A Call To Action!

Tell Your Senators to KEEP the Tester-Hagan amendment of Bill S.510

(Background Summary-- Click Here for more information with links.... We only have two days to be heard on this issue before a vote will be taken... Please act now!

The bill, of which this amendment is a part, seeks to place broad regulatory authority in the hands of those who are seeking to centralize food production and distribution in America.  Your call to your U. S. Senator before a vote is taken on December 3, 2010 is imperitave.)


If you live in the US this is another urgent action you can take during this holiday weekend that will impact the quality of the food you are able to secure.

Last week, the US Senate voted 74-25 to move to consideration of S.510, the Food Safety Modernization Act – which will amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with respect to the safety of the food supply.

If you're unfamiliar with this bill, this LewRockwell article provides a nice summary, including "12 reasons why S. 510 could be absolutely disastrous for small food producers and for the U.S. economy."

According to Dr. Shiv Chopra (whom I've previously interviewed on the issue of food safety):

"If accepted [S 510] would preclude the public's right to grow, own, trade, transport, share, feed and eat each and every food that nature makes.

It will become the most offensive authority against the cultivation, trade and consumption of food and agricultural products of one's choice.

It will be unconstitutional and contrary to natural law or, if you like, the will of God."

Judith McGeary with the farmandranchfreedom.org provided me with the following update on this potentially devastating bill, along with an urgent action request.

Agribusiness has Shown Its True Colors!

After 30 hours of debate and behind-the-scenes negotiations, the US Senators released a final Manager's Amendment that includes a compromise version of the Tester-Hagan amendment. But even though an agreement was reached on the Tester-Hagan amendment last week, the issue is still not over.

The final vote on the bill has been delayed until Monday, November 29, due to disagreements over amendments relating to the health care bill and a ban on earmarks.

In the meantime, Agribusiness has shown its true colors.

For over a year, the big Agribusiness trade organizations have supported passage of S.510. From Agribusiness's perspective, the bill was a win-win: they could absorb the costs of the regulations because of their size; they'd gain good PR for supposedly improving food safety practices; and the competition created by small, local food producers, which are rapidly growing, would be crushed by the regulatory burdens.

This was only speculation until now.

But when the Senators agreed to include the Tester-Hagan amendment in the bill, to exempt small-scale direct-marketing producers from some of the most burdensome provisions, 20 Agribusiness trade organizations fired off a letter stating that they would now oppose the bill!

The letter from the Agribusiness groups states:

"[B]y incorporating the Tester amendment in the bill, consumers will be left vulnerable to the gaping holes and uneven application of the law created by these exemptions.

In addition, it sets an unfortunate precedent for future action on food safety policy by Congress that science and risk based standards can be ignored. And most importantly, this amendment rejects the fundamental purpose of S. 510 that requires FDA to develop standards and set requirements that are based on science and risk."

What science and risk?

No one has produced any data or evidence of any widespread problems caused by local producers and marketed directly to consumers. All of the major foodborne illness outbreaks have been caused by products that went through the long supply chains of Agribusiness.

Agribusiness's real concern about the Tester-Hagan amendment isn't food safety, but the precedent set by having Congress recognize that small, direct-marketing producers are different, and should be regulated differently, from the large Agribusinesses.

Agribusiness is now trying to convince the Senators to pull the Tester-Hagan amendment back out.

While the amendment is currently part of the "Managers' Package" – the amended version of the bill agreed to by six bipartisan sponsors – nothing is certain until the actual vote.

This Thanksgiving week, please take a moment to call or email your Senators to tell them to hold firm on KEEPING the Tester-Hagan amendment part of the bill!

Take Action NOW!

Your voice needs to be heard on this issue, and time is running out. The vote on this dangerous legislation takes place on Monday, November 29.

So take action now!

Here's how:

• Call the Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121, and ask to be directly connected to your Senator's office. Tell your Senator to keep the Tester-Hagan amendment in the bill.

• You can find additional contact information for your US Senator at http://senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm