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| Food Modernization Act |
by Alison Jolicoeur For the many people who enjoy local, organic food, or fresh raw milk and eggs from their neighbor, it is hard to understand how th FDA will make their food safer. With the passage of the Food Safety Modernization Act (bill S510 HR2751) the FDA's regulatory power over the food supply has greatly increased, apparently to prevent food-borne illnesses. The bill was slipped into a late-night Senate session on Sunday, catching many in opposition off guard. The House voted today in favor of the bill 215-144 and President Obama is expected to sign it into law before Christmas. It all appears very well intentioned, but remember the motto "The best government is that which governs the least." Many are concerned with how the bill will effect small, family-owned farms that make products available through farmers markets or CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture). Small farms that do less than $500,000 anually are supposedly exempt from many of the new regulations. Consider though, the organic farmer who takes in more than $500,000 anually, but barely breaks even, will he be able to survive the extra regulatory fees, or burdensome paperwork? Anyone with an interest in obtaining unadulterated food is aware of the recent crackdown on raw milk producers. Could our property be searched or seized like the raids on raw milk producers and co-ops? http://www.naturalnews.com/030136_Rawesome_foods_raid.html Is this an example of what we can expect from the FDA when it comes to our own farms and gardens? Will all of the nuts and seeds available at our health food stores be pasteurized, like almonds, in order to prevent salmonella? Will all our fruits and vegetables be irradiated to kill bacteria, appearing to be fresh when actually they are totally denatured, devoid of many original properties, and potentially harmful? http://earthbabyyogamama.com/food.issue.html Indstead of insisting Big Agro clean up their act, the answer in the past has been to kill the bacteria rather than to prevent contamination in the first place. Will all the life force and healing aspects of our food be zapped out in order to protect our safety? We've given up too many freedoms already in the name of "security." It has been called "the Patiot Act of farming", and those in opposition believe the bill could make it illegal to grow or produce food at home, and sell it to your neighbor, and that US food and farms will be put under the Department of Homeland Security. Many fear a final takeover of US seeds by corporations such as Monsanto, who has a reputation of harassing farmers and suing them for patent infringement. http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Goliath_and_David:_Monsanto's_Legal_Battles_against_Farmers A good question to be asked is, who will pay for all the extra regulation? The farmers? The consumer? Will it force many smaller operations out of business, and cause the price of food to skyrocket? It remains to be seen what the true outcome of this bill will be, but if the attempts to make our food supply safer in the past is any indication of what's to come in the future, then it looks like the true cost to our freedom will be more than we can afford. “If people let the government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny.” http://www.justmeans.com/Obama-Due-Sign-S510-Into-Law/39461.html http://www.farmtoconsumer.org/s510-revised-fda-coming-kennedy.htm
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