We want this bill defeated, but we also have a Plan B. Amendments proposed by Senators Tester and Hagan would allay many (although not all) of our concerns with the bill. Their amendments will exempt small farms and businesses from the most onerous regulations.
And so we’re asking you to you to send a letter to Congress to
- vote “no” on cloture, and
- if cloture passes, to support the Tester-Hagan amendments. You can send your letter using using DownsizeDC.org’s Freedom to Farm campaign.
The hard-wired message says, “Please oppose H.R. 2749, S.510, and all other so-called food safety bills.”
In addition, I added these comments, which you have permission to borrow from or copy . . .
You must support Sen. Coburn’s “hold” on S.510 and oppose the cloture vote scheduled for today.
But if cloture passes, I insist that you support the Tester-Hagan Amendments to S.510.
S.510 gives the FDA authority to shut down family farms and smalll businesses, but Tester-Hagan would strip the FDA of that arbitrary power.
Tester-Hagan also relieves family farms of unnecessary regulations and burdensome costs.
One example of the harm S.510 will do if Tester-Hagan does NOT pass: the FDA estimates it will take 100 hours by a trained team of personnel to develop a HACCP (hazard control) plan for businesses making products such as leafy green salad mixes or broccoli florets. http://farmandranchfreedom.org/sff/TesterAmdFacts11-12-10.pdf
Small businesses cannot afford this kind of expense, and they will be crushed. The FDA will seize control of the food supply, and Big Ag will seize the profits. Consumers will be denied access to healthy, fresh, locally-marketed food.
I therefore insist you support the Tester-Hagan amendments to S.510. They exempt family farms and small processors who were NOT to blame for the foodborne illness outbreaks of recent years…
- Local markets, where producers and consumers know each other, already create strong incentives for accountability
- Small producers are already regulated by local, state, and current federal laws
Vote no on cloture, but if it passes, please support the Tester-Hagan amendments. They will prevent a flawed bill from becoming catastrophic.
You can send your letter using DownsizeDC.org’s Educate the Powerful System.
And please tell your friends TODAY about this! Forward this message and post it on your social networking sites!
Thank you for being a DC Downsizer.
James Wilson, Assistant Communications Director
DownsizeDC.org