Monsanto 'food safety' law endangers farmers' markets

Bills have been proposed in both the US and Canada under the false title of "food safety" laws. In fact, the proposed bills were written by Monsanto, ADM and other industrial food entities in order to shut down all small-scale food production and distribution via onerous paperwork requirements. If the sources here and here are to be believed (and I see no reason not to believe them), many of the gains we've all experienced during the last decade or so in our food world are seriously threatened. The power of these giant corporations in congress and parliament is basically unmodulated. Only a loud outcry can stop them this time. But, of course, they'll be back again and again.

Geo

No offense, Geo, but I think the links you point to read largely as alarmist propaganda that jumps to conclusions without any real supporting facts (most of the supporting information links in the first linked piece are to other pieces of the author or similar pieces in similarly agenda-driven publications).

This article/blog post seems to counter some of the points made in the first two, and the author actually spoke with the Congresswoman who is sponsoring the legislation. Seems Monsanto is not involved at all, and the bill is a bit more innocuous than the pieces you link would lead one to believe

Funny, I recently had a long discussion via email on this very subject. As an avid home gardener, I was concerned - but noticed that when I did a google search, almost boilerplate statements were being made on both very right-wing and very left-wing websites. After finding that several people I trusted were skeptical about these allegations, I went and read the bill myself - especially the sections noted in the boilerplate (can't seem to link to it now, but the Library of Congress has them all in a searchable database.) I found some vague language, but nothing alarming. Congresswoman DeLauro devoted space on her website to the bill, which is also linked there in both summary and complete form, along with a Myths and Facts pdf.

Other websites have noted that the allegations don't seem to ring true:
http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/food/foodsafety/background-on-h-r-875
http://www.lavidalocavore.org/showDiary.do;jsessionid=4594159B4F8E35CBCB8FA2A7994591C6?diaryId=1147
What's more, if you read the bill - which is, in my inexpert reading, mostly about a food tracking system, and about national food safety standards, it seems agribusiness is affected more than anyone else - this makes me wonder who is really behind these allegations.

I'm currently reading "Counterknowldege" by Damian Thompson. "How we surrendered to conspiracy theories, quack medicine, bogus science, and fake history."

Worth picking up in my estimation.

All your points are well taken. It looks like H.R. 875 isn't so bad.

But Mhays, if I read your link here correctly, all the bad things that the 'conspiracy' people say about 875 (which misrepresent it) are in fact, and indeed, true of 814 and 759. That is to say, if you substitute [814 and 759] wherever the original article cites [875], then the original article becomes factual, and genuinely scary. To wit

Food & Water Watch wrote:Two of the bills are about traceability for food (S.425 and H.R. 814). These present real issues for small producers who could be forced to bear the cost of expensive tracking technology and recordkeeping...Several of the things not found in the DeLauro [=875] can be found in other bills – like H.R. 814, the Tracing and Recalling Agricultural Contamination Everywhere Act, which calls for a mandatory animal identification system, or H.R. 759, the Food And Drug Administration Globalization Act, which overhauls the entire structure of FDA. H.R. 759 is more likely to move through Congress than H.R. 875. And H.R. 759 contains several provisions that could cause problems for small farms and food processors.

So, rather than contradict the original article(s) I posted, Mhays, I think your cited article re-enforces them. At least that's the way I read your cited article.

Geo

And here, by the way, is the Canadian counterpart to the House Bills.

Geo

Monsanto 'food safety' law endangers farmers' markets

In fact, the proposed bills were written by Monsanto, ADM and other industrial food entities

[/quote]seems Monsanto is not involved at all[/quote]


Geo, since you posted that Monsanto wrote the law and stated that assertion as fact, and as another poster has sourced information indicating that is not true, could you reply to just this aspect of the discussion?

Do you still claim that Monsanto wrote any of the laws that are being discussed?

Thanks

auxin1--

My information is that Monsanto and other large food people were involved in writing the Canadian bill. This is repeated on the Canadian site that I cited. This Canadian site is an extremely reputable group.

OGM food is extremely controversial up here in Canada. Monsanto is really throwing its muscle around, pressuring farmers, seed wholesalers, etc. to plant OGM seeds. An article this week in Le Devoir noted that a number of traditional crop seed varieties were not sold this year, and linked this decline in crop diversity to pressure from OGM seed producers. Le Devoir is the most respected French daily in Canada.

Did you read the Canadian source I cited?

Geo

Geo,

I did go to the various boards that you and the other posters offered up. I was compelled to ask if you still stuck by your statement that Monsanto wrote the bills after reading the link Matt provided.

In that link I was impressed by the organic advocate who publicly promoted the same rumor, learned that she was wrong and took responsibility for going back to the reporter and correcting the record. An intellectually honest person whose opinions carry a lot of weight because of her commitment to the truth.

I did look at the Canadian link that you provided. It didn't educate me on the Canadian bill and its fiery rhetoric, from my perspective, doesn't help its cause.

You've asked us to believe your assertion and I'm trying to understand why I should. I don't see a Monsanto connection and I don't see farmers markets imperiled.

I'm pretty comfortable that even if all of these bills pass, my Evanston Farmers market will open up this Spring and the Kinnectikut (sp??) guys will still be selling me my leafy lettuces.

Now, if you had said, "Dick Cheney food safety law targets Evanston farmers market", I'd believe it without reading and would join you in the fear mongering.

auxen1 wrote:Now, if you had said, "Dick Cheney food safety law targets Evanston farmers market", I'd believe it without reading and would join you in the fear mongering.

Gents,

As per the Posting Guidelines we have a no fear mongering/politics/religion policy.

Gary for the moderators

For those who want to read the actual bills on this subject:

S. 3422 To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to provide for the establishment of a traceability system for food, and for other purposes.
H.R.7143 Food Safety Modernization Act of 2007 (Introduced in House)
S.425 the Food Safety and Tracking Improvement Act. (Introduced in Senate) (SEC. 414A. is the one to read.)
H. R. 814 To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the Federal Meat Inspection Act, the Poultry Products Inspection Act, and the Egg Products Inspection Act to improve the safety of food, meat, and poultry products through enhanced traceability, and for other purposes.

In a cursory reading, seems even these bills are about interstate commerce - and so shouldn't affect in-state farmer's markets at all. I'll be curious to see if this would affect the Michigan or Wisconsin growers.

Mhays wrote:In a cursory reading, seems even these bills are about interstate commerce - and so shouldn't affect in-state farmer's markets at all. I'll be curious to see if this would affect the Michigan or Wisconsin growers.

That was my first thought when I read the parts about interstate commerce. Seems to me that more of the farmers at the Evanston farmers market are from out of state than in state. (I don't have a lot of experience with other local farmers markets, but assume the same is true of most.) Given that, if it does affect farmers selling in farmers markets across state lines, could be bad news for Chicago farmers markets afterall, even if it's not as bad for ALL farmers markets.

Reading through this thread is maybe the best example of confirmation bias I've seen in a long time.