More on food safety
Last week, the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Agriculture held a hearing on Food Safety Oversight. Daniel Levinson, Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, testified that “recent outbreaks of foodborne illness involving peanut butter, peppers, and spinach have raised serious questions about the Food & Drug Administration’s ability to protect the Nation’s Food Supply.” He emphasized traceability of all products at all stages of the food supply chain as an imperative goal.
This happened in the wake of several food safety bills introduced in Congress — and led to a great deal of chatter on blogs and listservs reacting to potential impacts on small producers. There is concern that additional costs to track food from source to plate could be too great a burden on small producers. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition has formed an emergency task force to analyze food safety bills. The intent is to get beyond the hype and develop policy from the vantage point of small farms and organic operations.
You may be interested in the following publications. Please note that not everything discussed is in line with Marilu’s Total Health Makeover®, especially regarding red meat and dairy. However, any improvement to the meat and dairy industries is good for all of us, even if we choose not to eat meat and dairy.
- The March 20 edition of “The Hill” (a Capitol Hill news source read by staffers and legislators) contains a five-page special section on Agriculture and Food Safety
- The Organic Consumers Union contains articles and updates on many programs, including those supporting chemical-free food, sustainable agriculture, small family farms, and eating for health.
- The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (mentioned above) is a lobbying coalition. You can sign up for NSAC’s Action Alerts and Weekly Update so you can take actions that are strategic and timely – such as submitting comments during a notice of proposed rule or contacting your Senators and Representative when legislation is moving through Congress.
