UPDATE: What you can do regarding H.R. 875

Slow Food Nation '08 Garden
San Francisco City Hall

As some of you have requested, this is an update to my last post in which I discussed H.R. 875: Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009.

Although an okay piece of legislation, the language is too broad and non-specific as it stands. For example, the bill defines a "food production facility" as:

"FOOD PRODUCTION FACILITY- The term 'food production facility' means any farm, ranch, orchard, vineyard, aquaculture facility, or confined animal-feeding operation."

As written, this bill could potentially create some serious future issues for anyone that grows, stores, or distributes fruits and vegetables or other foods including:

-farmer's markets
-community bake sales
-Slow Food Nation gardens
-private gardeners who donate produce overage to food banks
-backyard poultry owners
-urban community gardens
-roadside produce stands

Because of the nonspecific language of the bill, the above could be required to adhere to strict federal registration, tracking, and inspection guidelines or be subject to a fine of $1,000,000.

Are you potentially a "food production facility" under this broad definition?

There are a number of groups that are opposing this legislation with tactics that can be interpreted as "fear mongering". In my opinion, using these extreme approach waters down your otherwise legitimate voice.

What you can do

If you feel that this bill needs to be rewritten or killed all together because of its ambiguity and lack of definition, the first action you can take is to write to the member of Congress that represents you. You can do that via the internet by visiting http://www.congress.org

Take part in making sure that the laws being formed and passed in our nation's capital are in your best interest.

The following is a sample letter I wrote that you may wish to use as a springboard when writing your own letter:

Dear Rep. ___________,

Please oppose H.R. 875: Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009 as it is currently written. The definition of "food production facility" is too broad as it stands reading:

"FOOD PRODUCTION FACILITY- The term 'food production facility' means any farm, ranch, orchard, vineyard, aquaculture facility, or confined animal-feeding operation."

As written now, this bill has a huge loophole that would require federal regulation of all of the above as well as:

-farmer's markets
-community bake sales
-Slow Food Nation gardens
-private gardeners who donate produce overage to food banks
-backyard poultry owners
-urban community gardens

This is a waste of taxpayer dollars and an infringement on basic Constitutional rights. Instead, resources would be better utilized by
focusing on improving the existing FDA regulations.

Please oppose this bill until it is re-written with specific size delineations that will not impact small farmers and any of the above.

Sincerely your constituent,
You

Are you a "Food Production Facility"?

Our 2007 Roma tomato harvest

In the United States, a new piece of legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives that probably you either haven't heard of or don't think it applies to you. It is H.R. 875: Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009. For the most part, it is an okay piece of legislation that is intended to update an antiquated set of Food and Drug Administration laws that are over 70 years old. One of the antiquated elements of our current FDA law kind of stunned me. Congress found that:

"...the Food and Drug Administration, an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, has regulatory jurisdiction over the safety and labeling of 80 percent of the American food supply, encompassing all foods except meat, poultry, and egg products, as well as drugs, medical devices, and biologics..."

Okay... whoa... "except meat, poultry, and egg products?" Yeah, there needs to be some updating here if that stuff currently truly isn't under the FDA's regulatory jurisdiction for safety and labeling (which I thought it was).

However, there is one potentially major flaw in the current definition language of the bill that is disconcerting to me and others. When the bill defines the term "food production facility" and applies lots of regulation to it (including the requirement of many paper trails in case a health emergency needs to be tracked) this is what the definition states:

"FOOD PRODUCTION FACILITY- The term ‘food production facility’ means any farm, ranch, orchard, vineyard, aquaculture facility, or confined animal-feeding operation."

There's no further clarification than that--no acreage or headcount requirement... no income requirement... nothing more than the text above.

Our 2008 Santa Rosa plum harvest

So how many of you could possibly fall into this definition of "food production facility"?

With my 5 citrus trees, olive tree, apple tree, plum tree, vegetable garden, and future table grape vines, do I fall into that definition?

If someone sells their produce or baked goods at a local farmer's market or bake sale does the definition encompass them?

And what if I donate my overage of produce to a local food bank (as some people have done)? Does that then categorize me as a "food production facility"?

I gotta wonder if this affects urban community gardens or gardens like the Slow Food Nation garden grown outside San Francisco's City Hall?

Lots of potential implications and questions are now making me stop and think. Remember that C&C Music Factory hip hop hit from the 1990's "Things That Make You Go Hmm..."? That's the song playing in my head right now.

Any suggestions or insights?

Slow Food Nation '08 Garden
San Francisco City Hall