now. But when the Senators agreed to include the Tester-Hagan amendment in the bill, to exempt small-scale direct-marketing producers from some of the most burdensome provisions, agribusiness revealed its true colors. Late last week, twenty agribusiness lobby groups fired off a letter stating that they would oppose the bill if it included the Tester-Hagan amendment.
The letter from the agribusiness groups states: “[B]y incorporating the Tester amendment in the bill, consumers will be left vulnerable to the gaping holes and uneven application of the law created by these exemptions. In addition, it sets an unfortunate precedent for future action on food safety policy by Congress that science and risk based standards can be ignored.”
The full letter can be viewed at:
http://www.unitedfresh.org/assets/files/Letter%20on%20Passage%20of%20S%20%20510%20and%20Tester%20Amendment.pdf
What science and risk? No one has produced any data or evidence of any widespread problems caused by local producers and marketed directly to consumers. All of the major foodborne illness outbreaks have been caused by products that went through the long supply chains of corporate agribusiness, many emanating from factory-scale farms.
Agribusiness’s real concern about the Tester-Hagan amendment isn’t food safety, but the precedent set by having Congress recognize that small, direct-marketing producers are different, and should be regulated differently, from the large Agribusinesses.
Corporate agribusiness is trying to convince the Senators to pull the Tester-Hagan amendment back out. While the amendment is currently part of the “Managers’ Package” – the amended version of the bill agreed to by six bipartisan sponsors – nothing is certain until the actual vote.
This Thanksgiving week, please take a moment to call or email your Senators to tell them to hold firm on KEEPING the Tester-Hagan amendment part of the bill. The legislation will likely come up for a vote when they go back into session early next week.
You can call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 or go to www.senate.gov to find your Senator’s website (if the phone lines are busy, the best way to reach them is through the “contact” page on their website)
Prepared by the staff of The Cornucopia Institute and the Farm and Ranch Freedom AllianceACTION ALERT: Factory Farm Vegetable Lobbyists Go After Organic/Local Growers in Food... more-
- JanforGore
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- 1 year ago
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- 2 comments
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Endgame Legislation: Lame Duck Session Ushers in Tyranny
When most of us think about "lame duck" Congressional sessions we think of a "do-nothing" government. However, this so-called lame duck session appears to be a time where legislation that has the most restrictions to individual rights is being rammed through.
It seems the members of government who have been recently voted out of office are vying for corporate jobs by pushing such legislation as the Food Safety Modernization Actand the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act which are now on the fast track to becoming law. Both of these laws reek of tyranny for the citizens and a means of corporate consolidation for the big boys.
It seems whenever a piece of legislation has the word "safety" in it we can expect to lose our right to make our own decisions. For example, consumer protection groups pushed hard for the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act in 2008 after large numbers of Chinese-made toys and other products proved to have dangerously unhealthy toxins.
Consequently, the bill was passed with 407 Ayes, 0 Nays in the House. Only later did the public find out that the bill did more to regulate, tax, and impose fines on neighborhood garage sales than it did to stop dangerous Chinese imports. Clearly, the bill is used to clamp down on an individual's right to sell their used items without governmental oversight. In other words, the corporate-government will not allow any form of black market to threaten their cartel control of consumerism.
The Food Safety Modernization Act has the backing of establishment liberals who think more big government regulation will protect us from food-borne diseases derived from factory farming. Their heart seems to be in the right place, but placing trust in this horribly corrupt government to "protect" us makes them utterly gullible. The vote of 74-25 in the Senate proves the bill was more broadly supported than just with progressives, indicating strong corporate support from the Big-Agri lobby that wrote the bill. According to Darrell Castle of the Constitution Party, the bill purports to:
Preclude the public’s right to grow, own, trade, transport, share, feed and eat each and every food that nature makes.
It will more than likely make Michael Taylor (former Monsanto executive) the Food Czar.
End U.S. sovereignty over its own food supply by forcing compliance with WTO guidelines.
Even direct sales of food between individuals could be defined as smuggling under the language of the bill.
Codex Alimentarius, a global system of control over food and food supplements, would control all U.S. food and supplements. Access to natural food supplements would be removed under Codex rules.
Control of all seeds would transfer to Monsanto and other global multinationals.
The National Animal Identification System ( NAIS ) would be enacted, forcing bio-chipping and other identification and tracking methods for all animals, whether food or pets.
What is left of the American food system would be transferred into total control of Multinational Corporations under the guise of global governance.
Despite the draconian intentions of the bill, many respected alternative agriculture experts like Michael Pollan and Grist have given their lukewarm blessing to the bill as "as step in the right direction." Controversial bills typically have enough seemingly logical solutions that become the focus of selling new regulations. This bill is no different, as it gives the appearance of cracking down on large factory farms, exempting small family farms, creating better tracing methods for the origin of food-borne diseases, and certainly injects more financial resources into government agencies tasked with regulating food. All of these were sold to the public amidst the fear of massive egg and meat recalls because of E. coli and Salmonella contamination.
We should know by now that nearly all legislation is not written or read by our elected officials, but rather by heavy-handed corporate interests who seek nothing less than total domination over their industries. Yet, the public is still easily swayed.
Read More: http://globalpoliticalawakening.blogspot.com/2010/11/endgame-legislation-lame-duck-session.htmlWhen most of us think about "lame duck" Congressional sessions we think of a... more-
- GLOBALPOLITICAL
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- 1 year ago
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Propaganda Alert: AP reports Small Farms are Exempt from Food Safety Bill
A day after the Food Safety Modernization Act (S.510) passed cloture with a vote of 74-25, theAssociated Press put out some world-class propaganda claiming that "Somesmall farms would be exempt from government efforts to prevent foodborne illness under a Senate agreement on food safety legislation." The article claims a last-minute deal was struck to allow small farms to "avoid expensive food safety plans:"
The agreement brokered by Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana and announced Thursday would attempt to allay concerns of smaller farms about a food safety bill now pending in the Senate.
That bill would give the FDA more authority to recall tainted products, increase inspections of food processors and require producers to follow stricter standards for keeping food safe.
The agreement brokered by Tester would allow farmers who make less than $500,000 a year in revenue and sell directly to consumers, restaurants or grocery stores within their states or within 275 miles of their farms to avoid expensive food safety plans required of larger operations.
That all sounds well and good, but it only exempts them from having to submit food safety plans, not from inspections that they get billed for, licensing requirements with expensive quality controls, product confiscation without cause or recourse, and even armed raids. We've already seen all of these ugly faces of food fascism unfold in America. Private organic co-ops have beenraided by armed guards, lemonade standsfined and closed down, Amish Dairies raided, and a family farm had 50,000 pounds of cheese confiscated.
This type of food tyranny is only likely to increase when the food safety bill passes, seizing the righteousness of protecting the people. Evidently, the bill essentially transfers the authority over food regulation enforcement from the FDA to the Department of Homeland Securitywho brought us the liberty-killing, child-molesting TSA. Finally, this bill will do nothing to protect the public from foodborne diseases, because it does nothing to fundamentally change the factory food production methods that allow them to fester.
The bill will allow the big agri-cartel to further consolidate the food industry, thus gaining even more control over food and humanity itself. This, clearly, is the real purpose of this bill. We can expect to see the "authorities" raiding a lot more small, private health-food cooperatives like in the video below. Tyranny is coming to a family farm or organic co-op near you.A day after the Food Safety Modernization Act (S.510) passed cloture with a vote of... more-
- GLOBALPOLITICAL
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- 1 year ago
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Food Fascism in the Land of the Free
The food industry is no longer a free market. In fact, I’d go as far as saying it’s becoming the most glaring example of corporate-government fascism in America.
Actual monopolies fully control the basic building blocks of the food that makes up the majority of the American diet — and no one seems to care. Simply put, those who control the corn, wheat, and soybeans control all food, since all livestock and all processed foods are dependent on those food resources. These monopolies place their cronies in government regulatory agencies like the FDA and USDA to weed out their competition through excessive regulation. Currently proposed legislation are textbook examples of their methods.
There once was a time when free markets existed for food. Back when local food ruled the day, if a farmer sold milk that was bad, he would not get return customers unless he adjusted his practices to make a healthier product. This free market was self-regulating. In other words, in a truly free market we shouldn’t need the FDA. However, as mentioned before, we are light years from a free market.
Subsidies rain down on big agribusinesses that grow what the government tells them to grow. Industry leaders like Cargill, Monsanto, and Tyson essentially turn farmers into indentured sharecroppers. The food engineers at General Mills and others weave corn, wheat, and soybeans into chemical concoctions that end up in brightly colored packages — some even come with free Chinese-made toys. The finished product develops from a Genetically Modified base, using multiple poisons to glue it together, demonstrating that the monopolies and their regulatory lapdogs care not for our health.
But what about voting with our pocketbooks, isn’t that a free market? Surely that is what we have been taught. Yet, all 16 flavors of Cheerios — which give the appearance of free choice — are all made by General Mills from a genetically modified corn base. This illusion of choice hides the monopolistic nature of food.
Enter Senate bill S. 510 Food Safety Modernization Act, already passed in the House as HR 2749. Some have demonized the bill as ultimate food fascism where the FDA will micromanage even small farms and co-ops to the point where it will become illegal to grow, share, trade or sell homegrown food. While others see it as a measured way to control the health and quality of factory farms. One thing is for sure, S.510 gives more power to the corrupt FDA to regulate our food. And there is renewed interest in the Senate to pass this bill since the recent massive egg and meat recalls due to salmonella and E. coli outbreaks
This bill does nothing to change the actual practices of factory farming and the way the food for animals is grown and delivered. It does give the FDA draconian powers to force inspections to be paid for by the farmers themselves. This can be an effective tool for the big multinational agri-corporations to further squeeze out their competition and gain near complete control of food resources in America. Furthermore, S.510 essentially hands much of the FDA’s duties over to the liberty-smashing Department of Homeland Security — which is mentioned 41 times in the bill.
All 273 pages of the bill contain legalize that can be difficult to decode, but one of the easiest ways to determine if it is good for average Americans is to view who is supporting the bill, versus who opposes the bill. Monsanto and other agri-monopolies support the bill with full force. Indeed, some speculate that they even wrote the bill themselves....
continued at:
http://www.activistpost.com/2010/09/food-fascism-in-land-of-free.htmlThe food industry is no longer a free market. In fact, I’d go as far as saying... more-
- Dagum
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- 1 year ago
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