Embargo Concern and Productive Suggestion

[Guest guest]

Embargo Concern and Productive Suggestion

Might I suggest a productive way to direct our energies at this

challenging time by taking a few minutes to call our senators and

representatives? Together we can enlighten and encourage them to

protect small family farms and local producers, which are inherently

safer and more accountable than the huge, centralized industrial

producers who produce most all food-borne illnesses. Please

respectfully urge their support of the Tester-Hagan amendment.

6/16/2010 WAPF ALERT:

Food safety is heating up again and we need your help! Although the

Senate's food safety bill was delayed, there is now a concerted effort

to bring it to the floor for a vote. Unfortunately, as it is currently

written, S. 510 would actually make our food less safe. S. 510 would

strengthen the forces that have led to the consolidation of our food

supply in the hands of a few industrial food producers, while harming

small producers who give consumers the choice to buy fresh, healthy,

local foods.

Please contact your Senators NOW to urge them to amend or oppose the

bill! Contact information and talking points are below.

Congress needs to solve the real problems - the centralized food

distribution system and imported foods - and not regulate our local food

sources out of business. S. 510 is a " one-size-fits-all " approach that

will unnecessarily burden both farmers and small-scale food processors,

ultimately depriving consumers of the choice to buy from producers they

know and trust.

TAKE ACTION:

Call both of your Senators. You can find their contact information at

www.Senate.gov <http://www.senate.gov/> , or call the Capitol

Switchboard at or toll-free at . Ask to speak

with the staffer who handles food safety issues.

Tell the staffer that you want the Senator to amend or oppose S. 510.

If you get their voice mail instead of the staff, leave the following

message:

" Hi, my name is _____ and I live in ______. I'm very concerned that

S.510, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, imposes unfair and

burdensome regulations on local food sources, which are very important

to me. I urge the Senator to support the Tester-Hagan Amendments to

exclude small facilities and direct marketing farms from the most

burdensome provisions of the bill. Please call me back at

____________. "

TALKING POINTS

Over 150 organizations have signed a letter of support for the

Tester-Hagan amendments to exempt small-scale and local producers from

the more burdensome provisions of the bill. You can borrow some talking

points from the letter (posted at

http://farmandranchfreedom.org/sff/Amend-S510-June-7.pdf

<http://farmandranchfreedom.org/sff/Amend-S510-June-7.pdf> ) or use the

ones below:

1. The major foodborne illness outbreaks and recalls have all been

caused by the large, industrial food system. Small, local food

producers have not contributed to the highly publicized outbreaks. Yet

S. 510 subjects the small, local food system to the same, broad federal

regulatory oversight that would apply to the industrial food system.

2. Increased regulations and record-keeping obligations could destroy

small businesses that bring food to local communities. In particular,

the reliance on hazard analysis and risk-based preventative controls, a

concept similar to " HACCP " , will harm small food producers. HACCP has

already proven to be an overwhelming burden for a significant number of

small, regional meat processors across the country. Applying a

HACCP-type system to small, local foods processors could drive them out

of business, reducing consumers' options to buy fresh, local foods.

3. FDA does not belong on the farm. S. 510 calls for FDA regulation of

how farms grow and harvest produce. Given the agency's track record, it

is likely that the regulations will discriminate against small, organic,

and diversified farms. Although language calling for " flexibility " may

be included, but there are no enforceable limits or protections for

small diversified and organic farms from inappropriate and burdensome

federal rules.

4. Food safety and security both come from a diversified, vibrant local

food system. Local foods give consumers the choice to buy from

producers they know, creating a transparent, accountable food system

without federal government oversight. State and local laws, which are

often size-specific rather than one-size-fits-all, are more appropriate

for local food producers.

info@...

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