Call Your Senators Now: Safe Food PLUS Family Farms

As a consumer, I would prefer that E. coli tainted beef not make it into the market. However, I would also like small family farmers -- and urban micro-farms, like Heirloom Gardens -- to be able to sell directly to customers.


If you read any food blogs or receive food-related emails, it's likely you've heard at least a little (and probably a lot) about S.510, The Food Modernization Act.  This bill has inspired quite a lot of dialog, some of which is pretty hard to believe. Folks have been saying that all small farms will be instantly put out of business, that it would make organic food illegal, and that you would be prevented from even planting a garden in your yard. It's been difficult (for me, at least) to sort the truth from the hysteria.


Enter Michael Pollan. I've read pretty much everything he's ever written, and listen to several of his speeches and interview. I trust him, and I know he does his homework. Mr. Pollan wants S.510 to pass, but it needs to also include something called the Tester amendment. In the words of Michael Pollan and Fast Food Nation author Eric Schlosser:


"S.510 is the most important food safety bill in a generation. The Tester amendment will make it even more effective, helping to ensure food safety while protecting small farmers and producers.  We both think this is the right thing to do."


If S.510 passed without the Tester amendment, it could severely limit or restrict the ability of small farmers to sell at Farmers' Markets and to restaurants. Food Democracy Now is also advocating for the Manager's amendment, which would give additional protections to small farmers. For additional information about the Tester and Manager's amendments, scroll to the bottom of this post to read text from Food Democracy Now.


(If you don't live in Colorado, click here to get the phone numbers for your senators.)


If you live in Colorado, your senators are:
Senator Mark Udall: 202-224-5941
Senator Michael Bennett: 202-224-5852


If you'd like a suggestion for what to say when you call, try this (courtesy of Food Democracy Now):


"I am a constituent of Senator___________ and I am calling to ask him/her to vote for the Tester–Hagan Amendment and the Manager’s Amendment to the Food Safety Modernization Bill (S.510). We need a food safety bill that cracks down on corporate bad actors without harming vibrant new local and regional food providers. I believe "one size fits all" farm legislation is harmful to the family farm economy, especially beginning farmers, and think that we need size and practice appropriate food safety regulations for small and mid-sized farms and processors, which are vital to our economic recovery, public health, and nutritional wellbeing. Thank you."



What’s in the Tester-Hagan Amendment? [1]


The Tester-Hagan amendment would improve food safety outcomes by creating size-appropriate requirements and less costly compliance alternatives.  The amendment will:


(1)  Clarify existing law which says that farmers who direct market more than 50% of their product to the consumer at the farm or at a retail location off the farm such as a farm stand or farmer’s market need not register with FDA.  This clarification is especially important for off-farm retail locations such as farmers markets. 


(2)  Provides a size appropriate and less costly alternative to Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Plans (HACCP) for farmers who:

• Direct market more than 50% of their products directly to consumers, stores or restaurants, and
• Have gross sales (direct and non-direct combined) of less than $500,000, and
• Sell to consumers, stores, or restaurants that are in-state or within 400 miles.  

Farmers who qualify must provide documentation that the farm is in compliance with state regulations.   Documentation may include licenses, inspection reports, or other evidence that the farm is in compliance with State, local, county, or other applicable non-Federal food safety law.  The farm must also prominently and conspicuously display the name and address of farm/facility on its label.  For foods without a label then by poster, sign, or placard, at the point of purchase or, in the case of Internet sales, in an electronic notice, or in the case of sales to stores and restaurants, on the invoice.


If there are no state regulations or if the farmer prefers a different option, the farmer must provide FDA with documentation that potential hazards have been identified and that preventive controls have been implemented and are being monitored for effectiveness.


(3)  Provides alternatives to the produce standards for farms that:

• Direct market more than 50% of their products directly to consumers, stores or restaurants, and
• Have gross sales (direct and non-direct combined) of less than $500,000, and
• Sell to consumers, stores, or restaurants that are in-state or within 400 miles.  

The farm must prominently and conspicuously display the name and address of farm/facility on its label.  For foods without a label then by poster, sign, or placard, at the point of purchase or, in the case of Internet sales, in an electronic notice, or in the case of sales to stores and restaurants, on the invoice.

What’s in the Manager’s Amendment? 


The Manager’s Amendment incorporates a wide variety of changes to the bill that have been added since the measure was approved by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee late last year.  All of these changes have been approved by both the Democratic and Republican sponsors of the bill.  Among the changes are a number of very important items for farmers, including:


(1) An amendment sponsored by Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) to provide for a USDA-delivered competitive grants program for food safety training for farmers, small processors and wholesalers.  The training projects will prioritize small and mid-scale farms, beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers, and small food processors and wholesalers. The grant program will be administered by USDA’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture.
(2) An amendment sponsored by Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) to reduce unnecessary paperwork and excess regulation required under the preventative control plan and the produce standards sections of the bill.  FDA is instructed to provide flexibility for small processors including on-farm processing, to minimize the burden of compliance with regulations, and to minimize the number of different standards that apply to separate foods.  FDA will also be prohibited from requiring farms and other food facilities to hire consultants to write food safety plans. The Bennet amendment applies to all small farms and processors, not just those who direct market within 400 miles of their farms.


(3) An amendment sponsored by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) for farms that engage in value-added processing or that co-mingle product from several farms gives the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to either exempt farms engaged in low or no risk processing or co-mingling activities from new regulatory requirements or to modify particular regulatory requirements for such farming operations.


(4) An amendment championed by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) to strip the bill of wildlife-threatening enforcement against “animal encroachment” of farms is also in the manager’s package.  It will require FDA to apply sound science to any requirements that might impact wildlife and wildlife habitat on farms.


(5) An amendment proposed by Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) will not require small farmers to meet extensive traceability and recordkeeping if they sell food directly to consumers or to grocery stores and allows labeling that preserves the identity of the farm to satisfy traceability requirements. The amendment also prevents FDA from requiring any farm from needing to keep records beyond the first point of sale when the product leaves the farm, except in the case of farms that co-mingle product from multiple farms, in which case they must also keep records one step back as well as one step forward.


Source:
1. From our friends at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, November 10, 2010.
http://sustainableagriculture.net/blog/food-safety-action-alert-2/