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.
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The Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009 reminds of the Consumer Product Safety Information Act (CPSIA) in the sense that is responding to recalls (salmonella in peanut butter/lead in toys) that needs addressing; however, the people responsible for providing consumers with safe products are inadvertently targeted. I feel much safer knowing the people and gardens my food comes from rather than some multinational food corporation providing produce in the supermarket.
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.
The full text of the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009 reveals its well intentions, like protecting us from food grown abroad, and its favoritism towards agribusiness. While Ron Paul is trying to give consumers choice by legalizing interstate raw milk sales, other members of Congress are trying to outlaw small organic farms. We need to stand up for our local family farms!
Many of you are simply missing the point. You seem to think, like most Americans, this is about the ‘goodness’ or ‘badness’ of farms and farm produce. It is not.
This ‘Act’ is all about dramatically increasing federal power, rubbing out small businesses, forcing dependence upon unconstitutional federal agencies, unionizing farms, etc etc. Like most of the federal expansions in the last century, it depends upon the statists interpretation of the ‘Interstate Commerce Clause’, itself subject to constant misreading. However, if you read the bill carefully, you will find that an ICC connection is ‘presumed’ for all farms, whether or not they publicly engage in interstate commerce.
This bill creates one more enormous federal bureaucracy with vaguely defined ‘powers’; powers granted NOT by the constitution but by the government itself - an idea flying in the face of basic constitutional theory.
So let’s skip all the fence-sitting about what needs or does not need ‘regulation’. Let’s get to the point - this is yet another sneaky attempt by the new Congress and administration to vastly increase federal power in unconstitutional ways, by unconstitutional methods.
If you care nothing for the Constitution, perhaps you should consider what happened to the Russian small farms and farmers just after the Bolshevik revolution. They were all ordered on to the ‘Collective Farms’ (unionized, here?). Most simply refused. Millions were simply machine-gunned by the Bolshevik Communists. In fact, the killing simply dwarfed anything the Nazi murderers did.
If you think this kind of statist increase of federal power is ‘necessary’, you are perhaps living in the wrong country. Honor the constitution, or leave.
The best analysis of HR 875 (done by attorneys): http://www.ftcldf.org/news/news-02mar2009.htm
This bill needs explicit language to protect small farmers from the FDA’s interpretation of the bill. For example:
“Rule of Interpretation
“No provision of this act shall be deemed to apply (a) to any home, home-business, homestead, small farm (including organic or natural) agricultural activity, social club, association, church, school or other local organization, (b) to any family farm or ranch, or (c) to any natural or organic food product, including dietary supplements regulated under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994.”
(This text copied from http://www.healthfreedomusa.org/?p=2394)
Everyone should be up in arms over this. One dominant company in any field should not be allowed(monopoly). There should be rigorous testing by independant testors to prove their claims, possibly by the FDA and they still should not be regulated by law. This is an attempt to use the law to benefit one company.
The law is supposed to protect the people not business.
http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/would_a_new_bill_in_congress_make.html
The short answer to the question is “No”
This has been floating around on the web for awhile…
Bob S. said on April 2nd, 2009 at 9:35 am…
Bob, you are missing a big picture by studying the details.
This is definition 14 (it includes “any farm”)
(14) FOOD PRODUCTION FACILITY- The term ‘food production facility’ means any farm, ranch, orchard, vineyard, aquaculture facility, or confined animal-feeding operation.
Now read everything in…
Sec. 206. Food production facilities.
There is plenty in Sec. 206. that can become very problematic to small business organic farmers!
I think there is a matter of concept vs reality making a mess here. The bill isn’t good or bad. It is probably well intentioned, but extremely weak against the powers of companies such as Monsanto. In many ways I don’t mind giving the government powers of regulation if it was actually more powerful than the corporations it wants to regulate. Unfortunately the government is at the mercy of money and big agriculture businesses and bills like this can represent a serious hazard to all humans if they are not written extremely carefully.
This bill leaves US food production very susceptible to corruption and negative influence!
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The Cornucopia Institute also did an analysis of the new food safety (and those on their way) bills that is very thorough and much less fearful. Please read it: http://www.cornucopia.org/2009/03/action-alert-critical-pending-food-safety-legislation/
Lynn