Could H.R. 875 the Food Safety Modernization Act be the End to Farmers’ Markets and Organic Farms?

[grassfed]

Could the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009 be the End to Farmers’ Markets and Organic Farms?

As spring is in the air (when the north wind does not blow), I have begun longing for the good times my children and I have at the local farmers’ market and contemplating our participation as vendors this year. I can’t tell you how much we look forward to our weekly adventures at the farmers’ market, and how excited we are if we happen to visit a neighboring town on the day of their market; however, that could all change.

H.R. 875: Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009 could end farmers’ markets as we know it by requiring growers to register, be subject to inspections of their gardens by federal agents, and maintain safety records related to food production or face large fines.

Under H.R. 875, all participants in farmers’ markets will be forced to register, otherwise the market will be shut down as an illegal operation. Failure to comply with the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009 would result in a fine of up to $1,000,000 per violation. Specifically, the law would apply to any food establishment, including farmers’ markets, defined as:

(A) IN GENERAL- The term ‘food establishment’ means a slaughterhouse (except those regulated under the Federal Meat Inspection Act or the Poultry Products Inspection Act), factory, warehouse, or facility owned or operated by a person located in any State that processes food or a facility that holds, stores, or transports food or food ingredients.

Just like small family handmade toy companies can’t afford the requirements under CPSIA, the extra requirements and inspections required of small family farms under the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009 would be a burden. I believe this bill is well intentioned; however, some critics have gone so far as to say the bill criminalizes organic farming. Ironically, or not so ironically, the bill was introduced by Rosa DeLauro whose husband Stanley Greenburg works for Monsanto. OpEdNews explains why this is Monsanto’s dream bill:

The bill is monstrous on level after level - the power it would give to Monsanto, the criminalization of seed banking, the prison terms and confiscatory fines for farmers, the 24 hours GPS tracking of their animals, the easements on their property to allow for warrantless government entry, the stripping away of their property rights, the imposition by the filthy, greedy industrial side of anti-farming international “industrial” standards to independent farms - the only part of our food system that still works, the planned elimination of farmers through all these means.

complete article and video
http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/03/10/could-the-food-safety-modernization-act-of-2009-be-the-end-to-farmers-markets-and-organic-farms/

We have a real chance to get this bill dropped from committee, as the head of the Energy and Commerce Committee is Congressman Democrat Henry Waxman.
Please call his office immediately and let them know your feelings on the matter and please tell them that you "disapprove" of HR875.
His office is located at:
8436 West Third Street, Suite 600
Los Angeles, CA 90048
[phone] (phone)
[phone] (phone)
[phone] (phone)
[phone] (fax)

[frazzled]

1. Read one of the comments on that thread:

Ladies, please take a moment to read thru the proposed bill….unfortunately the Ron Paul political camp is putting their own spin on this and is only feeding the public bits and pieces.
If you don’t want to bother reading the whole thing, at least read Section 3, #13 A & B, and #14. This is where they clearly state who’s affected by this and who’s not. Too many are skimming thru the bill after getting wound up by the political blogs and are reading the word “Processor” as the word ” Producer/Grower” - not the same thing. And #13 & #14 clearly say so.
I’m a fan of Ron Paul’s politics, but not his tactics.
I’m a Fresh Organic Produce grower/wholesaler who markets to my local retailers and institutions. This bill won’t affect me at all as it is written at this time, but it will require my customers to keep a better paper trail as to what and where it came from that they sell/feed to the end consumer.
A couple of links you might want to take a moment at ;http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?c111:1:./temp/~c111HtXLCR:e5014:
http://www.localharvest.org/forum/thread.jsp?thread=1734&forum=16
Us “producer/growers” aren’t all that concerned about this as from what I’m reading in the forums and blogs, but the political Chicken Little’s of the world have all got their feathers ruffled because they thought they saw Big Brother’s shadow pass by.
You’ll have a hard time finding a tomato grower-for-profit in Florida opposing this bill, had it been in place last year they wouldn’t have had to compost an entire crop because of a pepper imported from Mexico.
So far everything I’ve investigated about the negative side of this bill has originated from the Ron Paul Political web site….and they are only telling enough to stir people up. When confronted with the details their only response is “..well, it could…”. Yeah, right - if I stand on my head and don’t wear my glasses when I read it.

[newfie11]

2. there is more info on the following link

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=268x2400

[grassfed]

3. Rawvolution in Santa Monica, hardly a Ron Paul bastion, is working against it

I would question the poster you cite. She's probably be a plant.

Euphoria Loves Rawvolution raw food restaurant in Santa Monica CA had an action meting yesterday. This is their announcement...

-COMMUNITY ACTION ALERT
There is an important challenge facing the nation this week around universal access to healthy food. The cafe tries to avoid getting involved in politics, but we feel it is our duty to keep our community informed about issues around access to organic food quality. There is a bill in committee right now called HR875, The Food Safety Modernization Bill. This bill essentially illegalizes organic farming both for the average person and big business. It seems bizarre but it is underconsideration by committee. If approved by the House Energy and Commerce committee among others, it will go to the full House and Senate for a vote.

We have a real chance to get this bill dropped from committee, as the head of the Energy and Commerce Committee is our very own Congressman Democrat Henry Waxman.

Please call his office immediately and let them know your feelings on the matter and please tell them that you "disapprove" of HR875.

His office is located at:

8436 West Third Street, Suite 600
Los Angeles, CA 90048
[phone] (phone)
[phone] (phone)
[phone] (phone)
[phone] (fax)

INFO LINKS:

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Monsanto-s-dream-bill-HR-by-Linn-Cohen-Cole-090309-337.html

http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/03/10/could-the-food-safety-modernization-act-of-2009-be-the-end-to-farmers-markets-and-organic-farms/

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-875

[greenbird]

6. Hey! I'm not a plant!

I'm a person. Geez. I suggest that you read the entire thread, plus the others that have addressed this issue in the Rural/Farm group. Your post quotes Rawvolution as claiming that "This bill essentially illegalizes organic farming both for the average person and big business". Where, specifically, does it mention that in the bill? I've read it. I'm not claiming to necessarily be for the bill; I'm just asserting that the sensational claims that people are making about it aren't supported by the actual text of the bill!

[grassfed]

7. that was you?

sorry... I read the bill but without a cold lawyer's eye. I sense much room for Monsanto in the legal wording.

[jmowreader]

8. I'm not sure how there could be any room for Monsanto

Monsanto makes two things, as I have repeatedly posted: frankenseeds and herbicides. Neither is regulated under HR 875.

Who it regulates: ADM, ConAgra, Tyson, Smithfield, Kraft...all those guys have a lot of reasons to oppose the bill. It's going to cost them huge money. Right off the top of my head: the ingredient tracking requirements of 875 are going to require suppliers store each batch of each ingredient in its own container. If you buy flour in bulk and keep it in silos, that will be a huge problem.

[grassfed]

4. Euphoria Loves Rawvolution blog

Euphoria Loves Rawvolution blog

http://www.euphorialovesrawvolution.com/

[RB TexLa]

5. Did the FDA do that? This really is like a time warp.

[soothsayer]

9. death to monsatan! YES, and obama's organic garden will be illegal