Not in My Food.org : Know what you're eating
The food safety reform bill – nearly worthy of its own Schoolhouse Rocks episode to explain all of the twists, turns and delays it’s endured – hangs in the balance once again.
Despite the fact that over 80% of Americans want to see the FDA empowered with more authority and tools to prevent food safety problems, plus widespread support from public health leaders, foodborne illness victims, and major food industry groups, the food safety reform bill continues to be a victim of delays in Washington.
When the bill finally passed the Senate last week with overwhelming bipartisan support (!), food safety advocates celebrated and breathed a huge sigh of relief that it squeaked through during this end-of-year ‘lame duck’ session. Because of the limited time left in this session of Congress, it sounded like the House planned to do a quick vote and accept the Senate version, and send the bill to the President’s desk
But not so fast! (…if you could call this process ‘fast’)
The House took a look at the Senate’s version of the bill and felt there was a glitch. The Senate bill gives the FDA the right to collect fees from food importers and processors to cover the costs of inspections. But the Constitution states that all revenue-generating legislation must originate in the House of Representatives.
We don’t feel that these fees generate the kind of revenue that would require the bill to jump new hurdles, but it is what it is.
So even though the House was already planning a vote on Senate bill, this error has unfortunately created time for other stall tactics to develop. Lobbyists for some big agriculture interests are back on the beat, using the opportunity to try to eliminate protections for small farmers that were included in the Senate’s bill. Some House members are threatening to pull their support for the bill and are now fighting, at this late date, to make significant changes to the language.
If ever there was an eleventh hour for a bill, this is it. With just a couple weeks left in 2010, the House must move quickly to approve this long-overdue legislation. We still need time for the final House-passed version to go to the Senate for one last vote, after which it will finally go to the President for signature into law.
We can’t put it any better than this – from a gentleman who commented on last week’s blog post:
“As a former FDA consumer safety officer for 42 years, and who has inspected thousands of food processors and distributors who ship interstate, I can say with first hand knowledge that we need to give the FDA the resources to do the job effectively. The frequency of inspections is poor because the FDA never has enough inspectors. Many interstate shippers are rarely inspected. FDA must be proactive to prevent problems, not reactive after people get sick from contaminated food. And FDA must have the power to order recalls. And we need to have the resources to keep imports out of our nation if they do not meet our high standards. This legislation will help accomplish these goals. It’s a no brainer!”
Thousands of you have made phone calls and sent emails over the past couple of years in support of food safety reform. All we can say is: please don’t stop now! We’re so close to getting this bill to the President, who awaits with pen poised to sign it into law. But it needs to clear the House to get there.
If you haven’t taken action yet and emailed your House member asking for one more vote in support of food safety, please do it now! They need to know that time is up, and you expect them to take action before adjourning for the year.
We promise to keep the updates on the bill coming – twists, turns and otherwise.
S510 will give regulators more control then they deserve! The FDA and USDA are complict in crimes against American’s health and well being by pandering to giant agribusiness, which are the ONLY culprits of food-borne infections. These agencies are directly responsible for allowing disgusting daily business practices to flourish. This needs to stop immediately! Allowing smaller, locally grown foods is the sane and sustainable way for America to re-establish safe foods. Government must stop being bought by special interest groups, like ‘BIG Pharma’ and ‘BIG agribusinesses”.
Give me a break!! The FDA is useless. And now they are saying they are useless because they don’t have enough money to do their job properly. If it wasn’t so sad I would have to laugh. The answer to this is not more government control over an already tainted food supply. People need to educate themselves and start buying from their local businesses and farmers. Let us all ban together and leave these big corporations (which are supported by the FDA, by the way) in the dust. This bill is not the answer!!!
Sen Coburn said the bill will raise food prices; add $1.5 billion to deficit; add unfunded state mandates. It will not increase food safety one bite. I agree. It is just another way to make the people put more money out of their pockets to give to an already failing FDA.
80% of Americans do not want the FDA to have more power. That’s like saying most Americans like the TSA groping them. There’s one ‘study’ that says 90% of americans are for the TSA and the other twelve say 95% of Americans hate it.
The big food factories wrote this bill to fool you into thinking you’d be getting something safer. They contaminate millions of eggs in there own farms. Then they write the bill that forces farmers markets and organic farmers out of business. Guess who’s on top now? Yup, those same factory farms who have a virtual monopoly, and have enough cash to pay the million dollar fines if they need to cause another outbreak. Another round of ‘FDA’ smackdowns and more of the small farmers drop off. They can keep doing it again and again.
Where I live in PA, there’s already a great system in place. Its called knowing your farmer. If they do something that makes everyone sick, not only are they going get many irate visits from their neighbours, but they will suffer financially. That’s the only way to know that your food is truly safe. Do you trust the factory farms or do you trust your neighbour.
Your local farmer who is trying to make an honest living has to do so much extra paperwork that they have to hire another employee. Most small farmers aren’t rich. They do it because they love what they do, they enjoy animals, and they love helping people. Especially organic farming. They can’t afford more employees in many cases.
You don’t need to be genius to decide for yourself. Google both view points, and read a few articles before calling your congressman/senator.
If you don’t care about living past 55 years old you also might want to vote for this. McDonald is already adding petroleum products to its food, there’s multiple articles about them putting chemicals that make ‘silly putty’ in the food. Don’t worry, you’ll always be able to buy that kind of food. Enjoy!
I am sorry but Consumers Union is ALL WRONG on this issue. This bill will NOT insure Food Safety in the least! The FDA has substantial power that it does not use already. Small farmers are already hurting from their arbitrary and Draconian practices while pharmaceuticals, chemicals, fertilizers, continue to kill hundreds of thousands of people every year. And what does the FDA do about that, next to nothing or worse aid and abet. The wording in this bill, even with the limp amendments, still leaves small farmers in serious jeopardy. With inflation on the rise and predicted to go very high with the costs of food soaring it is hardly a stretch to see a small farming operation gross 500,00 while only actually making 50,000 in profit to live and grow on. They then would be considered a large farming operation and be forced to follow all of the red tape of this bill, constraining their time and growth and ability to enhance the local job market.
The real danger in food production is generally coming from large meat producing factory farms, which need to be revamped to produce food that is not so greatly contaminated, produced inhumanely, and through the waste and effluent that comes from these plants en masse into the environment. Plant foods are generally contaminated by coming into contact with this kind of waste and also by mishandling and storing AFTER leaving the farm of origin.
Consumers must also take responsibility in thoroughly washing and cleaning all food they purchase as clearly it has gone through many hands and may have been stored and handled in ways that tend to increase the likelihood of bacterial and other contamination. This is just good common sense.
If it is alright for drugs like Viagra to be on the market and kill 150,000+ individuals with hardly a wimper from the FDA, I find it darkly amusing that a stalk of Broccoli or Celery terrifies them. We know these foods, properly handled promote health and well being, perhaps that is their true crime taking a bite out of the profits of Big Pharma and industrial packaged food production.
Read the bill, do your homework. Lots of laws of little benefit to humanity, just another big dog and pony show to gobble up tax payer dollars and do virtually nothing to improve the quality of life!
After living all over the world i know America has the best quality food available for the consumer. What will be gained from this bill, greater loss of personal freedom. Americans have to understand every law that is passed limits someones freedom. Hard to live free with as many laws that are being passed. Economics dictate that poor quality and bad press will eather drive a company out of bussiness or lawsuits will force them to change there ways without any Government intervention. Really a little common since is all thats needed here. Oh yea i never have contracted an illness from my home cooked meals. Might have to do with food preparation and that little thing called common since!
I don’t know if anyone has read this article today, but there’s plenty of things not being checked in our food beyond bacteria.
Discovery News: Flame Retardants Found in Butter
Your message to your constituents only tells a part of the story.
You explain why we need the legislation, but fail to indicate the cost in $ or new jobs required to implement. NOT GOOD JOURNALISM.
We’ve addressed the topic of cost in other blogs about the food safety bill – for example, this one.
There are no hiring requirements in the bill. The FDA currently has about 3,000 staff. The bill recommends some staffing goals for the agency (an increase to 5,000 staff by 2014). However they are NOT authorizations – they are goals, and those goals can only be met if the funding is allocated.