We’ve been getting lots of frightened emails from people asking what we know about House Bill HR 875, which is causing a great deal of hysteria round the intarwebs. So I thought I’d collect some information about the bill, all in one spot.
PLEASE send peope here and help set folks straight about this bill.
The Short Version: Don’t be scared: This Bill is not an attack on organics. No matter how many exclamation points are in the email, no matter what hysterical scenario the email writer is afraid of, don’t believe it. This bill is a food safety bill, not a sneak attack. Honest. Now move along.
The Slightly Longer Version: This bill, HR 875, is a placeholder bill, so the language is not final. Indeed, it was hastily written, and that’s unfortunate, but there’s a lot of good in this bill, such as mandatory recalls for tainted food, increased scrutiny of large slaughterhouses and food manufacturers, and hefty fines against companies that send poisonous food to market.
But the writers of this bill do not want to kill organics, farmers markets, or local food. Organic food alone is a $20 billion dollar cash cow now and one of the few sectors of the USDA with real growth (even in this downturn). So no one is trying to kill organic farms.
Still not convinced? Then read it from reputable bloggers, industry watch dogs, and sustainable foods non-profits whose job it is to yap and yap loudly when crap-legislation comes rolling down the pipe:
Food and Water Watch
http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/blog/archive/2009/03/30/getting-the-facts-straight-on-HR-875-from-factcheck.org
Cornucopia Institute
http://www.cornucopia.org/2009/03/action-alert-critical-pending-food-safety-legislation/
Jill Richardson, La Vida Locavore
http://www.lavidalocavore.org/showDiary.do?diaryId=1329
Organic Consumers Association (OCA)
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_17355.cfm
Bottom Line: There *is* action worth taking (see the Cornucopia and OCA posts if you want to lend a hand), but this bill is not an attack on organic farmers and farmers markets.
