Urgent: Senate Bill 510 Food Safety Modernization Act

[Halftime Hope]

Update in post #20

 

 

if this is something you want to express an opinion about, today is the day. I can't access GovTrack.us (site is down), where I usually confirm where bills are in their progress, but there are several internet sources stating that the bill will be voted on tonight (this evening), Monday 11/29. beginning at 6:30 p.m. Eastern. (ETA: Just confirmed it in the Congressional Record...)

 

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

 

The above link gives contact points for your Senator.

 

If anyone else can suggest another official source for news on bills, I'd appreciate your posting the link. The last news on the Senate site says that the bill passed cloture on Nov. 18th and must be voted on within 60 days.

 

I'm going to make my calls now. This is one on which I *will* be heard.

Edited November 30, 2010 by Valerie(TX)
updated

[Old Dominion Heather]

Done.

[Spy Car]

I'll lend my support. Safe food now!

 

Bill

[MotherGoose]

Just for information, not to start a political debate or anything :) but this bill, as written, as I understand it, will make small farmers adhere to the standards of industrial farms. This will put small farms out of business. I trust that my neighbor farmer grows safer food than one inspected by the government. Again, not to start a political debate, but I wanted to make sure people are aware of what is at stake.

[MotherGoose]

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/568/blastContent.jsp

 

Here's some more updated info and links.

[kalanamak]

I'm intrigued by the soundbite that has spread across the internet "may be the most dangerous bill in the history of the US". I also find the similarity between "people won't be able to grow their own vegetables" and "no one will be able to have a garage sale" (over, what was that, lead?) interesting. Such an intriguing species we are!

 

The CSM has a pros and cons article with links.

[DarcyB]

already done - this will be a VERY bad bill for small farmers and hobby farmers...bad bad bad.

[Spy Car]

Hobby farmers are excluded.

 

Bill

[MotherGoose]

Hobby farmers are excluded.

 

Bill

 

I don't know the precise definition of hobby farmer, but my local farmer who sells me meat & eggs sent out a notice about this asking for us to support an amendment to the bill that would specifically exclude small farmers. Otherwise, I don't think it does exclude them.

[Spy Car]

I don't know the precise definition of hobby farmer, but my local farmer who sells me meat & eggs sent out a notice about this asking for us to support an amendment to the bill that would specifically exclude small farmers. Otherwise, I don't think it does exclude them.

 

Half-a-million dollars in income a year. That would be a good hobby.

 

Bill

[FaithManor]

Whoo, Bill I hope you are right. We are currently eating pork chops (from our home raised piggie), corn and green beans (from our garden) and cream cheese made from the milk of the cow we board on a farm. This spring we will eat eggs from our ducks and a few hens that were are planning on adding.

 

Our pork is organically raised and very lean. Yummy, yummy, yummy...and I love our homegrown veggies. We don't sell products but we definitely are considered "hobby farmers" on our 1/2 acre.

 

Faith

[Halftime Hope]

it's all well and good that they have proposed a single amendment (sp?) to exclude "hobby farmers," but that doesn't address a number of the fundamental issues at stake:

 

- putting the FDA, with its revolving door of agribusiness execs, in charge of anything that is related to our food supply.

 

- establishing yet another huge bureaucratic tangle of multiple regulatory agencies with punitive powers, and as-of-yet unspecified language, backed by the force of law.

 

- spending my tax dollars to fund this whole mess.

 

The hobby farmer amendment only addresses one small aspect of the problems I have with this.

Edited November 30, 2010 by Valerie(TX)

[Amy in TX]

this bill, as written, as I understand it, will make small farmers adhere to the standards of industrial farms. This will put small farms out of business.

 

According to an op/ed in the NY Times this morning by Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser, the bill specifically excludes small farms.

[MotherGoose]

it's all well and good that they have proposed a single amendment (sp?) to exclude "hobby farmers," but that doesn't address a number of the fundamental issues at stake:

 

- putting the FDA, with its revolving door of agribusiness execs, in charge of anything that is related to our food supply.

 

- establishing yet another huge bureaucratic tangle of multiple regulatory agencies with punitive powers, and as-of-yet unspecified language, backed by the force of law.

 

- spending my tax dollars to fund this whole mess.

 

The hobby farmer amendment only addresses one small aspect of the problems I have with this.

 

:iagree: More government regulation isn't the answer.

[Mergath]

:iagree: More government regulation isn't the answer.

 

Given that we have everything from peanut butter to spinach making people severely sick and even killing them in some cases, what do you think is the answer? It's pretty obvious the industry isn't capable of regulating itself.

[pdalley]

Given that we have everything from peanut butter to spinach making people severely sick and even killing them in some cases, what do you think is the answer? It's pretty obvious the industry isn't capable of regulating itself.

 

 

Most of the contaminated stuff is coming from overseas - particularly China. None of the bills I've seen - this one or the last one they passed - govern imports. Basically if China 'says' they follow the guidelines then they are allowed. IF I recall correctly the main culprit in the lead toy thing was China and those imports were exempt. It was American producers that were subject to ridiculous rules.

 

How about we crack down on the source and not everyone else? Oh, would that be considered food source profiling?

 

Once again - This is a dog and pony show to make it look like someone is doing something about the problem. It doesn't address the real issues - China - for one - doesn't have the rules we do regarding safety. How about we stop bringing stuff in from there?

 

And I don't think the government does a good job of regulating itself either. It would be like the blind leading the blind except we all fall in the ditch.

[Mergath]

Most of the contaminated stuff is coming from overseas - particularly China. None of the bills I've seen - this one or the last one they passed - govern imports. Basically if China 'says' they follow the guidelines then they are allowed. IF I recall correctly the main culprit in the lead toy thing was China and those imports were exempt. It was American producers that were subject to ridiculous rules.

 

How about we crack down on the source and not everyone else? Oh, would that be considered food source profiling?

 

Once again - This is a dog and pony show to make it look like someone is doing something about the problem. It doesn't address the real issues - China - for one - doesn't have the rules we do regarding safety. How about we stop bringing stuff in from there?

 

And I don't think the government does a good job of regulating itself either. It would be like the blind leading the blind except we all fall in the ditch.

 

Actually, quite of bit of the food contamination has also come from right here in the good ol' USA. We need to try to ensure the safety of all our food, local or not. At least with food grown in this country, the government can actually do something.

[Julie in Austin]

Most of the contaminated stuff is coming from overseas - particularly China. None of the bills I've seen - this one or the last one they passed - govern imports. Basically if China 'says' they follow the guidelines then they are allowed. IF I recall correctly the main culprit in the lead toy thing was China and those imports were exempt. It was American producers that were subject to ridiculous rules.

 

How about we crack down on the source and not everyone else? Oh, would that be considered food source profiling?

 

Once again - This is a dog and pony show to make it look like someone is doing something about the problem. It doesn't address the real issues - China - for one - doesn't have the rules we do regarding safety. How about we stop bringing stuff in from there?

 

And I don't think the government does a good job of regulating itself either. It would be like the blind leading the blind except we all fall in the ditch.

 

According to the NYTimes article referenced above, this bill does put requirements on imported food.

[pdalley]

According to the NYTimes article referenced above, this bill does put requirements on imported food.

 

 

Uh yeah, I don't trust the NYTimes so I didn't read the article. But I 'm sure there will be some 'exemption' pop up for imported food. It did with the other Child's Toy act.

 

Oh, it was co-sponsored by Kay Hagan. No wonder I don't trust it. She's tone deaf when it comes to NC. A large part of the state relies on farming. Our state is broke. This bill will finish off the remaining farmers. Heck, you can't buy raw milk around here now.

 

(Hagan is the Senator from my state. I have written her on a number of issues and every single time I get a canned response that doesn't have a thing to do with what I wrote in about. Hence my opinion on the Senator)

Edited November 30, 2010 by pdalley

[Halftime Hope]

here's a summary of what happened;

 

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2010/11/s510-clears-key-vote-debate-to-resume-today/

[TXMary2]

According to an op/ed in the NY Times this morning by Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser, the bill specifically excludes small farms.

 

What definition of "small farms" is being used?

[mommaduck]

Sorry, after the CPSA fiasco, which WAHM's predicted WOULD be a fiasco but were told that "oh no, we won't do this or that" and then they turned around and did just those things, I don't trust the whole "small farms, hobby farms exempt" carp. We already see what is happening just with people that are buyers for co-ops or are simply small, hobby farms...anti-terrorist type raids, removal of property that has nothing to do with the "offense", etc.

 

Funny, those providing the safest toys and food get the raw end of the deal and those that aren't get exempt because of the loopholes and payoffs.

[pdalley]

Sorry, after the CPSA fiasco, which WAHM's predicted WOULD be a fiasco but were told that "oh no, we won't do this or that" and then they turned around and did just those things, I don't trust the whole "small farms, hobby farms exempt" carp. We already see what is happening just with people that are buyers for co-ops or are simply small, hobby farms...anti-terrorist type raids, removal of property that has nothing to do with the "offense", etc.

 

Funny, those providing the safest toys and food get the raw end of the deal and those that aren't get exempt because of the loopholes and payoffs.

 

 

:iagree: exactly!!!!

[Barry Goldwater]

Half-a-million dollars in income a year. That would be a good hobby.

 

Bill

 

$600,000 in expenses. :lol:

 

f you make a profit, it's not a hobby.

[Renee in NC]

Uh yeah, I don't trust the NYTimes so I didn't read the article. But I 'm sure there will be some 'exemption' pop up for imported food. It did with the other Child's Toy act.

 

Oh, it was co-sponsored by Kay Hagan. No wonder I don't trust it. She's tone deaf when it comes to NC. A large part of the state relies on farming. Our state is broke. This bill will finish off the remaining farmers. Heck, you can't buy raw milk around here now.

 

(Hagan is the Senator from my state. I have written her on a number of issues and every single time I get a canned response that doesn't have a thing to do with what I wrote in about. Hence my opinion on the Senator)

 

We learned when we were involved in the commercial poultry industry that big business has amazing clout. They'll do it through legislative means or they'll do it through private means. Each individual farmer isn't a threat, but a whole bunch of little farmers *are* a threat. They throw things around like "biohazard", but the reality is it's about squashing competition.

 

As for the $500K income limit - that is pretty high. It will hit the farmers who grow large amounts of relatively expensive to produce products the hardest. For example, a commercial chicken grower with 8 houses who contracts with Townsend or Pilgrim's Pride could hit that $500K mark easy. However, after the expenses for feed, electricity, labor, insurance, interest, etc. is removed, they might profit $30-40K. That's a pretty low profit for a job that requires you to work 365 days a year.

[mommaduck]

We learned when we were involved in the commercial poultry industry that big business has amazing clout. They'll do it through legislative means or they'll do it through private means. Each individual farmer isn't a threat, but a whole bunch of little farmers *are* a threat. They throw things around like "biohazard", but the reality is it's about squashing competition.

 

As for the $500K income limit - that is pretty high. It will hit the farmers who grow large amounts of relatively expensive to produce products the hardest. For example, a commercial chicken grower with 8 houses who contracts with Townsend or Pilgrim's Pride could hit that $500K mark easy. However, after the expenses for feed, electricity, labor, insurance, interest, etc. is removed, they might profit $30-40K. That's a pretty low profit for a job that requires you to work 365 days a year.

And sometimes dang near 24hrs a day with a few naps.

[Barry Goldwater]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/01/health/policy/01food.html?_r=3&hp

 

.

[mommaduck]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/01/health/policy/01food.html?_r=3&hp

 

.

:glare::banghead:

[GVD22]

Our government really makes me sick, never going to the source of the problem. UGH!

[Renee in NC]

Our government really makes me sick, never going to the source of the problem. UGH!

 

What do you think the source of the problem is?

 

I'm curious because I am in the camp where I want to know that the food I eat is safe, but I don't necessarily think that more regulation is the answer. Unfortunately, I can't afford SLO food, so I am stuck with the big producers.

[Meriwether]

Half-a-million dollars in income a year. That would be a good hobby.

 

Bill

 

 

Spy Car, I really don't want to get into a farming discussion with you, but until you have bought a farm, farmed it, and filed a tax return, you have no idea what you are talking about. My family bought a small (400+ acre) farm when I was ten. We poured, literally, blood, sweat, and tears into that farm. After we were somewhat established (maybe 4 years in), my dad was filing our tax returns. We had some income that year. Our net profit was $7. My brother, who had spent hundreds of hours helping Dad that year, said, "I want a recount."

 

You go buy yourself a piece of land. Where my parents live you can get 80 acres for about 100,000 dollars. So if you want a farm that will eventually pay a livelihood, you better come up with 400,000 - 600,000 dollars to get started (of course, if you buy a farm where we live now, you'll need 14,000 dollars per acre). That might set you back a bit more. Then buy yourself some equipment. 200,000 dollars will get some very used pieces. Of course, you may find yourself spending hundreds of dollars a month on repairs as things regularly break down. Then you can buy your seed and put in dawn to dusk days getting your seeds planted. Then you can get down on your knees and pray that you won't have so much rain that your seeds are flushed down the creek or so little rain that the seeds won't sprout. If the weather conditions are favorable for growing, you can continue to pray that you won't have hail, frost, or tornado (wiped out a neighbor's field this year) before harvest. And then, when your crop is finally safely harvest, you can pray some more that you'll get a decent price for it. At least enough to pay the mortgage, because the farmer's wife that has an outside job (mine cleaned houses) to put clothes on our back really doesn't want to pay the mortgage on the farm one paycheck at a time.

 

A farmer that has $500,000 income, has hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses.

 

 

ETA: And don't even get me started on the death tax that makes it impossible to keep a family farm in the family. Mom always said that a farmer is the only person that lives poor and dies rich.

Edited November 30, 2010 by Meriwether

[mommaduck]

Spy Car, I really don't want to get into a farming discussion with you, but until you have bought a farm, farmed it, and filed a tax return, you have no idea what you are talking about. My family bought a small (400+ acre) farm when I was ten. We poured, literally, blood, sweat, and tears into that farm. After we were somewhat established (maybe 4 years in), my dad was filing our tax returns. We had some income that year. Our net profit was $7. My brother, who had spent hundreds of hours helping Dad that year, said, "I want a recount."

 

You go buy yourself a piece of land. Where my parents live you can get 80 acres for about 100,000 dollars. So if you want a farm that will eventually pay a livelihood, you better come up with 400,000 - 600,000 dollars to get started (of course, if you buy a farm where we live now, you'll need 14,000 dollars per acre). That might set you back a bit more. Then buy yourself some equipment. 200,000 dollars will get some very used pieces. Of course, you may find yourself spending hundreds of dollars a month on repairs as things regularly break down. Then you can buy your seed and put in dawn to dusk days getting you seeds planted. Then you can get down on your knees and pray that you won't have so much rain that your seeds are flushed down the creek or so little rain that the seeds won't sprout. If the weather conditions are favorable for growing, you can continue to pray that you won't have hail, frost, or tornado (wiped out a neighbor's field this year) before harvest. And then, when your crop is finally safely harvest, you can pray some more that you'll get a decent price for it. At least enough to pay the mortgage, because the farmer's wife that has an outside job (mine cleaned houses) to put clothes on our back really doesn't want to pay the mortgage on the farm one paycheck at a time.

 

A farmer that has $500,000 income, has hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses.

:iagree: I know farmers that go close to a million in debt over one or two pieces of equipment or a barn. They may or may not break even every year...and generally it would be due to the fact that they also have other jobs on the side of farming (construction, blacksmithing, concrete work). Farming is not lucrative once everything is balanced out. You can't just look at what comes in; you have to look at what comes in then subtract everything that went out...or rather, you take everything that went out and hope you had enough come in to cover it in the end.

[Spy Car]

Spy Car, I really don't want to get into a farming discussion with you, but until you have bought a farm, farmed it, and filed a tax return, you have no idea what you are talking about. My family bought a small (400+ acre) farm when I was ten. We poured, literally, blood, sweat, and tears into that farm. After we were somewhat established (maybe 4 years in), my dad was filing our tax returns. We had some income that year. Our net profit was $7. My brother, who had spent hundreds of hours helping Dad that year, said, "I want a recount."

 

You go buy yourself a piece of land. Where my parents live you can get 80 acres for about 100,000 dollars. So if you want a farm that will eventually pay a livelihood, you better come up with 400,000 - 600,000 dollars to get started (of course, if you buy a farm where we live now, you'll need 14,000 dollars per acre). That might set you back a bit more. Then buy yourself some equipment. 200,000 dollars will get some very used pieces. Of course, you may find yourself spending hundreds of dollars a month on repairs as things regularly break down. Then you can buy your seed and put in dawn to dusk days getting your seeds planted. Then you can get down on your knees and pray that you won't have so much rain that your seeds are flushed down the creek or so little rain that the seeds won't sprout. If the weather conditions are favorable for growing, you can continue to pray that you won't have hail, frost, or tornado (wiped out a neighbor's field this year) before harvest. And then, when your crop is finally safely harvest, you can pray some more that you'll get a decent price for it. At least enough to pay the mortgage, because the farmer's wife that has an outside job (mine cleaned houses) to put clothes on our back really doesn't want to pay the mortgage on the farm one paycheck at a time.

 

A farmer that has $500,000 income, has hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses.

 

I have no doubt that a farmer who has a $500,000 income has many expenses (or that they work very hard to make a living) they just couldn't be called "hobbyist", could they?

 

Bill

[Meriwether]

:iagree: I know farmers that go close to a million in debt over one or two pieces of equipment or a barn. They may or may not break even every year...and generally it would be due to the fact that they also have other jobs on the side of farming (construction, blacksmithing, concrete work). Farming is not lucrative once everything is balanced out. You can't just look at what comes in; you have to look at what comes in then subtract everything that went out...or rather, you take everything that went out and hope you had enough come in to cover it in the end.

 

Yep, and if the farmer paid himself minimum wage for every hour he and his family worked, they'd probably never break even.

[FaithManor]

I know that here in Michigan it is a fact that the larger the company the dirtier the farm and the sicker the animals. These farms have a lot of clout when it comes to getting out of state Ag department investigations.

 

My big problem with this bill is that it was largely drafted by the Federal Ag department and we haven't had a single head of that department in the last 30 years who is either NOT a former CEO of a huge AG business or making massive wealth on Monsanto and other Ag stocks. So, there is just tooooo much hanky panky going on and I guarantee you it will be the little guy that gets hurt...not the big guy who is nearly always the culprit.

 

Though we have never had a single case of avian flu or any other small livestock disease (except rabbit ear infection) in the last 40 years of our county fair, it is getting near impossible for kids to show their animals due to bio-security laws that big ag drafted and pushed through the legislature and then turn right around and violate because they have placed their money in all the right places. They are systematically destroying the little guy. In our area, it's the little farm that has the most to lose and therefore, are the cleanest and have the healthiest animals and crops.

 

Given that we let, in 2007, several million pounds of lead and mercury contaminated frozen shrimp from China into this country, that we have huge amounts of produce being shipped in from Chili, Costa Rica, etc. and these countries use many, many compounds on their crops that are banned by the EPA, and that we let in BABY FORMULA CONTAMINATED WITH LEAD and MELAMINE from China, I think this legislation fries the least of the fish that should be in the pan!

 

Come to Michigan, where you can go to a big Ag farm and watch migrant workers pee in the fields all over the produce because bathrooms aren't provided and these farms pay good money to bureaucrats to make sure they are never investigated. There was video tape of this going on at the farm that produced strawberries sold to a Grand Rapids school district where two hundred children were sickened from consumption of the berries despite, according to the lunch room personnel, having been well washed. Some of the strawberries that were leftover, were taken to a nearby lab and tested positive for Hep B. I've yelled at workers when driving past a field of corn for using the crop as their personal restroom. All I get is the finger! I've called the health department, the state ag department, and the newspaper. There is NOTHING done about this and I guarantee you this legislation won't do anything to stop it because the people with money bags will see to it that they grease the right palms.

 

The amount of corruption is ridiculous. If you want safe food, you'll have to grow it yourself or buy it from a local farmer you can trust. The only problem is that your local small time farmer is very rapidly being put out of business by the BIG AG and there will soon be a monopoly with very little competition. That should scare everyone.

 

I have yet to witness a single instance with the Federal Government in which adding more bureaucracy and spending lots more dollars has actually increased efficiency. Until I witness such a miraculous event, I will be against such legislation.

 

I do believe it is time for consumers to get very angry. Find out where your food is coming from. Every supermarket has a list of providers. Demand that info. You Michiganders can get this directly from Meijer and one reason I support them is because they encourage purchasing from local producers. It's not so easy for the local greenhouse to slough off contaminated food to someone who can literally show up on their doorstep and say, "Would you like to speak to my attorney?" We need to be a LOT more proactive about our food and where it comes from. Most consumers just buy whatever and hope for the best and never complain when something is wrong with it.

 

Faith

[Meriwether]

I have no doubt that a farmer who has a $500,000 income has many expenses (or that they work very hard to make a living) they just couldn't be called "hobbyist", could they?

 

Bill

 

I don't know. We always said that farming was dad's hobby that he did construction work and drove school bus to support. If he worked 40 hours a week during the school year at outside jobs in addition to feeding cows and upkeep on the farm he was free to indulge his hobby - working 16 hours/day of backbreaking work on the farm during the summer.

[mommaduck]

I have no doubt that a farmer who has a $500,000 income has many expenses (or that they work very hard to make a living) they just couldn't be called "hobbyist", could they?

 

Bill

No, and that's another reason I have a problem with this bill...because these small farmers can't afford it!

 

I'm beginning to believe that the people at the top of the pyramid and capitalism are no different than the people that are at the top of the pyramid in communism. It's all a power grab and they are all out to put small people out of work and have "company farms", etc.

[Barry Goldwater]

I know that here in Michigan it is a fact that the larger the company the dirtier the farm and the sicker the animals. These farms have a lot of clout when it comes to getting out of state Ag department investigations.

 

My big problem with this bill is that it was largely drafted by the Federal Ag department and we haven't had a single head of that department in the last 30 years who is either NOT a former CEO of a huge AG business or making massive wealth on Monsanto and other Ag stocks. So, there is just tooooo much hanky panky going on and I guarantee you it will be the little guy that gets hurt...not the big guy who is nearly always the culprit.

 

Though we have never had a single case of avian flu or any other small livestock disease (except rabbit ear infection) in the last 40 years of our county fair, it is getting near impossible for kids to show their animals due to bio-security laws that big ag drafted and pushed through the legislature and then turn right around and violate because they have placed their money in all the right places. They are systematically destroying the little guy. In our area, it's the little farm that has the most to lose and therefore, are the cleanest and have the healthiest animals and crops.

 

Given that we let, in 2007, several million pounds of lead and mercury contaminated frozen shrimp from China into this country, that we have huge amounts of produce being shipped in from Chili, Costa Rica, etc. and these countries use many, many compounds on their crops that are banned by the EPA, and that we let in BABY FORMULA CONTAMINATED WITH LEAD and MELAMINE from China, I think this legislation fries the least of the fish that should be in the pan!

 

Come to Michigan, where you can go to a big Ag farm and watch migrant workers pee in the fields all over the produce because bathrooms aren't provided and these farms pay good money to bureaucrats to make sure they are never investigated. There was video tape of this going on at the farm that produced strawberries sold to a Grand Rapids school district where two hundred children were sickened from consumption of the berries despite, according to the lunch room personnel, having been well washed. Some of the strawberries that were leftover, were taken to a nearby lab and tested positive for Hep B. I've yelled at workers when driving past a field of corn for using the crop as their personal restroom. All I get is the finger! I've called the health department, the state ag department, and the newspaper. There is NOTHING done about this and I guarantee you this legislation won't do anything to stop it because the people with money bags will see to it that they grease the right palms.

 

The amount of corruption is ridiculous. If you want safe food, you'll have to grow it yourself or buy it from a local farmer you can trust. The only problem is that your local small time farmer is very rapidly being put out of business by the BIG AG and there will soon be a monopoly with very little competition. That should scare everyone.

 

I have yet to witness a single instance with the Federal Government in which adding more bureaucracy and spending lots more dollars has actually increased efficiency. Until I witness such a miraculous event, I will be against such legislation.

 

I do believe it is time for consumers to get very angry. Find out where your food is coming from. Every supermarket has a list of providers. Demand that info. You Michiganders can get this directly from Meijer and one reason I support them is because they encourage purchasing from local producers. It's not so easy for the local greenhouse to slough off contaminated food to someone who can literally show up on their doorstep and say, "Would you like to speak to my attorney?" We need to be a LOT more proactive about our food and where it comes from. Most consumers just buy whatever and hope for the best and never complain when something is wrong with it.

 

Faith

 

:hurray:

 

This, by the way, is not capitalism...lest anyone try to blame free enterprise for this mess. The agribusiness industry is a kleptocracy.

[mommaduck]

:hurray:

 

This, by the way, is not capitalism...lest anyone try to blame free enterprise for this mess. The agribusiness industry is a kleptocracy.

LOVE IT!

[DarcyB]

I know that here in Michigan it is a fact that the larger the company the dirtier the farm and the sicker the animals. These farms have a lot of clout when it comes to getting out of state Ag department investigations.

 

My big problem with this bill is that it was largely drafted by the Federal Ag department and we haven't had a single head of that department in the last 30 years who is either NOT a former CEO of a huge AG business or making massive wealth on Monsanto and other Ag stocks. So, there is just tooooo much hanky panky going on and I guarantee you it will be the little guy that gets hurt...not the big guy who is nearly always the culprit.

 

Though we have never had a single case of avian flu or any other small livestock disease (except rabbit ear infection) in the last 40 years of our county fair, it is getting near impossible for kids to show their animals due to bio-security laws that big ag drafted and pushed through the legislature and then turn right around and violate because they have placed their money in all the right places. They are systematically destroying the little guy. In our area, it's the little farm that has the most to lose and therefore, are the cleanest and have the healthiest animals and crops.

 

Given that we let, in 2007, several million pounds of lead and mercury contaminated frozen shrimp from China into this country, that we have huge amounts of produce being shipped in from Chili, Costa Rica, etc. and these countries use many, many compounds on their crops that are banned by the EPA, and that we let in BABY FORMULA CONTAMINATED WITH LEAD and MELAMINE from China, I think this legislation fries the least of the fish that should be in the pan!

 

Come to Michigan, where you can go to a big Ag farm and watch migrant workers pee in the fields all over the produce because bathrooms aren't provided and these farms pay good money to bureaucrats to make sure they are never investigated. There was video tape of this going on at the farm that produced strawberries sold to a Grand Rapids school district where two hundred children were sickened from consumption of the berries despite, according to the lunch room personnel, having been well washed. Some of the strawberries that were leftover, were taken to a nearby lab and tested positive for Hep B. I've yelled at workers when driving past a field of corn for using the crop as their personal restroom. All I get is the finger! I've called the health department, the state ag department, and the newspaper. There is NOTHING done about this and I guarantee you this legislation won't do anything to stop it because the people with money bags will see to it that they grease the right palms.

 

The amount of corruption is ridiculous. If you want safe food, you'll have to grow it yourself or buy it from a local farmer you can trust. The only problem is that your local small time farmer is very rapidly being put out of business by the BIG AG and there will soon be a monopoly with very little competition. That should scare everyone.

 

I have yet to witness a single instance with the Federal Government in which adding more bureaucracy and spending lots more dollars has actually increased efficiency. Until I witness such a miraculous event, I will be against such legislation.

 

I do believe it is time for consumers to get very angry. Find out where your food is coming from. Every supermarket has a list of providers. Demand that info. You Michiganders can get this directly from Meijer and one reason I support them is because they encourage purchasing from local producers. It's not so easy for the local greenhouse to slough off contaminated food to someone who can literally show up on their doorstep and say, "Would you like to speak to my attorney?" We need to be a LOT more proactive about our food and where it comes from. Most consumers just buy whatever and hope for the best and never complain when something is wrong with it.

 

Faith

 

:hurray::hurray::hurray::hurray::hurray::hurray: As if I needed to say it better than Barry :)

[texascamps]

:iagree: I know farmers that go close to a million in debt over one or two pieces of equipment or a barn. They may or may not break even every year...and generally it would be due to the fact that they also have other jobs on the side of farming (construction, blacksmithing, concrete work). Farming is not lucrative once everything is balanced out. You can't just look at what comes in; you have to look at what comes in then subtract everything that went out...or rather, you take everything that went out and hope you had enough come in to cover it in the end.

 

Any time you start regulating you edge out the small man. This bill is just furthering the demise of the small farmer and hastening the monopoly of the multi-national ag corporations. I don't know of any farmers that don't also have another job. Equipment is expensive, seeds are expensive, hail frost and failure is expensive. I guess its just an excuse to "create jobs" in the manner of oversight committees, regulation bodies, secretaries, field supervisors, IT personnel to supervise the laptops that all of these regulators need... sigh!

[GVD22]

What do you think the source of the problem is?

 

I'm curious because I am in the camp where I want to know that the food I eat is safe, but I don't necessarily think that more regulation is the answer. Unfortunately, I can't afford SLO food, so I am stuck with the big producers.

 

Well my understanding is things like E coli came about because of the diet the cows are fed. Being fed corn, instead of grass causes the development of E coli. Then, because they're all jammed together, if one cow gets it, it easily spreads. Of course, that manure then finds it's way into our crops and there you have it(sigh).

[Happy2BaMom]

Any updates as to where this bill is? I'm assuming it will now move to the house and we should contact our Representative? Anyone have a bill number for the House yet?

 

This makes me so made I could scream, throw up, etc. etc. More government big business control over every aspect of our lives.

 

As for e coli - yes, it is far more prevalent in cows who eat unnatural foods and who live in unnatural conditions. Gee, what a surprise, eating unnaturally and living in filthy, unnatural conditions produces....bad germs!

 

I need to go lay down now.

[mommaduck]

Any updates as to where this bill is? I'm assuming it will now move to the house and we should contact our Representative? Anyone have a bill number for the House yet?

 

This makes me so made I could scream, throw up, etc. etc. More government big business control over every aspect of our lives.

 

As for e coli - yes, it is far more prevalent in cows who eat unnatural foods and who live in unnatural conditions. Gee, what a surprise, eating unnaturally and living in filthy, unnatural conditions produces....bad germs!

 

I need to go lay down now.

It passed...noted a few pages back.