Will New Food Safety Bills Really Outlaw Backyard Gardening and End Farmers' Markets?

There's been a lot of hype about a few new food bills. And while most of it is conspiracy theory there are some reasons to be alarmed.My inbox has been pummeled in recent weeks by a barrage of emails warning me of the evils of HR 875a bill currently working its way through CongressSponsored by RepRosa DeLauro (D-Conn)the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009 was one of several bills introduced in the wake of the peanut butter-borne salmonella outbreakEach of these bills ostensibly seeks to improve food safety with increased regulation.Criticsparanoid and level-headed alikepoint to the disproportionate burden that increased regulation places on small farmersand many wonder if the banner of food safety is being used as a Trojan horse to create a more favorable business climate for corporate agriculture. "If [HR 875passessay goodbye to organic produceyour Local Farmer's market and very possiblythe GARDEN IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD!!!!!announced one email."Another warned that HR 875 would result in "...criminalization of seed bankingprison terms and confiscatory fines for farmers."And of courseno serious foodie conspiracy theory would be complete without Monsanto as the architect"DeLauro's husband Stanley Greenburg works for Monsanto!claim nearly all of these emails Stanley Greenberg is indeed the CEO of a polling firm that didindeedcontract with MonsantoBut it's no more true to say he works for Monsanto than it is to say he works for Nelson Mandela who was also a former client of his firmaccording to factcheck.orgwhich did a detailed dissection of one of the viral emailsThese emails seem to have been propagated largely by well-intentioned foodiesafter having originated from a cadre of conspiracy theorists and Ron Paul supporters with too much time on their hands "There is a perfectly legitimate conversation to be had about how we can have food safety regulation without jeopardizing small farms and local food systems,says Patty LoveraAssistant director of Food and Water Watch"But it's hard to have a rational conversation via forwarded emailsIt's not happening in a way that's going to change the policy."Lovera says HR 875 won't regulate seed-savingbackyard gardensor farmers marketsIt wouldhoweversplit the Food and Drug Administration into separate bodiesone for food and one for drugsThis is a move that Food and Water Watch would supportBut unfortunatelyshe saysit's likely to kill the billbecause splitting the FDA might be too daunting a task for lawmakers to take on right now.Another bill that's more likely to make it to a voteLovera saysis HR 759While this bill"the Food And Drug Administration Globalization Act,has drawn relatively little attentionshe thinks it would be more likely to cause big problems for small farmers.HR 759 would extend traceability recordkeeping requirements that currently apply only to food processors to farms and restaurants and require that recordkeeping be done electronicallyplacing a disproportionate burdenin terms of time and moneyon small farmersThe bill would also establish production standards for fruits and vegetableswhich are called "Good Agricultural Practices."Agriculture practices designed to improve food safety and address environmentaleconomicand social sustainabilitymight sound like a good ideaLovera saysBut as writtenthe Good Agriculture Practices are mostly relevant to largecorporate farms which are the source of most farm-related economicsocialenvironmentaland safety problems to begin with.All of these billsostensiblyare efforts to make factory-farmed food safer so we can avoid E.coli in spinachdowner cattle in school lunchesfeathers in chicken pattiesand other food-borne horror stories we've grown all-too used to hearing aboutBut if these regulations are extended to the smallfamily farms where the problems aren't coming fromit's more than just a legislative overextensionIt's a tilting of the playing field grossly in favor of corporate agricultureAnd on this pointwe all should be paranoid."What people don't realize is that if any of these bills passwe loseAll we will have left is industrial food,says Deborah Stocktonexecutive director of the National Independent Consumers and Farmers Associationwhich is dedicated to promoting and preserving unregulated direct farmer-to-consumer tradeand fostering the availability of locally grown or home-produced food products.One of Stockton's top priorities is stopping the controversial National Animal Identification System (NAIS)Implemented by USDA in 2003 without congressional approvalNAIS is a federal registry program for livestock and for the premises where animals live or visitThe stated purpose of the system is to aid state and federal government response to outbreaks of animal disease."NAIS is a safety net for the corporate livestock industry,Stockton told me"They're the ones with the practices that are creating problems for human and animal healthand they're the ones who need NAIS to cover their backs when something goes wrongThe main threats to food safety are centralized productionprocessing and long distance transportation."Food and Water Watch shares Stockton's distaste for NAISAccording ot its web page"The current plan to create a federal animal identification system ignores existing state animal health programsputs too much emphasis on privatizing the data collection (forcing small farmers to submit data about their operations to trade associations they don't support)and essentially forces small farmers and ranchers to pay for a safety net for agribusiness."Butsays Loverathe bills currently under consideration are aimed at the FDAand NAIS is a USDA programWhile she sees a lot of problems with many of the current billsstrengthening NAIS isn't one of them.Stockton doesn't buy itIf any of them passshe saysit would ratify NAISand strengthen USDA's ability to make it mandatory for all livestockincluding your flock of backyard chickens.So lawmakersif you're listeningand you want these protestorsballistic and level-headed aliketo chill outhere is how to get them off your backsexempt local food systems from the current billsInclude specific language in the bills that will guarantee that small family farmsbackyard gardenspersonal livestockfarmers marketsand all forms of food self-sufficiency and farmer-direct purchasing are protectedBecause the right to buy milk from your neighbor or grow your own food is as inalienable as the right to bear armsAnd if you threaten to take away this rightyou're going to face a backlash that will make the NRA seem like a bunch of flower-waving Hare Krishnas.

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