 UPDATE: The Food Safety Modernization Act passes 73-25. Here is a list of how the Senators voted. The US Senate is currently voting on the passage of S. 510, the Food Safety Modernization Act, a long-stalled bill that would introduce enhanced governmental oversight of the nation's food producers' safety systems. Some opponents to the bill assert that it imposes the same one-size-fits all set of legislation on small farmers and producers and giant food conglomerates and factory farms alike, placing a strain on those less equipped to comply with new regulations. They also fear it will raise food prices and all $1.5 billion to the deficit, and too extremely centralize and concentrate governmental control over food producers. Supporters claim that these measures are necessary to protect the public from compromised food, such as the salmonella-tainted eggs that sickened more than 1,600 people this past August. Key points: - The FDA would have the authority to issue direct recalls of foods that are suspected to be tainted, rather than relying on individual producers to voluntarily issue recalls. CNN Radio's Jim Roope speaks with FDA's Associate Commissioner for Food Protection, Dr. Jeff Farrar about the measures the FDA can currently take. - Food producers would be required to develop written food safety plans, accessible by the government in case of emergency. These would include hazard analysis and a plan for implementing corrective measures. - The Secretary of Health and Human Services would be required to create a food tracing system that would streamline the process of finding the source of contamination, should an outbreak occur. - Importers would be required to verify the safety of all imported foods to make sure it's in accordance with U.S. food safety guidelines. |
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I'm sorry "reasonable probability?" Do we send people to jail on the instance of "reasonable probability?" The answer is NO. This is giving government too much control.
From the folowing link: http://coburn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/rightnow?ContentRecord_id=8df5cb89-91a2-4ae3-b846-7487db0bd4f0
"Facility registration may be suspended if there is a REASONABLE PROBABILITY that food from the responsible facility will cause serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals. “Reasonable probability” isn’t a difficult enough burden for FDA to prove when the consequence is closing down a private business."
So some small farmer trying to take care of his family can be closed down and lose their livelihood based on a "reasonable probability?"
What happened to land of the free? We need to open our eyes and take a good look around us. We have TSA with their body scanners, Homeland Security who is giving out grants so cities and counties can buy excessive security supplies and enforcements (which helps war corporations cash in on war terror) and then bills like this that pass laws to help large food manufacturers and Monsanto profit and grow. It makes me sick to my stomach.
Hi check out this interesting blog on S. 510: Food Safety Modernization Act – the basics – Eatocracy – CNN.com Blogs home security systems nashville tn
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You guys live in a messed up country. Im from Sweden and our food industry is working just fine without these extreme governmental control programs. We have health and safety laws that needs to be followed. And then the general public is well educated through school with basic knowledge of bacteria and how to clean/cook your food before use. Remember E.colli bacteria is in your arse all the time so FDA should have ass-control as well then shouldnt they?
You americans seem to have lost your course and let government fool you. You think your country is free? You think your country is nothing like what you fear (socialisim, communism)? It is all that but with the fasade and sales people in power selling it as something else. With all the government influence and control in your country its in levels with china (even though China tends to stay home and not police the whole world with unjust wars etc).
This food bill is another nail in the coffin for freedom, just next to the patriot act bill (that now is about to get an upgrade).
Not only does the clause allow the fda to choose if your land and food is safe, they have now put seed in the hands of homeland security, whats next? Gentically modified seed with the terminator gene was not enough, now they want control over who grows what and how much. Everyone should have the right to plant a garden on there on property. Wake up people this is getting really scary.
any of you sparrow brained idiots that think this is a good bill that think this goverment can get invovled in any kind of regulatory oversight, and do it right, for the benifit of all people, not their intentions, are exactly that, sparrow brained idiots. these type of people are your enemys of the near future. i dont need the becks,orielys or any other "news" blowhards to tell me how its going to be. i can do something different than most, think for myself. any time i hear thier here to help the people, i cringe. THIER HERE FOR YOUR FREE WILL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This bill will kill small farmers and any chance of anyone buying raw dairy.
But the government knows what is best for us
This bill is a problem for the same reason that the Patriot acts I and II are problems. they expand federal authority beyond what is necessary and the end result is to undermine our civil liberty and constrict our freedoms. If you want a government to rpotect your food system, then get your local government to do it. If you work too much to pay attention to or be involved in your food system then you work too much and this is a symptom of other social problems s.510 does not address. The major food outbreaks that are cited by proponents are all the result of big agrobusiness practices which are unhealthy and unethical in numerous ways and have been for decades. Legislation that would truly benefit the people would promote small farms and local food commerce. Any outbreak would be small both in its geographic range and the people effected, easily contained on a local level and and the people of the community would LEARN from it. And if you think this is going to make cheap food more available, forget it. Food isn't cheap, big companies just shift around who pays the price for it, like paying foriegn workers pocket change to live on, dumping ton after ton of poisons into the environment, etc. etc. This bill is supported exclusively by people who are too disconnected from the soil to make this kind of decision. It takes effort to eat, but it's a fundamental and rewarding part of living in the Earth system. this kind of legislation is trouble, plain and simple.
Amen!
So what's next? Soon their going to tell us we can't drink raw milk or grow our own fruits and veggies. Screw all the people who believe they can monitor what we choose to eat. Oh and what's with allowing pesticides that are extremely carcinogenic? Along with taking nutrients out of our food. Because they feel that they don't have any. Thanks a lot jerks!
Educate yourselves !!! here is a link to concerns with S 510 http://coburn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2010/9/detailed-concerns-with-s-510-the-fda-food-safety-modernization-act-of-2010
Charging the Bill to our Children and Grandchildren The legislation will cost $1.4 billion over 5 years. This cost does not include an additional $230 million in expenditures that are directly offset by fees collected for those activities (re-inspections, mandatory recalls, etc.). The total cost of the bill is over $1.6 billion over 5 years. Of these costs, $335 million are for non-FDA programs – the food allergy grant program, implementation grants to assist producers, assistance grants to states and Indian Tribes.
S. 510, the Food Safety Modernization Act, gives broad powers to the FDA to regulate small farms and gardens. This places costly burdens to adhere to new rules and increased taxes on small-scale entrepreneurs at a time when we can least afford it. It also comes with a hefty price tag of $1.4 billion between 2011 and 2015 and 17,000 new bureaucrats to oversee these new powers.
ain't that what the communist tried to do. they failed look at russia and the last i checked america was free thing is if i farmed and the gov wanted my records they get them the problem is that this bill is doing away with the 4 admendment. you know what i can tell congress where to stick this commie bill and it ain't nice. we need to stand up to the government and tell them what they are going to do not vice versa. plus we need to keep that idiot out of office. next thing you know they wil chnage the declaration of independence to say for the gov. by the gov. of the gov. well i say no this government needs to be rebooted. mark my words america the worst is yet to come. if the bill for rfid gets passed the gov will know you every move. then that bill that lets the government acsess to private info like email and phone calls well i say no. the bill of rights gave me privacy and the gov. want to know what im doing no. GOD SAVE US ALL!
I don't like the bill simply because it give the government more power than it already has.
Those of you that say it's only for your saftey: How often do we have an outbreak of illness in this country from our food? We had the Spinach scare, the dogfood scare, the tomato scare that ended up being peppers. Every time it happened the food was quickly removed and the problem was kept to a minimum. The food industry doesn't want tainted food out there any more than we do because they know they will lose money from it.
If the government is so worried about food, then why do we import food from other countries that we can't control and pay our farmers not to farm? Think a little bit instead of just trusting an overgrown government.
Someone mentioned Glenn Beck. I watch his show often and don't remember him ever saying that we would not be able to grow our own food. What he said was the small farmer that makes money at places like the farmers market could be forced to stop. Anyone with a lick of sense knows that fresh food has more nutrition than processed food. Glenn Beck also says to always check on what he says.
There was also talk about the farmer who was growing food and giving it away and got in trouble for it. The got in trouble for not having the correct permit to grow food so it was about paying "The Man" and nothing else. Keep the government where it belongs. Stop running every detail of my life
how to boil a frog! throw into pot of boiling water... no,wait that won't work, place in a pot of water then slowly cook. yeah that,s the ticket. we the people. gov,t of the people,by the people and for the people shall not be infringed upon. the revolution started 225 years ago for personal freedom. before that the so called discoverers of this land found a paradise of such vast agricultural wealth that they could have fed the world. the elite introduced the idea of beef as a better standard of living(takes 200#s of grain to produce 1# of beef and grain is a better protein source) and god gave ALL SEED BEARING PLANTS to humankind for it,s usage. where have the our constitutionally as well as theologically guarranteed rights for which our fathers, sons, and daughters fought and bravely died for gone? Is the frog cooked yet?
how to boil a frog! throw into pot of boiling water... no,wait that won't work, place in a pot of water then slowly cook. yeah that,s the ticket. we the people. gov,t of the people,by the people and for the people shall not be infringed upon. the revolution started 225 years ago for personal freedom. before that the so called discoverers of this land found a paradise of such vast agricultural wealth that they could have fed the world. the elite introduced the idea of beef as a better standard of living(takes 200#s of grain to produce 1# of beef and grain is a better protein source) and god gave ALL SEED BEARING PLANTS to humankind for it,s usage. where have the our constitutionally as well as theologically guarranteed rights for which our fathers, sons, and daughters fought and bravely died for? Is the frog cooked yet?
Seems the only ones who want to stop this bill is the producers of food..seeing as how they don't care if someone gets sick off their crap ...so they greased the politicians` pockets and got Glen Beck to preach for them to stop it...but alas the people have spoken the overwhelming majority of voters want safe food and they pressured the government to make it so ...so it goes to show you the people can apply pressure and override corporations evil greed. seeing as how dems and repubs voted together on this bill is a miracle....
The federal government has not been doing a good job in any of its regulatory agencies. We saw this with the oil spill earlier this year, and it's increasingly apparent with reports of foodborne illness and the lack of inspections performed by the FDA. There have been incidents where FDA inspectors have seen evidence of unsafe food practices and allowed these facilities to remain open. Check out this story from USA Today that details repeated violations from a company that supplies food for school lunches: http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-11-16-del-rey_N.htm. The new law makes sense because the FDA should have the authority to issue a recall, but it's the implementation or enforcement of these bills that cause me concern – because the regulations already in place are not being enforced. A few corporations have taken over the food system in this country, lobbying politicians the whole way, and the system has gotten out of control. Until America changes its philosophy of bigger, cheaper, faster, easier, then the problems will persist because it has now become a part of our culture. The new law is fine, but I can't trust the FDA to actually do its job – if it even has the capacity to do so.
Why are regulations/laws are unenforced?
I've noticed the following political tactic effecting enforcement at both the fed & state level ...
The budgets of the agencies responsible to inspect/regulate have been (intentionally) cut to where they physically can't.
Some politicians (ie: right wings Republicans) get their 'deregulation' wishes by cutting budgets so far it causes insufficent staff numbers to perform inspections, etc., or keeps pay so low that the responsible agency can't hire/retain qualified inspectors/regulators (who won't take corporate 'bribes').
Amen to that! Very well said!
I am amazed at how many people fear the government, which you have a vote to change, and yet appear to have no issues with these massive corporations which almost on a daily basis attacks everyday average middle class people. It is a classic case of causing the fear and having people fight over a minor issue whilst going about your corrupt business in the back ground.
The huge corporations are the biggest threat to America today. They practically own the government. Most policy is written by these corporations. Most of the government agencies are headed by ex corporate ceo's or others in high positions.
If they write and introduce a bill like this, it is because they have a very good reason. It might well be that their goal is attack the small farms in some way. In the food business, these corporations will attack anything that might one day effect their business. Local organic farming is one of the biggest threats to their control at the moment. They probably believe there is a good chance that they will lose their 80% market share if they do not stomp on it today.
People who are not worried about these corporations and consistently want true unregulated free markets have no idea what is going on in the background.
I am amazed that you think your vote changes anything.
When in the heck are they going to regulate the amount of growth hormones, antibiotics and other artificial drugs the big food producers introduce into our food???
I heard on Fox News that the Food Safety Bill contains a provision for Death Panels. In case of a breakout of food poisoning, the Death Panels will decide who can receive medical care or not. The story went on to say that in case of an outbreak of food poisoning, Blacks and Muslims will receive medical care before any White people receive medical care. This is a partial reparation for slavery and an apology to the Muslim world for 9/11. I also read that anyone caught growing their own food in their own back yard will be arrested and imprisoned for life in Guantanamo without a trial.
...I guess that is supposed to be funny....
I thought it was a cute parody of the kinds of ridiculous lies that Conservatives invented about the Health Bill. Yes, I thought it was funny? Didn't you?
Hmm, I guess I can kind of see it now. Friend, I just don't buy into all the fear mongering that's going on no matter red or blue. We have more to fear of the blatant corporate takeover of the political process and having every thing and every person defined as part of the profit motive.
No insult intended.
FDA MAKE A TEST TO THE MONEY END LET SEE HOW CLEAN IT WILL BE AND IF NOT CLEAN PLEASE LET ME KNOW ..
All of it is bussines FDA and Health Department are not doing there Job they are only rules with Usa Senate .THERE NOT DOING VERY GOOD JOD, OTHERWISE WHY DO THEY LET COMPANIES MAKE SALES WITH INFESTED PRODUTS WITH SALMONELLA THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO CHECK THE WAY THAT ALL THE COMPANIES ARE WORKING... SO WHAT THEY WANT IS THIS $1.5 billion
It is good the FDA is being more stringent and strict with their regulations no matter how big or small a particular business is. I am a microbiologist for a giant pharmaceutical company, in which each employee goes above and beyond to make a clean and safe product for the consumers. In the pharmaceutical industry each discrepancy and incident is reported to the FDA, no matter how trivial that incident be or how much it will cost the company. It is a common fact in science that food industry is a messy business- it is difficult to keep a sterile environment when dealing with products that has short term life, like dairy products, vegetables, and fruits. People may argue what the FDA is currently doing is "politicizing Americans eat", but the point of the matter is WE all want to consume goods that are safe for us.
Yes we do, but at what price? What is the major problem this bill fixes?
I think people are tired of our elected representatives fixing problems that don't exist, or passing laws that make people "feel better" but don't actually solve the real problem.
Great, your food just got politicized. If you think there won't be political implications for any large scale recall, think again. The FDA is yet another agency rife with political appointees. Wait and see folks. Your food is no safer now than it was yesterday, but it could possibly be more endangered.
And where will the billions come from to pay for this expansion of government? If I had to guess I'd say a food tax of sorts. Oh, it'll start out small but grow just like government does - forever and without limits.
This is a government takeover on the food industry and will put small co-ops and growers out of business. Ex monsanto big-wigs( that still have stock in the company) will monoplize the industry. Wait for the raids to come by the feds on all natural co-ops and growers. This has been happening in California all ready, watch this vid "Food police target organic foods in California! ".
Funny how they're so 'worried' about a little salmonella (which is impossible to eradicate anyway) but seem to think unlabelled GMO foods are just fine. This tells me those who say this bill is about control not safety are correct.
But they would never admit there could be any safety concern with GMOs ...so it makes perfect sense in their world!
Well, you can surely tell who is a city dweller who thinks chicken comes from a machine in the back of the market and who actually farms. This is not a safety bil,l it is a money grab by Big AG like Monsanto. You have seen what happens to the price of gasoline when a few have the control...wait until you see what happens to food. Danged near every animal in America eats corn-from your kitty and doggy on up to whatever meat you last ate. The heavy hitters like Monsanto will now have complete control over seed cost. Many smaller farmers (like myself) will not be able to afford to farm for a living much longer.
Bone up on all food regulations and get a job with FDA. Next TSA sinkhole!
...speaking of which...
Amazing how much anti-government paranoia there is. The government is US. Or do you like bad eggs, bad peanut butter, rotten meat, e-coli in your tomatoes... Beck, Limbo and their ilk have done a good job on the weak minds.
You Tea Party and conspiracy people are unbelievable. Can you imagine the junk that would be in the food supply if there were no regulation at all? We would all have to farm to ensure that we weren't poisoned by the guy out to make a quick buck!
We already have the safest food supply in the world.Everytime the goverment passes a regulation, I have to reach deeper into my pocket.Do you think that the small farmer is going to go along with this?He will throw his hands up and say I have had it.So now you have less food production which means higher food costsThat is not counting the added 1.5 billion for enforcement trying to make something that is already safe.
This will lead to government mandated vegetable consumption! I think it's a provision in the bill:
U.S. citizens will be required to consume daily amounts of vegetables.
We must stop ObamaFood or suffer from bloating caused by legumes! Please contact Congress immediately!!
Ok, I have read most of this. There are a few areas that bother me. Page 213 used to read this could be enacted die to threat of illness or death. That was struck out and now reads adulterated or misbranded. Page 206 enacts fingerprint strategies to ensure security. Page 208 Excludes baby formula from the recall requirements. Page 166 under the Recovery Portion allows them to take over the food supply. Farmers Market seller will be under this act, and, if it is administered like CA lead act then this has the possibility of a mess. The feds have 1 year to come up with the actual requirements/standards....this should be interesting at $825,000,000 for 2010 alone....
Well, adulterated means it is contaminated with something harmful (melamine, salmonella you name it) and misbranded would be a serious breach in labeling (like maybe allergens are not listed in the ingredients) so if that could be a danger a recall would be right ...I think that "risk of illness" might be too open to interpretation? And FDA can already order recall of infant formula so that is not new, maybe why it's excluded. Hmmm I'd better read it too...
The government is trying to control our food and water supply, our medical care, our energy, before you know it we will have to pay a tax to use the bathroom at home.
Funnily enough the European Union has had very similar food safety law in place since 2002, and I haven't heard about the bathroom tax there yet...I'm sure they're working on it though...
americans are stupid trained sheep we are getting what we deserve – More fed control = less control of our lives. its amazing HHOW STUPID THE MASSES AND TRUSTING OF BIG GOV ANDS BIG CORP -SOON IT WILL BE THE WATER AND ITS ALL FOR YOUR SAFTY CASUE THEY CARE-JUST LIKETHEY CARE ABOUT YOUR HEALTH AND 401K 'S
I fear if we left the country up to people that think like you...we would have no country! Not everything is a conspiracy. Not all goverment is bad. There are good people that DO care. How about you just stay home and live off your own land...then and only then can you talk about how you don't like the government o yeah and make sure not to call the police or any of the emergency services that are provided to you. I bet you think those people are out to get you too!
But we couldn't possibly live the way most of the rest of the world does, even the supposedly less developed countries!
you are a pathetict fool who bought into this scam now you will have to pay like the rest of us mmmm. i would rather go to school than pay that. oh yeah if you grew up where i did all you'd have to do is call the police station and the first to pick up would be crooked. and you can't fix what isn't broken you think about it for a while.
If you don't like it, remove yourself from the system!! You can grow\raise your own food, create your own energy, teach your own kids. That way you don't have to worry about the government boogyman that's out to kill us all. You can have your own little bunker with a 24 hour feed of Glenn Beck. That should make you happy and you can spare the rest of us your insane rants.
First, people are way too paranoid. We all have to accept the fact that the overwhelming majority of the country has no idea where their food comes from and we could use a little more regulation. The larger our country gets, the easier it is for a large corporation to take advantage of citizens. Government is our best line of defense against companies that make decisions based solely on profit margins. When you have a dozen or so companies turning out meat for 90% of the population of the country, we need to keep a very close eye on how those companies operate for our own sake. This is too large a task for individuals, and that is why we have elected to have certain government agencies oversee them. We vote for our politicians. We chose our government. That is something that I am proud of, not afraid of.
Careful Tony. You are way too rational for the average person! Imagine – you are not afraid of your government!!;)
You actually believe the government is protecting us, for all we know these big companies pay off the government to attain more income. The more the goverment interferes with this so called "free market" we have the worse off we are. The government is nosing into all our business and spending our tax dollars while doing it. Hell they are spending more than our money with their private printing presses. Eventually all this spending is going to come back and bite us in the ass. Russia and China already dropped the U.S. dollar, the dollar in the next decade will have absolutely no value, hyperinflation will occur and the only people to survive will be the ones who can support themselves by growing their own garden, but wait this bill allows the government to tell you what you can grow in your own garden. I am pretty sure some bogus law is in it because I am sure nobody has actually read the whole thing. The government has a way to work in their little laws to control us.
Boy – IQs really HAVE dropped in this country. People are too lazy to find out anything for themselves, but spend inordinate amounts of time following the rantings of those whose only job is to misinform for their own gain.
So sad that we continue to give away our freedoms and allow the Goverment to over control our lives. This bill does NOTHING to make food safer, it just allows Monsanto and large corporations more power to control our food and force feed us GMOS.
Cite your evidence.
Michael Pollan was good with this bill. Farmers I know were good with it. The only people NOT good with it were a bunch of factory farming lobby groups, and the fast food industry.
The only bad point I see in this is requiring IMPORTERS to verify the safety of foods they import. Usually importers are only distributors...they buy and sell carload lots of whatever...they do NOT have the resources, laboratory facilities or know-how to verify anything...they have to go by what the manufacturer says, which can be a total lie.
The importers are the ones who have to provide the information because they are the first ones who are under U.S. legal jurisdiction. It's not really THAT onerous. No one uses laboratory facilities to provide food info, not even most big companies. You get the ingredient list and figure out expected values from that, and you check for microbe levels by rubbing a sample of the food on a test strip and mailing it to a food lab.
^ (I meant to say, no one uses their own food labs, not that no one uses any food labs) ^
Here's the bill. Instead of letting pundits and everyone else tell you what it says (and lie to you) , read it. Just .. read it.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:S.510:
Does this mean I have to cut down all my plum and apple trees out in my front yard?
The government is hoping that people wont grow there own food so they will have to go buy it all, and the government gets more money!
No, it doesn't mean you have to cut down any fruit trees :) You don't have to till your garden back under, or anything else.
So many lies about this bill. SO MANY. It doesn't discuss your personal food growth. Just big companies.
Where do you get this nonsense? REPUBLICAN LIES.
They still need the means to gett people like Jack DeCoster out of our food supply. DeCoster has been behind just about every major problem with eggs in recent months. Read about him and his way of operating here in Maine years ago, and he's still at it.
The "Real" reason for the new regulations is of course that the liberals want to expand their control in another area. They say 1,600 people got an upset stomach so they need to take more control of another industry. Let's see, 1,600 out of 330,000,000, that is about 0.000048 percent of the people got sick. Of course they recalled more eggs than that, so the percent of eggs that have a problem is really even less. The people that "Cooked" their eggs did not get sick since, "Cooking" the eggs "KILLS" the salmonella. Only the raw egg people are at risk anyway. That is their choice to make and we do not need more government control because some people choose to engage in risky behavior. The people that don't really understand what the federal government is doing are 1) Uninformed, 2) Unintelligent, 3) Passively Compliant, 4) Easily led, and 5) Just basically sheep ready for slaughter.
God will not save us from making stupid choices and giving away our freedom. It is up to us to stand up and fight to keep our freedom from an oppressive government. A government whose current goal is to control every aspect of our lives, and take every bit of the fruit of our labor.
This is NOT a matter of the Liberals vs. Republicans. It is a matter of government control. BOTH sides want control, do not mistake that. And lets realize that the bill would be good if in fact it actually pertained to controlling congolmerates. However, like the government (BOTH parties) have shown, it is about protecting big business and squeezing out the 'little man'. If you control the food, you can control the people. It is just the next phase in the governments plan to take away all of our rights and liberties to provide for ourselves. When it is complete, we will have to jump through the hoops in order to live. We already see this happening, the noose is just tightening up now. Pretty soon, thanks to everyones need to be safe......we will be completely without any power to save ourselves. ALL TERRORISTS have won. The genral public is so afriad on a daily basis. Who is benefiting from this?? Our government and big businesses. They are one and the same. Look at all the politicians and their associations with the conglomerate America. It is all there in black in white. people. You have been had, and you are no longer a free people with a living Constitution. Now, they just need to change the spelling of our country to Amerika. Signed, sealed, and delivered. Now, that beign said, I am off to collect my chicken's eggs and make me a nice fresh breakfast. Let someone come and try to take away my damn chickens, and when i can afford it, i will have a frickin cow too, along with a pig. COme spring my garden will be planted just like always. The first government official who tries to tell someone they can no longer plant a garden or eat the eggs their chickens provide.....well that is how a revolution starts. If it's not me who they come to first, it will be someone else, and I will be right there to back them in their God given rights to life. Mark my words.
Well said!
No, NOT "well said". This is not some episode of "the terrorists win because we're scared". This is just the government telling people who provide food to strangers that they need to show that they care about whether or not they poison their customers.
I don't trust the opnion of anyone who eats breakfast this late!
What utter nonsense.
That's just ridiculous fear-mongering.
1) The bill is bi-partisan, sponsored by Dick Durban (D), Orrin Hatch (R) and 19 others from both parties. It passed 73-25-2. It is NOT part of some partisan or liberal plot.
2) It is possible to still get sick even if cooking the eggs because of uneven cooking or cross contamination of utensils, cooking surfaces, etc. Do you trust your local hash house or fast food restaurant to always handle your food safely?
3) If you think that the US government is trying to control every aspect of our lives, you should try spending a single week in Myanmar, Iran, North Korea to learn what government intrusiveness is really like.
4) The "Real" reason for this bill is that many people got sick or died due to large anonymous corporations foisting dangerous products on the public, and the public screamed for politicians to regulate these companies in order to allow them to feel safe when eating. That's called DEMOCRACY. The public asks, the government listens. It might not always work that way, but it worked as it was supposed to this time.
Who were the people who asked for this? I must have missed that part.
By your standards I could eat roadkill if I cooked it long enough at the right temperature. But at some point (possibly over a steaming plate of grilled opossum) I would have to ask myself, why am I eating roadkill? Right now I'm asking myself, why am I eating salmonella/ e coli/feces? Even if you burn it to a crisp so it couldn't possibly hurt you, do you really want to eat crap? Is that necessary?
Foodborne illnesses are ALL caused by contamination. Not all eggs contain salmonella. Not all beef has e coli. These things become infected by outside factors either in processing or the improper handling of the live animals. With pigs and cows it's fecal contamination 90% of the time. Either the animals live in their own filth or the meat is soiled during the butchering or on the production line. With eggs the chickens were either infected by rodents, birds, or insects, or they were infected during transport and packaging. What is wrong with this picture? Can you think of a solution?
Remember what Reagan said was the worst nine word sentence: "We're from the government and we're here to help."
This bill is a travesty on freedom - having been a farm family, more regulastion will not help anyone but large congloermates who want to put the small farmer out of business. This is horrible! And, not good for Americans - food or food costs.
Reagan grew the government at alarming rates through the 1980s. The military-industrial complex connected to the government was so large that had we not bankrupted Russia, we would have fallen ourselves. Our inflation caused by this rapid governmental growth (and thankfully, he taxed, too) , was unequaled, even in modern times.
Taking "small government" advice from Ronald Reagan is like taking cooking advice from Jeffery Dahmer. He may know what he's talking about, but not like you think.
BIg business has done more to put small farmers/businesses out of business than all the government regulations put together.
The Wal-Mart corporate mentality of buy cheap no matter who produces the product or how it is produced has lead to consolidation of farms/businesses and the outsourcing to non-USA of all forms of production ... cars, TVs, phones, toys, steel, oil, etc., etc., etc and of course food.
The typical stockbroker/stockholder demands this mentality.
The American consumer practacally requires this mentality.
The American farmer has also been really hit by the 'cut of the profits' taken by the middle man and shipping industry ... just ask any dairy farmer who makes the money off his cows!
You want the American farmer to make money ... outlaw food being imported and farms over a certian size ... of course get ready to have food prices double, tripple or ???
This is really scary. I'm sorry that I ever voted for any politician in office right now. Leave the farms alone, leave our gardens alone. Big companies, or should I say 1 big company, Monsanto controls our government offices more than the voices of the people. When did they stop listening to us and only holding their best interest in mind(fat payoffs) when passing these bills.
I think it's funny that I haven't heard any talk about this on the news until now.
The salmonella outbreak was from a big factory farm. Amazing that my friends and family don't have problems with the eggs my chickens lay. I don't sell them so they aren't regulated either. This bill proves the senators do not listen to the little guys in Texas.
Just because you don't hear about small farms with health/safety problems does not mean they don't have them.
Size matters ...
If 50 Toyotas have a brake problem, you probably won't hear about it. If 500,000 Toyotas do, you will.
If 1 man gets killed in a coal mine, you probably won't hear about it. If 25 do, you will.
If an oil well leaks 500 barrels a day, you probably won't hear about it. If one spills 500,000 barrels a day, you will.
Small farms, etc., CAN be as unsafe as any large farm, etc. ... and visa versa.
Oh My – more power to the agency that is on record for saying that we the public don't need a label on our food telling us that it's been "genetically modified" because "such a label might frighten the public unnecessarily". As always buyer beware. Our church and our family has started a "Victory Garden". Live with Intention, DrBillToth.com/blog
Uh, Dr. Bill, foreign DNA can't infect you by eating it. Add to that that cooking the food denatures whatever DNA is there, GM or not. The only dangers in GM food are that 1.) the modifications would make the food itself toxic or less healthy, which wouldn't sell well or 2.) the GM life form gets out into the wild and survives better than the natural life form, replacing it.
this bill CONTROLS food supply by CONTROLLING Producers
MORE GOVERNMENT = MORE FEDERAL SPENDING, LESS PERSONAL FREEDOMS AND INCOME
what baloney!
Do Glenn Beck and the other thought-controllers require the use of all caps when parroting back their lies? Seems to be a trend at least.
well, tell us, whatever, do the government thought controllers require all lower case? ask your jack-booted government thugs who truly are controlling at least your thoughts.
So will this bill then protect us from the additives that the government currently allows in our food?
If we are expected to believe this bill is to protect us from unsafe foods, then I think this needs to be addressed as well.
What additives? I didn't think they were allowed anymore.
Of course not ...the big manufacturers wouldn't like that!
Doesn't anyone worry that the government is contolling or is trying to control all the important stuff that affects the "little guy." cars, healthcare, energy, education, financial regulations, internet, FOOD production. What is the matter with all of you apathetic sheeple?
You might be surprised – when one cuts out the unnecessary and unhealthy from the budget, one often find there is much more than first believed. Also, I personally have found, since eating and supporting organic and local only, I am sick MUCH less often, reducing trips to the doctor, medications, sick days w/out pay.
Bacteria don't discriminate by size. And even if you tour your local farm, you won't be able to find them with your eyes if they are there.
Funny thing about food contamination. All of the news stories seem to be about mistakes made at factory farms and slaughter houses. I don't recall a single story about contamination coming from a small farm. However, I have read about the FDA (or other alphabet agencies) coming down with jackboots on small operations because they might be doing something unsafe. All of this going on while known problems at big Ag operations are not followed up.
Hmmm.... the Tinfoil Hat crowd will tell you it's all a plot to drive the small producers out of business. That sounds far fetched until you see what the government agencies actually do as opposed to what they say. The alternative explanation is not that FDA et al are trying to kill small business, but they aren't allowed to go after the big farms that are the problem, and they need to show that they are doing something, so the small operations get put through the wringer.
So what's worse - that our 'protectors' are corrupt or malicious?
yet local farms who don't wash their meat in ammonia don't seem to have as many problems...
They have been controlling us since they formed!
I can't say I'm not in favor of better food safety. I would very much like to be able to buy cheap produce, eggs, etc. without having to worry that I'm going to get e.coli or salmonella. But I hope, like was mentioned, that they can do this without harming the small local farms.
I prefer to get fresh food from local places that I can tour and see how the produce is grown and how the animals are being treated. Unfortunately, my budget does not always allow that. So for the times I can't afford quality, it would be nice to be a bit more confident that my food is safe.
I would rather risk salmonella than give up any more of my life to oversight. Read into Codex Alimentarius. It will sicken you, and this is a baby-step toward Codex. Protecting our kids is turning into training them for slavery.
This is the bill that will put control of all food in the hands of the Govt. You MUST buy your milk, eggs, tomatoes, grain etc. from the conglomerates and it will be illegal to sell at farm markets and locally supported co-ops. Next step, small town bakeries will be criminalized.
It is immoral, unethical and absolutely terrifying that this bill could pass. America has officially become a police state with this law.
Are we now become 1930's Germany all ready??? I believe so.....
There is a small family owned dairy farm near my area that used to offer fresh, unpasteurized milk for those who so desired the freedom to purchase it. Unfortunately, the local government made such a fuss that the dairy farm had to stop. In my opinion, if people want the right to buy fresh milk, they should have that right. It's only rarely a problem and certainly worked fine for most of human history. I never cared either way, but many of my health food loving friends felt strongly that this was their preferred milk choice. Too bad they no longer have that choice. As one of my Aussie friends always says, "you need to rethink that whole 'land of the free' slogan."
great post, i could not agree with you more.
This is one of those.. "It's good, if the government's responsible with it" bills, like, THE PATRIOT ACTS..right?
Leave America.
Can you define the term "factory farm?" What is the size threshold that makes it a family farm? Or is there some other defiinition of the term? Thanks for the clarification?
That's an excellent question! Stay tuned and we'll run a post about it shortly.
If the Tester ammendment to the bill was included as planned, farms making less than $500,000, selling directly to the public or restaurants or only within a 275 mile radius would be mostly exempt.
Within 275 miles OR within the state. This basically means that if you cross state lines with your food, you will be held accountable to the bill.
Within 275 miles of what?
Horrible bill. FDA already has too much power it uses inappropriately or not at all. While the one component of this that should be made law is the same requirements for imported food as domestic, the red tape will destroy organic farming and regulate supplements till they are no longer useful.
In addition, this is meant to dove tail us into Codex Alimentarious which is the WHO/WFO United Nations idea of food safety. What this means is food devoid of nutrients, monopolized by big Agra, to make you sick, no vitamins to provide the nutrients you aren't getting from your food and then Big Pharma to cure your diseases, all at huge profits for everyone but you. Add to this Obamacare and you have a government that can literally kill you or let you live by their decisions.
People should be outraged by this.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/19/food-safety-bill-act-small-farms-senate-tester_n_785898.html
Please read about who the bill actually protects or regulates.
I wonder when all of you are going to sick of someone running every aspect of your lives. Are you all really that complacent and lazy?
This is a travesty. I'm promoting a new movement. BULLETS FOR POLITICIANS!! Maybe if they fear for their lives, they'll do what's in our best interest, and not what they're forced/bribed to do.
I'm sick of government control of my life. Soon, you won't be able to even masturbate the way you want to . The amounts of control over the course of the past 2 presidents had compounded exponentially. And you say there is no global, New World Order agenda....
Even with the "exemptions", this is still dangerous to small farms, because the federal government can revoke those exemptions with the mere claim of food tainting. All it takes is one person with a grudge to screw the entire family farm over.
Chris – You are saying that I need to go and inspect my food before at the plant before I eat it?? Sorry buddy, but I work 60 hours a week and don't have time to do all that. Too bad we don't have someone else that takes care of that. Oh yeah we do, it's called the FDA. In order for this society to move forward we are going to have to trust other people, it's just as simple as that.
You are just a fool. This has nothing to do with your freedoms and everything to do with your health. I am so tired of people spreading rumors and misinformation as you are. If you are a Teacher, then you don't know.
with my health? ha.. thats right... team up with monsanto and spread more genetically altered food into our bodies filled with pesticides and various chemicals.. no nutrients.. then i get sick, go to the dr where an FDA approved medication with 17 side effects makes me "better".. to cause another problem and sends me back to the the dr again, insurance companies make money, govt makes money and i come home and eat more food that will make me more sick... sounds like they are worried about our "health".. shut down organic farms because fda will now regulate seeds and are able to shut down any farming they see as "unhealthy".. this is ridiculous. people wake up..
"monopolized by big Agra", "big pharma" & "huge profits" (for CEO/CFOs, shareholders, the already wealthy, etc) = (just say NO & deregulate everything) Republicians not Obama/Dems.
Don't fool yourself. Both sides are in bed with the corporations. And what's more, if you own stock, so are you.
Did you read the bill? Do you have any idea at all what you are talking about? This bill, with the amendments is good. It puts more pressure on BIG AG while keeping the small producers, such as farmers market venders, able to produce there food the same way. Before you go spitting off like you know something, go read, go listen, go learn.
Another key point: Federal Government Collusion with Monsanto
This is a good bill if the FDA doesn't use it to further control small farmers with hefty regulations. We need the local guy for all that fresh produce, grass fed meat, and salmonella free eggs. YUM.
My digestive health blog: http://www.digestforlife.com
Sorry, its a BAD bill......I believe there is a clause in there that makes its illegal to grow your own food on your property!!!
It would be helpful if you knew what you were talking about. However, no such provision exists in the bill.
Ahh.. you're a Glenn Beck follower.
I assure you, there is no such limitation. That just a lie brought to you by Mr. Beck. Instead of listening to what that overblown mormon has to say, why don't you go look the bill up on Congress.GOV . You can read the full text of it.
No clause exists.
What nonsense...this clause does not exist. Who told you this lie? Glen Beck?
You're right! The government is already prohibiting people from growing food for themselves & thier own communities. They are EVIL!
I will find the news story of a man out west who had a moderate produce farm, and he was growing food for the poor in his own community. The govenernment found out, stepped in and told him to stop growing food and giving it away. In other words, he could only grow food if he were to start his own business. He was also fined a lot of money. That happened this year.
Having worked in the agriculture industry, you'd be shocked to find out what happens to your food during production. You'd DEMAND better safety oversight if you know about 1/2 the practices that occur. Don't believe me...drop into a farm or packing house unanncounced.
About Lazyturtle...not sure what agricultural expereince you've been in but very inconsistent with what I see and I'm in plants almost daily and have been for 30 years. Most of their sanitation practices and food safety handling practices would put the average American kitchen to shame. Put bluntly, you don't have a clue what you are saying or have just decided to stir the pot. Most food borne illnesses start at poorly run farms and those farmers are soon out of business. Unfortunately, new law doesn't give FDA much to deal with these situations.
Any small food business owner should be required to take a pathology microbiology class to educate themselves of how serious it is when contamination happens. Getting E. coli is not funny. Trust me.
Re: Cathy –
The reason the man was told to stop was not so much about him working without the watchful gaze of "The Man", but because he was doing something that could have stirred up a lot of trouble. He likely was feeding a LOT of people (enough to get noticed) or advertising it in some way; what would have happened had he accidentally poisoned someone? He probably had no insurance to cover this sort of thing, and again, he was feeding poor folks so it's a fair assumption they have no insurance either.
He could have done it differently. You can run a business that does not operate as a "business." He could have also organized a charity, through which he donated his own produce. Loopholes are fun.
Not illegal to grow your own food, but you could be held liable if you share it with others and they get sick. So much for charity and grass roots.
The closest I could find was sec. 101 which, according to the CRS Summary:(2) require that each person (excluding farms and restaurants) who manufactures, processes, packs, distributes, receives, holds, or imports an article of food permit inspection of his or her records if the Secretary believes that there is a reasonable probability that the use of or exposure to such food will cause serious adverse health consequences or death. That could include your private garden, but not the major farms. I'm curious myself why farms and restaurants are exempted from this.
C. Smith,
Congrats to someone in here who actually has read the bill and at least tried to analyze! Your point about exemptions of farms and restaurants is extremely valid as many restaurants pack/can house specialties as do some farms who still butcher. Many of these establishments and small farms are quite simply accidents waiting to happen but big farm lobbies are responsible for their exemption. This isn't biased as I both own a large farm as well as work in food industry and have pretty decent perspective.
"I believe there is a clause ..." Please find and share; there is too much believe without any citations - it's so crazy.
I just asked Senator Jon Tester about this. He laughed really hard: http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2010/12/01/food-safety-act/
you are right.. it does make growing your own food on your own land illegal – and who will establish if your home grown food is illegal? the fda – they can now recall any food from ANY grower on their own jurisdiction.. thats right folks, the govt can come in and tell you that YOUR food on YOUR land is unsafe and can be "recalled" and no longer able to be produced.. This is what i got out of this bill before coming on this site and reading peoples comments.. im oviously not the only person who understood the bill as such. i just found out about this bill and briefy read through these sections of the bill this evening. this makes me sick to my stomach. you can find this bill at the library of congress website, i believe.
Don't listen to these shills. The raids are already going on. They can claim that no such clause exists, but they term ANY and ALL and USA cover it all. How can they read the bill and not see it for what it is?? DHS controlling seeds was enough for me. Let them trust these Nazis. FDA can be trusted, yet in the cancer rate from food additives is through the roof. They are scum for supporting such laws and I hope they enjoy the loss of their right to be self reliant. Suck on that Corpo/Gov nipple all you want, it's tainted with toxins.
http://www.naturalnews.com/030136_Rawesome_foods_raid.html
Wont effect private trade or growth my butt.
"I believe there is a clause in there that..." – I could say this about any bill. "I believe there is a clause in 'Obamacare' that requires everyone over the age of 75 to be killed". Just because I can say it doesn't make it true. I was able to pull up a pdf of the full text of the bill in under 2 minutes by going to the library of Congress's website. If you're really that concerned, go and find the clause that will do what you say. Then in the future you can say "This is a bad bill because Section XYZ of the bill will make it illegal to grow your own food".
Thank you for injecting some rationality here
You need to look at the fine print in this bill. It does allow control of seeds and livestock which ALL farmers and backyard gardeners use. Government + Monsanto = dictatorship
Nope. It doesn't. You need to read the bill.
It's on Congress.gov. READ IT.
Yes that's the part that concerns me. They always sneak things like that in. The rest of the bill makes sense and most of it should have always been a part of the food safety in this country. Does anybody know if this bill is in response to all the tainted food recalls in the last few years? Or was it in the works for a decade or something?
My problem with more legislation like this is that americans are not really setting the standards ourselves. If a company is producing bad or contaminated food we stop eating it. We start to purchase our food from smaller and local companies. This would send the message to the large corporations that we are not wanting their food. This legislation although is for the good is still not proactive, it is reactive. We cannot continue to allow the government more power, which will only give corporations more power-and leading to less power to us. Right now we have the power because we are the consumer – we just need to unite and send a message to all companies. We are not doing this and this bill will not promote that- it will only promote more dependency on the government.
How does the government regulating an industry cause it to have more power? What we need to fear more than the government is giant corporations because they are ruled by profit. Skipping a few safety steps can save money, ya know. Government agencies are supposed to protect the people.
Deregulation (where the government steps back and has reduced power over industry) is a direct cause for corrupt corporate bloating and poor ethics.
If we are going to pretend that Corporations are somehow living, breathing entities (at least, legally they are), then we should also admit that they spoilt 4-year-olds and will do whatever they please when their babysitter is in the other room chatting up the phone.
Guess most people don't remember the days when the FDA actually had teeth. They fear the unknown. For those of us who do remember, we don't fear this but welcome it.
I come from a farming family, and know all of my grandparents would be in favor of this.
In 1999 an estimated 5,000 deaths, 325,000 hospitalizations and 76 million illnesses were caused by foodborne illnesses within the US, I don't like using wikipedia for statements but this one is the best and most inclusive I could find though not totally complete: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_foodborne_illness_outbreaks_in_the_United_States
All this law does is force common sense laws to protect consumers. Living in an area where farmer's markets, community gardens, and personal gardens are the norm vs rare; no one here is worried about the new law.
It is going to have more effect on big corporate farms created by the massive 'farm theft' of late 70's and early 80's. All those private farms foreclosed on and now are merged with larger corporate farms. That is where most of chain food and grocery stores buy from. And the very places most of the food borne illnesses are traced back to.
Food Problems Elude Private Inspectors
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/06/business/06food.html?_r=2&hp
Audits are not required by the government, but food companies are increasingly requiring suppliers to undergo them as a way to ensure safety and minimize liability. The rigor of audits varies widely and many companies choose the cheapest ones, which cost as little as $1,000, in contrast to the $8,000 the Food and Drug Administration spends to inspect a plant.
So to save 7000 dollars from their multi billion dollar profits, they risk your life, your children's, everyone's. Thank goodness the government has given dentures to the FDA after pulling the teeth out years ago to satisfy corporate greed.
As a kid I helped my grandparents gather eggs, vegetables, and even raw milk which we traded at grocery store for other items we needed. Food borne disease were far more fatal in those days. But somehow all four grandparents managed to trade and sell food without ever getting anyone sick enough to hear about (which back then they would have heard very quickly).
But was always much more cautious when eating 'store bought' food.
Most individuals who have gardens know the common sense rules for keeping food from being contaminated. Hep A, E coli, Salmonella: most of us know the cause and how to avoid it. and much easier for small farmers and home gardeners then the large mega farms of corporations to avoid. And more people know how to can correctly and which things are most vulnerable to botulism (low acidity foods, fermented foods and fish, etc.,). Just like we all know you should never give honey to infants.
It just plain common sense, and taking the time to do things right. There is no where in the new law have I read anything that any small nor individual grower would fear.
Like others are saying, read the bill, search the so called 'small print', educate yourself before repeating what fear mongering news, radio, print, internet spew out. It is our governments right and responsibility to protect 'we the people', Read the Bill of Rights while your at it for god's sake.
Tracey; Wouldn't it be great if the farmers were all people who did the right things regarding sanitary conditions because they were all people of integrity? Or that all big business people charged reasonable prices so that we could all live well together, or that all people did not need to live in extreeme excess so that they were not trying to extract every penny from others to support their greedy life styles, or that polititions were all people who were in office to work together for the betterment of those people they serve, or that all religous leaders lived exactly as they teach. wouldn't it be great if all people cared about each other and lived peacfully together? Jesus promised a place like that for those that would trust in Him. I am one who believes what Jesus came to us for. We were created for that life, but then this thing called sin entered the world. Since then mankind has been living the life we created for ourselves, and paridise is only a thing of fairy tales to most. Why are things so fouled up in this world? we all need a savoir. I hope you all all able to hear this little message and take it to heart.
For those of you under the illusion that America has or cares about safe food, you only need to know that your electronics products are manufactured in a much cleaner environment than the environment in which your food is processed. Over the past 20 years, the electronics industry (yes, your tv, cell phone, computer) has discovered that contamination causes product failure. The food industry continues to bury its head in the sand and America goes along with it. Good luck with your next breakfast!
For those of you under the illusion that America has or cares about safe food, you only need to know that your electronics products are manufactured in a much cleaner environment than the environment in which your food is processed. Over the past 20 years, the electronics industry (yes, your tv, cell phone, computer) has discovered that contamination causes product failure. The food industry continues to bury its head in the sand and America goes along with it. Good luck with your next breakfast because salmonella is not restricted to big producers.
I agree.. the FDA approves things all the time that are not safe... look at all these prescription drugs. does anyone know how the FDA works anyways? They dont do any testing on their own.. they rely on drug companies information and tests and then approve or not.. how is this helpful? The govt coming in and telling me my own home grown food is not safe.. they are going to regulate seeds also.. what help this will be to good working honest organic farmers??.. monsanto?! give me a break, these are some nasty dirty people.. google them and find trash about them.. genetically altered food and seeds?! chemicals and pestisides??.. no wonder we americans are fat and sick.. i want organic food without fda intervention.. no chemicals for me, there is enough in the soil as it is.. shame on the govt. now high fructose corn syrup is corn sugar? i see a commerical yesterday saying "our bodies cant tell the difference between real and fake sugar".. brainwashing us.. and the fda and W H O will rule us all with us having no choice.
what's wrong with mormons?
As a food safety professional, I think it's important to remember that you can't inspect food safety or quality into the food once is made, so additional inspection will do nothing. As a reminder, FDA completely decimated the tomato industry during the salmonella recall in 2008 only to find out that peppers were the culprit. So, additional regulatory powers in the hands of the FDA can provide them the opportunity to do the wrong thing more quickly.