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  • From: Mike Rock <mikerock AT mhtc.net>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [Market-farming] More on Big Ag trying to kill the small farmer protection in the FOOD BILL
  • Date: Fri, 19 Nov 2010 12:13:26 -0600

[1]Urgent: Big Ag and Republicans are trying to kill food safety reform in the
Senate today - Give farmers and our children a fighting chance.

[2][IMG]

[3]Click here to call your Senators Now!

So far you've made over 7,000 calls to your Senators - Can they Hear US Now?

Are you committed to change? Call your Senator to pass food safety legislation
now.

This past week the action in the U.S. Senate has been fast and furious. In
the past 48 hours more than 7,000 Food Democracy Now! members have made
phone calls to their Senators asking them to include provisions in the
Food Safety Modernization Act that protected family-scale farm operations
from excessive regulations. You're incredible.

Remarkably, as a result of your phone calls the Senate reached a deal on
the Tester-Hagan Amendment yesterday morning. Now Big Ag has decided to
throw a tantrum. Late yesterday afternoon a coalition of 20 produce groups
sent a "letter" to Senate leadership urging the defeat of the Food Safety
Modernization Act.

Big Ag is claiming that these important farmer protection provisions are
part of an "ideological war" and are doing everything they can behind the
scenes to kill this important legislation.

But we can't let them. There's too much at stake. Every year more than
5,000 people die as a result of foodborne diseases and more than 76
million fall ill according to the Centers for Disease Control.

If you care about food safety and family farmers we're asking you to make
one more call to your Senators to make sure they understand how important
passing this bill is to their constituents. We can't let Big Ag lobbyists
put petty politics over lives or farmer's livelihoods.

Click below to tell your Senator to pass the Food Safety bill, tell them
consumers and family farmer's deserve to be protected, not Big Ag
lobbyists!

[4]http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/279?akid=231.128592.B0ndUf&t=1

Late Thursday evening the Senate voted 57 to 27 to move forward on the
food safety bill, incredibly, some 16 Senators skipped this important
vote. No wonder they call it a lame duck session! As you well know, to get
this bill to pass a full vote, we'll need 60 votes, so every vote counts.
Make sure these Senator are there for the next important vote!

Democratic Senators that missed the vote included:

Evan Bayh (D-IN) and Arlen Specter (D-PA) - both lame ducks.

John Kerry (D-MA), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Jim
Webb (D-VA) -- no excuses.

Since the bill is being supported down fiercely partisan lines, we wanted
to make sure that Food Democracy Now! members knew which Democratic
Senators did not make this vote. If they had showed up, the vote would
have been 63 to 27 -- enough to get it to a full floor vote and passed
into law.

If you live in their state make sure you call them again and tell them how
important this bill is to protect children and family farmers.

[5]http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/279?akid=231.128592.B0ndUf&t=2

Call All Republicans! They are Scheming with Big to kill food safety
reform.

On the Republican side of the aisle, support for the bill is weak, with
only 4 Republican Senators voting for to proceed. As with everything in DC
in these past few years, Republicans would rather throw up roadblocks than
do the people's business.

It's time to remind them who they work for. If you have a Republican
Senator in your state, call them now.

In an odd show of weakness, 4 of the Republican sponsors of the bill
either voted against cloture last night or skipped the vote.

Republican S.510 Sponsor who went AWOL on Food Safety Cloture Vote:

Judd Gregg (R-NH) lame duck Senator retiring - if you live in NH make sure
that you call him and tell him to VOTE FOR the food safety bill and
support consumer safety and family farmers.

Republican S.510 Sponsors who voted NO on Cloture Vote:

Richard Burr (R-NC) , Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Johnny Isakson (R-GA)

Remember, these are Senators who actually sponsored the bill, i.e.
supported it until now, when the Tester amendment was added, the amendment
that you called for, and then they started caving to industry pressure.

If you live in their state let them know you care about food safety, local
foos and family farmers! Click below.

[6]http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/279?akid=231.128592.B0ndUf&t=3

Special Treat Performance on Food Safety

And last, but not least, Food Democracy Now! wanted to let you know about
Senator Tom Coburn M.D. (R-OK), the single biggest obstacle preventing the
food safety bill from passing.

Yesterday on the Senate floor, Senator Coburn gave an unbelievable
performance, rambling and misstating basic facts about foodborne illnesses
in the U.S.

Not only is Coburn ignorant about food safety, but in his fierce partisan
desire to kill this important bill -- which will protect us from serious
food safety outbreaks -- he proves he doesn't care about America's 300
million citizens who urgently need this bill.

Instead, Coburn would rather stall progress for family farmers by
demanding that the U.S. ban all earmark spending through 2013. As a result
of Coburn's unreasonable demands, what food experts Michael Pollan and
Eric Schlosser have called "the most important food safety bill in a
generation", it languishes on a pyre of self-righteous political
grandstanding.

If you live in Oklahoma, please tell Senator Coburn to stop playing
chicken with your children's food.

Let Senator Coburn know that AMERICA needs food safety reform now.
America's citizens and our farmers deserve protection.

Word on the street in DC is that Senator Coburn tried to broker a deal
with Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) on the food safety bill and take away
important provisions like "mandatory reporting".

Tell Senator Harkin to steal Coburn's cookies and stand strong! Pass the
food safety bill as is. No more compromise, no more wasted time.

Don't let Big Ag and one angry man's crusade stand in the way of this
important legislation -- Act Today -- this could be our last best chance
to achieve important food safety reforms.

Make a call today -- don't let America's children wait to grow up before
this opportunity comes up again.

[7]http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/279?akid=231.128592.B0ndUf&t=4

As always, thanks for participating in food democracy,

- Dave, Lisa and The Food Democracy Now! Team

References

Visible links
1. Stand up for family farmers
http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/276?akid=231.128592.B0ndUf&t=5
2. http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/279?akid=231.128592.B0ndUf&t=6
3. Stand up for family farmers
http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/279?akid=231.128592.B0ndUf&t=7
4. http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/279?akid=231.128592.B0ndUf&t=8
5. http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/279?akid=231.128592.B0ndUf&t=9
6. http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/279?akid=231.128592.B0ndUf&t=10
7. http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/279?akid=231.128592.B0ndUf&t=11

-- You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time: http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/cms/unsubscribe/unsubscribe/?akid=231.128592.B0ndUf&t=1




  • [Market-farming] More on Big Ag trying to kill the small farmer protection in the FOOD BILL, Mike Rock, 11/19/2010

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