How to send your farmer to jail Update on Tester Amendment Post 239

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I can find ways to find partial agreement with all your points!..
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OK #1 .. I agree fully! dust bowl 1920's farming would be a huge disaster!!!!!.
"alternative" as in non conventional agriculture is not going back to 1920's techniques by any means...
In a nut shell we do not fertilize crops.. We feed and tend to soil micro life, through the use of low NPK amendments.
When we get soil tests done it is to see how many and what type of bacteria, fungi, protozoa, arthropods and so forth are in the soil.... They convert our amendments to food plants can use.. We use new discoveries, like beneficial bacteria which generate nitrogen and mycorrhizal fungi to super charge are crops and improve yields. We use natural pest deterrents and planting rows of crops just for the pests and their predators We are all about building soil life, structure and humus.

Yep, crazy bug farmers we are..
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#2.. I can agree on the surface. It is not directly the farmers responsibility! Though I feel the situation is complex.. Many things have changed in the last 30 years.. I personally would like to see less access to sugary cheap processed foods, and more access to affordable fruits, vegetables, whole grain breads, and lean meats.. The rows and rows of cheap fat and sweet gobbly gook and soda pop in fast food joints and the grocery stores seem to tempt the poor and uneducated the most... Kinda like a drug, a cheap fix that does not last or fill the nutritional needs of the body.... Again not the farmers responsibility, but the farmer is part of society, and I feel this is society's responsibility and needs to address..

I think it is neat as you say in #3.. I am seeing more and more sustainable techniques used in conventional ag! A merging of technique if you will...

#4. I am first generation American, my father was born in the 20's in Germany.. I had plenty of family living in Europe during the war... I suspect one can blame the war for brought on the lack of food during WWII... I like to think of the Irish potato famine as a better example... Too many people relying on one crop... Something goes wrong...Walla....Famine... (This is a reason why I am so apposed to heavy reliance on any one or two crops.)


It has been a fun debate! (I think I am going to step aside, and let other folks discuss points ..
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ON: I really like your comments and I hope you'll continue to post. I'm not as eloquent as you but as for my opinion on modified foods - I'd just like to say that I won't eat anything that a bug wouldn't eat...
 
Senate passes sweeping food safety bill

By Lyndsey Layton
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 30, 2010; 12:57 PM

The Senate on Tuesday approved the biggest overhaul to the nation's food safety laws since the 1930s. The 73-to-25 vote gives vast new authorities to the Food and Drug Administration, places new responsibilities on farmers and food companies to prevent contamination, and -- for the first time - sets safety standards for imported foods, a growing part of the American diet.

The legislation follows a spate of national outbreaks of food poisoning involving products as varied as eggs, peanuts and spinach in which thousands of people were sickened and more than a dozen died.

The measure passed with support from Democrats and Republicans, one of the few pieces of legislation to bridge differences in an otherwise sharply divided body. The House approved a more stringent version of the bill more than a year ago.

"It's an unusual and shining example of how bipartisanship can work in Congress," said Erik Olson, director of the Pew Health Group food programs, which led a coalition of consumer groups that backed the bill. "It is a major step forward protecting the food that everyone eats every day."

House leaders have indicated that they would accept the Senate version of the bill to avoid the time-consuming conference process and quickly send the legislation to President Obama's desk. Proponents hope to have the legislation signed into law by the end of the lame-duck session.

For Jeff Almer, whose mother, Shirley, died in 2008 after eating peanut butter contaminated with Salmonella, the Senate vote came as a salve to a family still in mourning.

"I think about her every day," said Almer, a Minnesota resident who has traveled to Washington six times to lobby for the passage of the bill. The legislation "is not perfect, but it's very satisfying to see something of this magnitude has made its way through."

Despite strong bipartisan support and backing from a diverse coalition of major business and consumer groups, the bill was buffeted by politics in recent weeks.

It drew fire from some tea party activists, who see it as government overreach. On his television program this month, talk show host Glenn Beck suggested that the measure was a government ruse to raise the price of meat and convert more consumers to vegetarianism.

The bill has also revealed a divide between the burgeoning local-food movement and major agriculture businesses. Small farmers concerned about the cost of new federal regulation were initially opposed to the bill and argued that since most cases of national food-borne illness are caused by large companies, small producers should not be required to meet the same standards.

Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), a farmer, added an amendment before Thanksgiving that would exempt small farmers and those who sell directly to consumers at farmers markets and farm stands.

But the Tester amendment has angered large agriculture groups, which argue that no one should be exempted from producing safe food. The Produce Marketing Association and the United Fresh Produce Association withdrew their support for the bill in light of the Tester amendment.

Robert Guenther, senior vice president of public policy at United Fresh, said in a statement the exemptions amounted to "egregious loopholes" that will erode consumer confidence.

"Now, when going to a supermarket, restaurant, farmers market or roadside stand, consumers will be faced with the question of whether the fruits and vegetables offered for sale adhere to basic food safety standards or not," Guenther said.

The most vocal opponent of the food safety bill, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), argued it would create new layers of bureaucracy without making food safer. He said a better solution would be to ensure that FDA and other federal agencies do their jobs more effectively.

"The problem with food safety is the agencies don't do what they're supposed to be doing now," Coburn said. "They don't need more regulations. They need less."

Coburn also objected to the cost of the new regulations, estimated to total about $1.4 billion over four years. The Congressional Budget Office has said that will have a negligible effect on the federal deficit.

Food illnesses affect one in four Americans and kill 5,000 of them each year, according to government statistics. Tainted food has cost the industry billions of dollars in recalls, lost sales and legal expenses.

The bill places greater responsibility on manufacturers and farmers to prevent contamination - a departure from the current system, which relies on government inspectors to catch contamination after the fact.

The measure also gives the FDA authority to recall food; now, it must rely on food companies to voluntarily pull products off the shelves. And it gives the FDA access to internal records at farms and food production facilities.

The bill sets standards for imported foods, requiring importers to verify that products grown and processed overseas meet safety standards. Public health experts say this is urgently needed, given the increase in imported foods. The FDA has been inspecting only about one percent of imported food products.

The bill would also require the FDA to regularly inspect farms and food processing facilities, something it does not currently do.
 
ivan3 wrote:

"I was born in 1954 (world population: 1.2 billion), when our oldest grandson is 50 there will be 9+ billion - "

Don't worry about it ... 2.4 Billion Chinese and Indians will soon produce 300 Million (12% of their population) college graduates. Anyone know what the U.S population is?

Start learning Mandarin because keeping education local means those who think the U.S. is exceptional will be run over.

Vietnam Vet
 
knjinnm wrote:

ivan3 wrote:

"I was born in 1954 (world population: 1.2 billion), when our oldest grandson is 50 there will be 9+ billion - "

Don't worry about it ... 2.4 Billion Chinese and Indians will soon produce 300 Million (12% of their population) college graduates. Anyone know what the U.S population is?

Start learning Mandarin because keeping education local means those who think the U.S. is exceptional will be run over.

Vietnam Vet

(Actually ~2.5billion in `54 - corrected in original post a few days ago). I'm not bothering with either Cantonese or Mandarin. All the students I have contact with speak acceptable English - if there is some onslaught of Chinese Culture (most popular snack in Chinese movie theaters are fried chicken's feet - but most movies are American - not too worried at present) I'm sure there'll be some pidgin I'll pluck. Al Greenspan was right to remind the Senators (almost every year, during his appearances, as Fed Chairman) that the greatest threat to our continuing to lead in science/innovation was our failure in education. He cited one study (believe it was `99 - all are on CSPAN Vid) comparing results of testing. In 4th grade U.S. students compared favorably with students in other nations. 12th grade - at the bottom of the barrel. Don't know as it has much improved. No excuse for this (those 300 million will all be on the web downloading all the free physics/math texts - more added every day). Japanese took and ran with U.S. developed Six Sigma management program expanded into Kaizen, & Government funded 100% of the R&D for their car industry and they creamed us - and we're still paying for that little lack of industrial policy. The only reason we are able to indulge in our parochial backbiting and slow decline is our geographical location and several 24 tubed missile subs hunkered down here and there. Pogo was right, you know (only opossum that I wouldn't have the heart to shoot dead).​
 
Quote:
(Actually ~2.5billion in `54 - corrected in original post a few days ago). I'm not bothering with either Cantonese or Mandarin. All the students I have contact with speak acceptable English - if there is some onslaught of Chinese Culture (most popular snack in Chinese movie theaters are fried chicken's feet - but most movies are American - not too worried at present) I'm sure there'll be some pidgin I'll pluck. Al Greenspan was right to remind the Senators (almost every year, during his appearances, as Fed Chairman) that the greatest threat to our continuing to lead in science/innovation was our failure in education. He cited one study (believe it was `99 - all are on CSPAN Vid) comparing results of testing. In 4th grade U.S. students compared favorably with students in other nations. 12th grade - at the bottom of the barrel. Don't know as it has much improved. No excuse for this (those 300 million (Chinese and Indians) will all be on the web downloading all the free physics/math texts - more added every day). Japanese took and ran with U.S. developed Six Sigma management program expanded into Kaizen, & Government funded 100% of the R&D for their car industry and they creamed us - and we're still paying for that little lack of industrial policy. The only reason we are able to indulge in our parochial backbiting and slow decline is our geographical location and several 24 tubed missile subs hunkered down here and there. Pogo was right, you know (only opossum that I wouldn't have the heart to shoot dead).

The tragic part of this is that Americans are inundated 24/7 with misinformation from MILLIONAIRE$ on cable T.V. and radio telling them the world is only 5000 years old, science is a bunch of Hooey, the U.S. car, steel, rubber industry should die while India, China and Japan support all of their industries to ensure their people have jobs.
After e-coli in spinach, tomatoes, peanut butter,hamburger and salmonella in fresh eggs we have the same MILLIONAIRE$ on cable T.V. and radio telling Americans improving food inspection will cause framers to end up in jail.

You're right about learning either Cantonese or Mandarin because Americans would be told by the same MILLIONAIRE$ on cable T.V. and radio that it was a communist plot .... and they would believe it.
 
Frontier Natural Products Co-op Initiates Voluntary Recall Due to Possible Health Risk from Nutmeg
Tue, 30 Nov 2010 22:08:00 -0600
In response to a recall commenced by its supplier (Mincing Overseas Spice Company, Dayton, New Jersey), Frontier Natural Products Co-op, is voluntarily recalling two products manufactured with non-organic nutmeg that were sold under the Frontier brand and under the Whole Foods Market brand listed below that contain nutmeg supplied by Mincing Overseas Spice Company. The nutmeg has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.
• Product: Non-organic nutmeg sold under these brands
o Frontier bulk nutmeg, ground, 16oz
o Whole Foods 365 nutmeg, ground, 1.92oz
• Distributed: In all 50 states and Canada
• Why: Possible Salmonella
• Illnesses reported: None
• For more information: Call 1-800-669-3275. Monday through Friday from 8:00am to 5:00pm Central time
 
Almost 20 percent of food consumed in the United States, including three-fourths of our fish, is IMPORTED from other countries. But the Food and Drug Administration has lacked authority and staff to inspect more than one pound in 1 million of food imports. The just-passed bill will give the FDA authority to set standards for how fruits and vegetables are grown abroad and to increase its inspection of food processing plants in other countries. It also mandates increased inspections of domestic food processors and allows the FDA to recall unsafe food directly from stores.
can anyone figure out the case for stopping dangerous people at the border while waving in dangerous food un-inspected?
Anyone still using Chinese toothpaste?
 

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