Frowning takes 68 muscles.
Smiling takes 6.
Pulling this trigger takes 2.
I'm lazy.
Posted on 11/20/2010 4:46:25 AM PST by don-o
The Food Safety Bill s510, considered both influential and controversial, was just passed in the Senate. This comes almost a year and a half after the House passed a bill calling to tighten the nation’s food safety rules. It will be the first time in 70 years that the FDA’s food safety system will be modernized. The bill will permit the FDA to increase inspections of food producers, track fruit and vegetable shipments and place stricter manufacturing standards to attempt to avoid outbreaks of contamination.
Some highly respected health experts are in fact on both sides of the debate—Michael Pollan (Omnivores Dilemma and Food Rules) publicly urged people to call their Senators to prevent the bill from passing, whereas Marion Nestle (Food Politics and What to Eat) thinks it’s about time for updated food safety regulations.
Little is known about the possible unintended consequences of the tighter restrictions that will come with the updated food safety bill. Many individuals and citizen’s groups are concerned that the bill was passed without time for discussions and refinement of the details. In the days leading up to the vote, groups encouraged the public to contact Senators for fear of the immediate passing of the bill without amendments.
Opponents of the bill were concerned that the cost of compliance and large amount of paperwork required would inevitably put small businesses, smaller suppliers, and those who sell directly to consumers, like small family-owned farms, vendors at farmer’s markets, out of business. This has the potential to significantly interfere with organic and small scale food manufacturers as well as various natural supplements.
It seems that only time will tell if Food Safety Bill s510 will actually make our food safer, or if it will lead to a host of other unintended problems.
Considering the safety of our food supply is timely. Increased cases of food borne illness have put consumers on alert. However, are increased government regulations and more red tape the answer? Or is getting back to basics and encouraging more local sustainable agriculture an obvious missing piece to this puzzle?
This is bad news with a capital “B”. Nothing more than another government power grab and a restriction of our Constitutional rights. It has got to be defeated. Do you want the FDA stomping through your backyard inspecting your garden?
Nope, just one more thing for our new Congress to undo.
My hope is it will make Americans grateful so we can hold Congress for a generation. This is all over the organics, gardening, and farming communities. That’s good for our side.
Short video concerning writing the FDA a :blank check" to empower it to do whatever it deems necessary and proper
Agreed. He is just the puppet. He is too dumb to coordinate all this.
Ping Don-O thanks!
Food Nazi’s with guns RAIDING a small food co-op!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioN0ehlyyXI&feature=player_embedded
Are we going to let the lame duck congress give FDA or HOMELAND SECURITY the power to take over our FOOD too?
Haven’t they ‘Nationalized’ enough already?
Thanks for the ping!
The Senate vote will not occur until the week of November 29. You have plenty of time to email, fax and telephone until then. The House bill HR 875 I have not heard anything about, but if the Dems pass that it will have to be that same week. If the Republicans support it, they will lose again in 2012.
btt
I haven’t read anything on this but I wouldn’t be afraid to bet it’s all about people growing their own food and maybe even selling some to neighbors or to local markets. MORE CONTROL UNDER ANOTHER GUISE!
Along with hundreds of laws that already exist, the control freakin’ commie’s will have the right to seize our properties, cars, money under any reason if they get this House bill HR 875. MORE CONTROL! SOROS ECONOMY KILLING MORONS!
Good point! And how many of those deaths were due to the direct result of government mandates in the CAFE standards? Quite a few (even more than those that died due to "bad food"), I'd reckon.
Mark
This type of stuff is beyond disturbing.
Bush opened these doors wide open and Obama is pushing this crap to the extreme.
Time to take our country back.
Thank you for the ping. This one outrages me to no end. What other country on the planet has safer food than ours? This is just another in a long list they have to control us.
Is “effing” the funny part?
Thank you so much for posting this. I must admit that I sat there with my mouth wide open! A mom/farmer with her three kids watching while 50 armed agents swarmed her property? The people belonging to the co-op sign a form acknowledging that they know the food is raw. Next, granny will be slammed to the ground, tazed, put in cuffs because she had the audacity to grow cherry tomatoes. Just a thought.
When governments start nationalizing the private sector I don't think they have a stopping point other than 'everything.'
It looks to me like what they are trying to do is re-pass the NRA (National Recovery Act), only in pieces, taking pages out of FDRs playbook.
It’s pretty draconian and the only thing it does is hurt small suppliers, raise prices, and gives way too much power to politicans. It won’t save anyone from becoming sick or dying as a result because it serves (if not the real purpose) only to destroy competitive forces that incentivize quality.
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