HR 875, a food safety bill, has been introduced in Congress, and while a true need exists, this bill has real potential to limit your access to Florida farm foods.  As many of you are aware we have had a slew of food borne illness outbreaks.  This is all  the consequence of our industrial food system.  A food system that routinely keeps animals in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions.  A food system that in order to keep these animals alive uses  70% of all the antibiotics the US produces. We should not be surprised that these operations are the new breeding ground of mutating pathogens.  So what is the response to all these unsafe practices?…Do they proposed to curb antibiotic use? Perhaps regulators what to change the living conditions of these animals?  NO! The proposal is to institute far-reaching, potentially repressive laws that threaten your access to Florida farm foods.   Lets take a deeper look:

Definitions in Section 1, Section 3 of HR 875

CATEGORY 1 FOOD ESTABLISHMENT- The term `category 1 food establishment’ means a food establishment (other than a seafood processing establishment) that slaughters, for the purpose of producing food, animals that are not subject to inspection under the Federal Meat Inspection Act or poultry that are not subject to inspection under the Poultry Products Inspection Act. (This would include local  Florida farmers slaughtering for their families &/or friends & neighbors &/or those doing so at Farmer’s markets, etc. What they really mean is  “anyone not currently subject to inspection”….)

CATEGORY 3 FOOD ESTABLISHMENT- The term `category 3 food establishment’ means a food establishment (other than a category 1 or category 2 establishment) that processes cooked, pasteurized, or otherwise ready-to-eat seafood or other animal products, fresh produce in ready-to-eat raw form, or other products that pose a risk of hazardous contamination. They don’t say “sells”…only  “that processes…fresh produce in ready-to-eat raw form…” Once again this  would include those growing food for their own family’s consumption, food for consumption by their family &/or friends & neighbors, etc. as well as those selling at local farmer’s markets.)

Sec. 201 (a) (2) ensure that persons who produce, process, or distribute food meet their responsibility to prevent or minimize food safety hazards related to their products. (This is one of my favorites “…Persons?” Not companies, but “persons”…)

Raw milk, pastured eggs, local Florida beef, all these are in danger if our local small farmers are forced into this system.  They essentially would be priced out of the market.  I agree with greater oversight of the offenders and that is huge multinational big business.  So regulate the offenders not my local Florida farmers.  See the links below for more information:

http://www.ftcldf.org/aa/aa-14mar2009.htm

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=92002