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  • From: Leigh Hauter <bullrunfarm AT hughes.net>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [Market-farming] The Food Safety bill is law-- what then?
  • Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2010 13:19:37 -0500

Title: The Food Safety bill is law-- what then?
 MAsteveINE wrote:

Also, you will still have to comply with state requirements which were enough to
head us off "processing" here.
 
The bill is one thing, the rules that it generates are another entirely. Keep an
eye on the watchdog reports coming along in a few months.

----------
 
This is exactly right.  This bill was carefulnot to over-rule state laws.  If your state makes it hard (or easy) to do something that's your state's issue.  This bill was careful not to pick a fight with the states about their individual food safety and farm regulations (if they have any).

The second part is a good point too.  Congressional bills by necessity are rather vague.  The bill now goes to the agency to interpret and write regulations to put it in effect.  This is where grassroots movements often lose fights.

This law will now go to the FDA which will then start writing regulations and rules as well as hire the inspectors  (and write the rules telling them what to do) to put the bill into effect.  this is also a time when lobbyist are active putting pressure on the agency to interpret the bill in their favor.

We need to do the same thing.  We need to decide what we think the different aspects of this bill should mean.  (look at the different opinions about the tester amendment, instead of throwing up our hands and saying 'the sky is falling' we should be looking at it as we would like it to be interpreted and figuring out a way to put pressure on the FDA to interpret it in that way. (the first place is probably finding out which groups are working on this issue that support our interests) You can put money on the likelihood that the big farm and grocery interests (their many trade associations and lobbying firms) are going to be doing the same thing.

What is really amazing, the way I see it, is for a group as clueless (sorry -- how about 'focused on different aspects of our business') as we are we have gotten so much of our interests protected in this bill.  This isn't usually the case.  What it says to me is there is a lot of grassroots support out there that likes what we are doing and don't want laws that make it harder for us to do it.  Let's make sure that the good aspects of this law don't get overturned behind closed doors.



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