Many may have received this already,
but for those that didn't, we wanted to pass this along to all.
Farmers living near the hearing areas, should make their presence felt at these
hearing sessions. Doesn't look like they are offering many locations for
farmers to attend. Doe Run Farm, Tn.
Action Alert: September 18, 2009
Fresh Market Vegetable Growers and
Handlers:
The USDA needs to hear from you!
A National Leafy Greens Marketing
Agreement could harm family-scale farmers—disadvantaging some of the safest
local and organic growers in the nation
The USDA has announced a series of hearing sessions
<http://app.streamsend.com/c/6207261/1131/6jQMbvv/9pOA?redirect_to=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cornucopia.org%2FLeafyGreens%2FLG_Hearing_Sessions.pdf>
in September and October across the country to allow members of the
public—especially fresh vegetable growers and handlers—to comment on a proposed
agreement <http://app.streamsend.com/c/6207261/1133/6jQMbvv/9pOA?redirect_to=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cornucopia.org%2FLeafyGreens%2FFederalRegisterNotice_9-09.pdf>
that would authorize the development and implementation of production and
handling regulations for a long list of fresh vegetables, primarily leafy
greens.
The proposed marketing agreement would allow corporate leafy
green handlers to attach a USDA-backed “food safety seal” to lettuce, spinach,
cabbage and other vegetables while prohibiting organic and local farmers at
farmers markets, CSAs and roadside stands, and those selling directly to
retailers, from using the same seal. This corporate-backed marketing ploy may
lead many consumers to assume that vegetables from industrial-scale monoculture
farms in, primarily, California are safer than the leafy greens at local farmers
markets.
As if this weren’t bad enough, the industry proponents that
are pushing this initiative have not been able to show that any set of standards
would actually prevent food borne illness. Standards in California, which would
likely provide the basis for the national program, have not prevented
contamination—today (September 18), a signatory to the California Leafy Greens
Marketing Agreement recalled 1,715 cartons of spinach due to salmonella
contamination.
Such corporate marketing gimmicks could do real harm
to the growing local and organic food movement while having a questionable
impact on protecting consumers.
The USDA is not accepting written
comments at this time—only in-person testimony will be considered. Hearings will
be held in seven locations (CA, FL, OH, CO, AZ, NY, NC), specifics on hearing
locations and dates are available at www.cornucopia.org <http://app.streamsend.com/c/6207261/1135/6jQMbvv/9pOA?redirect_to=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cornucopia.org>
. We encourage growers and handlers of leafy greens to appear in person at a
hearing session to deliver your message.
The safety of our food supply
is a vitally important issue, which is why the USDA should not allow corporate
handlers to mix serious food safety concerns with self-serving marketing
interests.
The Cornucopia Institute has prepared a set of talking points
<http://app.streamsend.com/c/6207261/1137/6jQMbvv/9pOA?redirect_to=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cornucopia.org%2FLeafyGreens%2FLG_TalkingPoints.pdf>
. We encourage growers and handlers of leafy greens to appear in person at a
hearing session to deliver your message. for growers and handlers to use when
giving testimony. We urge anyone who is able to attend these hearing sessions to
deliver a unified message, which must be heard loud and clear: we do not
support a marketing agreement as an appropriate vehicle for improving food
safety.
Industry proponents claim they represent more than half, by
volume, of the leafy green business in this country. And they may succeed in
establishing this marketing agreement.
We must share the following
concerns with the Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement:
- Helping representatives of large-scale, monoculture
agriculture dominate the entire leafy greens farming community will place
unnecessary burdens on small-scale and diversified growers.
- Giving industry representatives control over food
safety does a disservice to our citizenry’s need for safer food—that is
appropriately the job of independent scientists and regulators. Not only will
this proposed marketing agreement create a false sense of security, but it
will further fragmentize our already disjointed food safety system.
- Creating a USDA seal for this agribusiness initiative
will relegate local, organic and small-scale growers to a "second-class
citizen" status in the marketplace in the eyes of some consumers, by implying
that their food is less safe, when the very opposite is likely to be true.
In the event that the powerful industry players succeed
in convincing the USDA to adopt their proposal, we also must propose substantive
changes to the marketing agreement, including:
- An exemption for organic and small-scale, diverse
farmers.
- Elimination of a seal for the Leafy Greens Marketing
Agreement, which may be falsely construed as a food safety guarantee.
- Focus on the cause of most food contamination
outbreaks: improper handling of the mountains of manure containing pathogenic
E. coli and salmonella that are generated on livestock factory farms, and that
contaminate our surface water, groundwater and farm fields.