Nourished Kitchen» FDA

HR 875 – The Death of Farmers Markets, CSAs and Local Food

Jenny — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 04:29:32 +0000

HR 875, also known as the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009, was introduced by Rosa Delauro – a democratic party member of the United States House of Representatives from Connecticut – in February of 2009. The title of HR 875, The Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009, sounds innocuous enough – even comforting, but its implications yield a much, much different story.

HR 875 as it is written today, could very well mean the end of the vibrant and growing local foods movement. Yes – if it passes – it could herald the death of farmers markets, most CSAs, farmstands and even small family-run farms altogether.

Ostensibly, HR 875 or the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009 would bring greater accountability to our imperiled food system. Indeed, with salmonella-infected peanuts and spinach laced with e-coli, who isn’t crying out for improvements in food safety?

However, HR 875 fails miserably in promoting food safety. Rather, than promoting true accountability and proper farming techniques that minimize the risk of introducing pathogens into the food supply, it simply will create greater barriers for our already struggling small farms and farmers markets.

HR 875 mandates that anyone who produces food of any kind – meat, milk, fruit, vegetables et cetera – and transports that food for sale be subject to warrantless government inspections of their farms and food production records. These random inspections can be conducted at the whim of federal agents without regard to farmers rights or property rights. Further, the law would allow federal agents to confiscate records, product as they see fit as part of the inspection process.

Agents could also implement draconian restrictions regarding how farm animals can be fed, how fields can be managed and the end result of these restrictions could mean the end of organic, biodynamic and sustainable agriculture practices if these practices are deemed “unsafe.” Farmers refusing to comply would be subject to penalties.

The penalty for denying federal agents unlimited, random access to a farm’s fields, properties, products and records is up to $1,000,000. The penalty for not registering is up to$1,000,000.

Remember, this law would affect every farmer or food producer who must transport his goods to sell them – in effect, every single farmer. That means that an orchard that sells fresh fruit at a roadside stand would be affected; a farmer who delivers CSA boxes would be affected, even a home gardener who brings excess harvest to a farmers market’s community booth would have to register or be subject to $1,000,000 fines and that garden plot would be subject to inspection by federal agents. Ridiculous, isn’t it? But it’s true.

HR 875 is such a massive bill, with such massive requirements and restrictions that, in effect, only huge agribusinesses would be able to effectively meet all its requirements. The small family farm would be history and, along with it, farmstands, farmers markets, most food cooperatives and CSAs.

Now, let’s get back to Rosa Delauro who introduced HR 875 in February. Ms. Delaura is married to Stanley Greenberg. Stanley Greenberg is a political consultant whose clients have included Monsanto–Monsanto, the same corporation, who blessed us with RBGH and genetically engineered seeds. Should we really trust Ms. Delauro or her husband to make these kinds of decisions for the American people?

My husband and I run a farmers market – a vibrant and growing farmers market in the heart of ski country. Now, it’s taken our blood, sweat and tears (and I do mean real blood, real sweat and real tears) to make our market succeed. Were this bill to pass, it would mean the end of our market as our farmers – some of whom grow on as little as a single acre – would be forced to close their gates. It would also mean the end of our local CSAs – all of which are delivered from the farm after a winding trip through the mountains.

The bill has not passed yet, so you still have time to act. Remember, eating is now a political act so exercise your rights.

Act now:

Read the full bill here: HR 875 – Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009.
Contact your representative and inform them you oppose HR 875.
Tweet this post and spread the word about HR 875.
Stumble this post and spread the word about HR 875.
Blog about your opposition to HR 875.
Contact your representative AGAIN and make sure the message gets through.

Did you like this post? Please let me know by leaving a comment. Don't forget to find Nourished Kitchen on Facebook, Twitter and Flickr. © Jenny for Nourished Kitchen, 2009. | Permalink |

A little mercury with your soda?

Jenny — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 22:59:50 +0000

Care for a side of neurotoxins with your soda?

A new study published in Environmental Health confirms that mercury, a known neurotoxin, contaminates almost half of the high fructose corn syrup currently on the market. Another study published by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy found that almost one-third of popular, processed foods containing HFCS as the first or second ingredient under the nutritional label tested positive for mercury. According to the IATP, those foods testing positive for mercury contamination included Quaker, Hershey’s, Kraft and Smuckers.

This isn’t isolated.

The most disturbing aspect of the story is that several tests were done in 2005 when the contamination was brought to the attention of the FDA, and the FDA failed to do anything to protect consumers from continued exposure. Yeah, and they try to tell us raw milk is dangerous, but drinking mercury-contaminated sodas is fine?

Mercury is dangerous to human health and it is known neurotoxin. Symptoms of mercury toxicity include loss of feeling, paralysis, loss of vision, congenital malformations and other serious issues. While exposure to large amounts of mercury may even cause death, what is uncertain is what effects minute, long-term exposure – such as that arising from regularly ingesting small quanitites in contaminated sweeteners – might do.

The greatest concern is for children and adolescents who are still developing as they tend to consume more high fructose corn syrup than the average adult – and therefore are at greater risk of ingesting mercury from contaminated sources.

The problem arises during the manufacture of high fructose corn syrup. To extract the corn starch from the corn kernel, manufacturers often use caustic soda produced in chlorine plants. The use of mercury cells in the manufacture of caustic soda contaminates the corn starch, and subsequently the high fructose corn syrup. Incidentally, for this reason you should not use or eat corn starch.

Add this to all the other reasons you should not eat high fructose corn syrup. Is anyone else wondering how the Corn Refiners Association is going to try to recover from this news? Are we going to see a special new series of sweet surprise commercials outlining how mercury is natural and fine in moderation?

Did you like this post? Please let me know by leaving a comment. Don't forget to find Nourished Kitchen on Facebook, Twitter and Flickr. © Jenny for Nourished Kitchen, 2009. | Permalink |

What They Say

Jenny — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:36:25 +0000

Now that the FDA has officially changed its course and determined that High Fructose Corn Syrup does indeed qualify as “natural” or, rather, that it “would not object to the use of the term â€˜natural’ on a product containing the HFCS produced by [a manufacturing process without synthetic fixatives] ,” the corn refiners association is happily proclaiming its “naturalness” every chance they can find. Indeed, they just launched a $30 million advertising campaign aimed at placing HFCS on the same level as sugar and honey.

A new glut of commercials offers such charmless guidance as “it’s made from corn and it’s fine in moderation” while simultaneously painting those who are concerned about the documented negative health effects of high fructose corn syrup as uninformed worry-worts. The fresh-faced actors begin by saying, “Well … you know what they say” and then stop.

So let me fill you in where they stop. Here’s what they say (they being the scientists, researchers and nutritionists not industrial food producers who have a stake in keeping the American public unwell.):

Rats fed high fructose corn syrup exhibited cognitive impairment.(1)
High Fructose Corn Syrup is linked mineral imbalance and may contribute to osteoporosis. (2)
High Fructose Corn Syrup contributes to epidemic obesity. (3), (4), (6), (9), (11)
There’s a link between high fructose corn syrup consumption and the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. (4) (5)
High Fructose Corn Syrup and excessive fructose consumption is linked with diabetes. (4)
High Fructose Corn Syrup and excessive fructose consumption is linked with atherosclerosis. (4)
High Fructose Corn Syrup contributes to the development of metabolic syndrome. (6), (7), (9)
Rats fed a diet of high fructose corn syrup developed kidney disturbances and disease. (7)
High Fructose Corn Syrup in the adult diet is linked with gastro-intestinal distress. (8)
High Fructose Corn Syrup consumption contributes to high cholesterol. (9), (10)
High Fructose Corn Syrup consumption in conjunction with low intake of magnesium (fairly common) is linked to insulin resistance and hypertension. (10)

The truth is this: high fructose corn syrup is not nutritionally equal to honey as the corn refiners association would have you believe. Beyond that, just because it’s made from corn doesn’t make it healthy; after all, ethanol is also made from corn but I don’t see anyone trying to mix it into fruit punch.

Fructose like that coming from fruit has a place in the human diet as long as it’s consumed in moderation. High Fructose Corn Syrup on the other hand is all but impossible to consume in moderation when one considers its concentrated nature and that it’s included in almost every packaged food available in the super market.

Get your fructose from fruit, and don’t believe the Corn Refiners advertising campaign because you’ll be in for a not-so-sweet suprise.

Did you like this post? Please let me know by leaving a comment. Don't forget to find Nourished Kitchen on Facebook, Twitter and Flickr. © Jenny for Nourished Kitchen, 2008. | Permalink |