Don't tread on us: Green party seeks amendment to food safety bills

Luis of the Fresh Produce Industry Group posts this story about the Green Party's quest for an amendment to food safety bills that would protect small growers. From the post

 

Green Party leaders voiced concerns about the "Food Safety Modernization Act" (HR 875 and S 425) and, while supporting the goal of food safety and farm inspections, urged amendments in the bill to protect small and family farms, farmers' markets, and organic farming. America needs national food safety guarantees in the age of genetic modification, misleading labeling, food-borne illnesses and contaminants, especially pesticides.  But the 'one size fits all' approach of the bills endangers family farms and local, organic agriculture.  Without amendments, the result of HR 875 and S 425 may
be the demise of small farms and organic agriculture, increased profits and the expansion of giant agri-businesses. This story from the Wilson Country News talks about the proliferation of food traceback bills in Congress.

 

Rather than crushing protocols and penalties, we call for regulation that ensures food safety by working with family farms, farmers markets, and similar small businesses and promotes the selling of locally, organically, and sustainably grown produce.

 

 

TK: It makes no sense to completely exclude small growers from traceback requirements and other basic food safety oversight. The idea of starting small is to get big, to pool supply, build distribution centers to serve larger buyers, etc. . It''s the American way. Better to comply with common sense traceback that would be applicable to all growers rather than try to stick to "corporate farmers."

 

Also from Luis:

 

FDA won't meet its deadline for food safety registry

 

More headlines snatched from the Web:

 

 

Roubini lashes out at Cramer AP

 

"Cramer is a buffoon," said Roubini, a New York University economics professor often called Dr. Doom. "He was one of those who called six times in a row for this bear market rally to be a bull market rally and he got it wrong. And after all this mess and Jon Stewart he should just shut up because he has no shame."

 

Double standard in pesticide ban Chemistry World

 

However, the process has thrown up an anomaly - several agents used in organic farming have made the cut, despite the fact that not all the necessary data were available. These include chemicals that are used to prevent mould, particularly in potatoes and grapes, and which are therefore essential in the production of organic wine. These fungicidal chemicals include several copper salts and Bordeaux mixture, a combination of copper sulfate and calcium hydroxide. 'The EU has given approval to copper salts on the basis of a dossier that I would consider to be pretty light in some areas, and where there are gaps in the data,' says Colin Ruscoe, chairman of the British Crop Production Council. The main problem with copper is environmental - it persists in the soil and can damage beneficial organisms. 'It seems unlikely to me that copper or copper-based compounds would pass the persistence requirements if the data were available,' he says. 'There are areas where livestock can't be fed on the land because it is so heavily contaminated through copper use over generations

 

 

Wegmans rated no. 1 by Consumer Reports AP

Wegmans fared particularly well for its customer service, its produce and its meats.

Students learn by growing their own veggies  Marconews.com

 

Washington state organic farm growth slows  Puget Sound Business Journal

 

In the state, there are an estimated 96,000 acres of farmland growing organic crops, according to the study conducted by the Washington State University Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources. That's up from about 81,000 in 2007 and 64,000 in 2006.Certified organic tree fruit acreage was the fastest-growing organic sector in the state, growing by 55 percent last year to nearly 17,000 acres. Washington leads the nation in organic apple, pear and cherry acreage.Grant County has the most organic acreage in the state, at more than 18,000 acres, followed by Benton County at about 13,000 acres and Yakima County at about 8,000 acres.

 

Six myths about organic food Seattle PI

MYTH #3: IT TASTES BETTER.
Nobody has been able to tell the difference except in one study of apples, where organics came out ahead. To get raspberries that taste raspberrier, buy produce that's locally grown, is in season, and hasn't been sitting on the shelf too long. Let's face it: Nothing is at its best when it's flown halfway around the world and waxed, then has to spend a week in the grocery store.

Merrigan criticized for organic ties Red Green and Blue

Senator Saxby Chambliss, the leading Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee, expressed his concerns with Merrigan's organic associations:

I do have some concerns that in promoting your passion for organic production and sustainable agriculture that you tear down other types of agricultural production for those with different points of view.  Please keep a special place in your heart for organic production … but also other types of productions which give farmers more options.

 

How green shoppers navigate the grocery store How Green

TK: Ruffles have ridges....

 

But I'd be lying if I didn't say I longed for some of those preservative-laden goodies lining the store's interior—a bag of sour-cream-and-onion chips, some Keebler's cookies, a frozen mac-and-cheese dinner. Though I've been pretty diligent in the past year or so to stick to fresh foods, the siren's call emanating from those frozen pizza section (once a major vice) still tugs at me on occasion. Hopefully, the more I stick to healthy, fresh food, the more that will go away.