The Jackasses did it……HR 2749 the Seizure of the US food supply and production passed the House

Despite some really eloquent speeches to the contrary, our “for sale” House of Representatives passed the Food Fascism Act….euphemistically called a food safety act, by a margin of about 140 over the naysayer’s.

True to form, Rosa DeLauro spoke about things she knows nothing about and couldn’t care less; Rosa just loves her some Monsanto!

And that exclusion for farms??? Gone! And that includes you organic idiots who thought you had kissed enough behinds to have your industry excluded.

The newly revised bill that appeared overnight after the original was defeated 29th of July, now includes all those farms we were told would not be affected by this legislation. Of course those big agri-corporations made out like bandits. Biopiracy is going to have a profitable future thanks to the political whore’s in congress we call our representatives.

The entire HR 2749 bill was completely wiped and replaced with an amendment that was the text of another bill similar to, but far more lethal than the first. Now, please tell me again that backroom deals and pre-planned votes don’t happen in congress. To make it look bi-partisan, some Democrats voted no, and some Republicans voted yes. This was to make you think they had actually debated and considered what they all intended to do anyway.

The bill that passed does only two things……..it seizes control of food production and supply and then hands it over to big agri-corporations. The remaining content of the bill is a primer on enforcement……meaning all the powers they have granted themselves to prevent you from claiming Constitutional protections, and enabling them to violate your rights on multiple levels…..all for food safety of course.

There is NOTHING in this bill that will address, prevent or otherwise affect the safety of food. This was federal encroachment which will be extended to the states with the cooperation of state officials. This bill did nothing but establish a police agency, granting it massive and uncontrolled enforcement capabilities allowing it to make up even more rules to benefit its corporate sponsors, as it moves along.

Oh! And did I mention this will be done by expanding the FDA? The FDA for god’s sake!

A November 2007 report titled “Subcommittee on Science and Technology, FDA Science and Mission at Risk” doc was a scathing review of the not only the inadequacies of FDA, but the fact that it in no way can assure the safety of food in the United States.

That report cited the massive failure of FDA to perform even its basic functions, going on to declare the agency’s problems were the result of corporate influence and funding. It should have been declared defunct right then and there, but of course the lobbyists who stalk the hallways of congress on behalf bio-pirates and other parasitic corporations just wouldn’t hear of such a thing. I can only assume the report on the massive failure of FDA to operate on even a cursory level ended up in the restrooms to wipe the behinds of all those royal asses who hold down seats in the House and who voted today to end competition for industrialized corporate producers while wiping out family and independent operations.

And it wasn’t just the House that sold us out. In the last few months various organic associations and other assorted producers came out with what they described as “myths on the net” about the intention of these bills. Why…..these bills were not going to apply to family and independent farms and ranches and surely not to organic growers. That was just internet hysteria! I wonder who was hysterical last evening as this bill passed specifically bringing them under the expanded FDA authority? And drinks all around!

I have no doubt that dinner and drinks were being supplied last evening by corporate lobbyists as a way to thank House members for passing this seizure of the US food production and supply. FDA was probably pouring the champagne. I wonder if anyone thought to invite those organic groups?

Maybe they could give everyone a big dose of Vioxx when they arrive, spike it with a Gardasil shot and then wash it all down with a big giant super sized diet soda loaded with that yummy aspartame. This should all be followed by a meal consisting of gmo infected fruits and veggies with a big slab of genetically altered meat just oozing antibiotics, growth hormones and the residues from chemicals of all kinds, shipped in from a country who gave their word they “inspected” the food before shipping it.

After all, thanks to Henry Waxman and his cohorts in Constitutional Crime, that’s what is going to end up on our plates.

http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2009pres/07/20090731a.html

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, July 31, 2009

Contact: HHS Press Office (202) 690-6343
USDA Press Office (202) 720-4623
HHS Secretary Sebelius, Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Announce New Strategies to Keep America’s Food Supply Safe

Departments Take Steps on Leafy Greens, Tomatoes, Melons and Ground Beef

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that prevention and partnership will guide their departments’ efforts to safeguard the food Americans eat every day.

Both Secretaries announced new strategies that focus on prevention and depend on working closely with growers, food processors and consumers to achieve their goals.

As a first step, Secretary Sebelius praised three draft guidances prepared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), an agency within HHS, aimed at minimizing or eliminating contamination in leafy greens, tomatoes, and melons that can cause foodborne illnesses.

“These proposed controls provide a guide for growers and processors to follow so they may better protect their produce from becoming contaminated,” Secretary Sebelius told a group of growers, consumers, businesses, food safety advocates, and others gathered at the Eastern Market, a public fresh-food market in Washington, D.C. “This strategy represents the kind of positive change promised by President Obama.”

“Making prevention a priority is critical to reducing foodborne illness and one of the three food safety principles of President Obama’s Food Safety Working Group.” said Vilsack.

“The actions we are taking today will result in safer food in our country, which means healthier children, longer lives and less costly healthcare.”

Agriculture Secretary Vilsack announced that USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) is issuing guidance for inspectors to begin conducting routine sampling of bench trim for E. coli. Bench trim are the pieces left over from steaks and other cuts that are then used to make ground beef.

FSIS will also be issuing streamlined, consolidated instructions to its personnel for inspection, sampling and other actions to reduce E. coli O157:H7 in beef. FSIS is also issuing streamlined instructions to its inspectors to provide a simplified procedure to find an eliminate E. coli before it reaches consumers.

Unveiled today, the FDA commodity-specific draft guidances are based on the public health principles embraced by the White House Food Safety Working Group. The Working Group is being led by Secretary Sebelius and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. FDA’s draft guidances are the first step toward setting enforceable standards for produce safety.

“These new food safety guidelines will facilitate the development of enforceable food safety standards and ensure a safer supply of fresh food for all Americans,” said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. “The three draft guidances are designed to help growers and others across the entire supply chain minimize or eliminate contamination in leafy greens, tomatoes, and melons that can cause foodborne illnesses.”

Commissioner Hamburg said the draft guidances represent a shift in strategy for the FDA, from a food safety system that often has been reactive to one that is based on preventing foodborne hazards

“We must set as our highest priority the creating of enforceable standards for food safety that prevent the food Americans eat from ever becoming contaminated,” she told those gathered at the Eastern Market.

Secretary Sebelius said that consumers play a vital role in ensuring the safety of the fresh produce they eat. She offered the following tips from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

* Buy wisely. Don’t buy produce that is bruised or damaged. When buying fresh cut produce, choose only items that are refrigerated or surrounded by ice.

* Refrigerate promptly. Certain perishable fresh fruits and vegetables (e.g., strawberries, lettuce, herbs, and mushrooms) should be stored in a clean refrigerator at a temperature of 40ºF or below. If you aren’t sure whether an item should be refrigerated, ask your grocer. Produce that is purchased pre-cut or peeled should be refrigerated within two hours.

* Prepare produce with clean hands. Wash hands for 20 seconds with warm water and soap before and after preparing fresh produce.

* Wash produce thoroughly. Rinse fruits and vegetables under running water. Scrub firm produce such as melons and cucumbers with a clean produce brush. All unpackaged fruits and vegetables, as well as those packaged and not marked pre-washed, should be thoroughly rinsed before eating. This includes produce grown conventionally or organically at home, or produce from a grocery store or farmer’s market.

* Do not cross contaminate. Don’t give bacteria the opportunity to spread from one food to another. Consider using one cutting board only for foods that will be cooked such as raw meat, and another one for ready-to-eat foods such as raw fruits and vegetables.

For more information, see FDA Issues Draft Guidances for Tomatoes, Leafy Greens and Melons

http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/Product-SpecificInformation/FruitsVegetablesJuices/FDAProduceSafetyActivities/ucm174086.htm.

To access the key findings and recommendations of the President’s Food Safety Working Group along with more information about its activities, please visit www.foodsafetyworkinggroup.gov.

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Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.

Last revised: July 31, 2009

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