Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>]

Just got info on this from Steve Gilman NOFA Policy Coordinator
go-nofa@yahoogroups.com

He didn't provide a link so I located this from the National Sustainable 
Agriculture Coalition dated Sept 15
http://sustainableagriculture.net/blog/food-safety-legislation-heading-for-the-senate-floor/

It appears from this that S.510, even unamended, would still not apply to 
growers who do no processing at all [yours truly!]. I could be mistaken.

The "managers amendment" is interesting also.

paul tradingpost@lobo.net
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Food Safety Legislation Heading for the Senate Floor
September 15th, 2010

FOOD SAFETY LEGISLATION MUST PROTECT
FAMILY FARMS, SUSTAINABLE & ORGANIC AGRICULTURE

CALL YOUR SENATORS TODAY AND URGE THEM
TO SUPPORT THE TESTER AMENDMENT

The Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510) could reach the Senate floor as 
early as tomorrow.  NSAC has been able to win several improvements to the 
bill but more changes are needed before we can support the bill.

S.510 would considerably ramp up FDA regulation on farms that even minimally 
process their crops and sell them to restaurants, food coops, groceries, 
schools and wholesalers.  An amendment sponsored by Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) 
would exempt small farm and small food processing facilities as well as small 
and mid-sized farmers who primarily direct market their products to 
consumers, stores or restaurants within their region.

Please call your Senators today and ask them to support the Tester Amendment.

It’s easy to call:

Go to Congress.org and type in your zip code.  Click on your Senator’s name, 
and then on the contact tab for their phone number.  You can also call the 
Capitol Switchboard and ask to be directly connected to your Senator’s 
office: 202-224-3121.

The message is simple. “I am a constituent of Senator___________ and I am 
calling to ask him/her to support the Tester Amendment and to include the 
Tester language in the Manager’s Amendment to the food safety bill.  The 
Tester Amendment will exempt small farm and food facilities and farmers who 
direct market their products to consumers, stores or restaurants.   We need a 
food safety bill that cracks down on corporate bad actors without erecting 
new barriers to family farms and the growing healthy food movement.  Our 
continuing economic recovery demands that we preserve these market 
opportunities for small  and mid-sized family farms.

Report your Call:

Click here to tell us how your call went.

Learn More:

Most sustainable agriculture and family farm groups think the Senate bill 
with changes won by NSAC is a very significant improvement over the companion 
bill passed by the House of Representatives (HR 2749) last year.  The changes 
listed below will be included in the bill that goes to the Senate floor for a 
vote.  We can’t support the Senate bill, however, unless the Tester amendment 
is also adopted.  We strongly oppose the companion House measure, and stand 
ready to defend the “good amendments” to the Senate bill when it goes to 
conference with the House later this year.

The best way to ensure that the Tester provision is included with the final 
bill that emerges from conference is for it to be included in the Manager’s 
Amendment as it goes to the floor of the Senate.  The Manager’s Amendment 
includes all of the language that has the support of the three Democrats and 
three Republicans who are sponsoring the bill.

The Manager’s Amendment to S.510 already includes the following important 
improvements to the bill that have been backed by NSAC:

    * Sanders (D-VT) amendment (requiring FDA to write regulations to 
determine low risk on-farm processing activities that can be exempt from 
regulatory requirement);
    * Bennet (D-CO) amendment (to reduce unnecessary paperwork and streamline 
requirements for farmers and small processors);
    * Stabenow (D-MI) amendment (to create a USDA-delivered competitive 
grants program for farmer food safety training);
    * Boxer (D-CA) amendment (to eliminate anti-wildlife habitat language 
from the bill); and
    * Brown (D-OH) amendment (on traceability requirements, including 
exemptions for direct marketing and farm identity-preserved marketing).

For more information on the Senate Food Safety bill, read our latest 
information alert here
http://sustainableagriculture.net/blog/senate-food-safety-bill/
and our Food Safety Policy Brief here
http://sustainableagriculture.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/NSAC-Food-Safety-Policy-Brief-October-2009.pdf
 .