By Dr. Mercola
The US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Food Safety
Modernization Act was enacted in 2011 as a supposed way to
‘better protect public health by strengthening the safety of the
food system.’
The Act came in response to a rash of recent deadly
foodborne-disease outbreaks involving spinach, peanuts, eggs and
other foods. According to the FDA, about one in 6 Americans get
sick, and 3,000 die each year from foodborne diseases.1
Unfortunately, the FDA does not readily admit the fact that
most deadly food outbreaks can be traced back to foods
raised on industrial concentrated animal feeding operations
(CAFOs).
The FSMA, which requires extensive mandatory compliance with
new FDA-approved production, growing, harvest and other safety
standards, also does not distinguish between the massive CAFO
and the small, family-run organic farm... and therein lies the
problem.
The FSMA Could Force Small Farmers Out of Business
It is quite possible, perhaps even most probable, that the
FSMA is designed to halt the growing trend of small organic
farms – not through a direct, frontal assault on organic
farming, but rather by insidiously creating rules and laws that
make it extremely difficult, and incredibly expensive, for small
farms to comply.
And in this case, the rules and regulations created by this
proposed bill are mandatory, not voluntary, meaning they apply
equally to a tiny farmer with half a dozen cows as to a massive
CAFO.
This wasn’t supposed to be the case, as the Tester amendment,
which was adopted by Congress in 2010, said the FDA’s new
federal requirements would not apply to food producers
that have less than $500,000 per year in sales, or who sell the
majority of their food directly to consumers or within a
275-mile radius of where it was produced.
This, for instance, would protect small farmers who just sell
their fruits and vegetables at farmer’s markets or to a local
food coop from the extensive new regulations. Unfortunately, it
seems this exemption is not what it had originally appeared to
be, as small farmers are still seriously at risk.
FDA Seems to Want a One-Size-Fits-All Food Safety Law
As reported by the Cornucopia Institute, the FSMA is not only
designed to protect public health; it’s designed to protect
industrial agriculture and CAFOs. For starters, they are making
it clear that small farms may, in fact, be forced to comply with
the new regulations. According to the Cornucopia Institute:2
“In reality, these small farms are not really exempt.
The FDA is proposing that the agency can, without any due
process, almost immediately force small farms to comply with
the same expensive testing and record-keeping requirements
for factory farms.
The added expense and record-keeping time will
potentially force many small farms — those selling to local
farmers markets, co-ops and restaurants — out of business
instantly.
Just as important, for farms over $500,000 in volume
(and there are plenty of excellent medium-sized organic
farms in the $1-$3 million range or larger), some of the
provisions will not only be economically damaging (some
farmers might not survive this) but actually prohibit some
basic practices in the
Organic Food Production Act. Yet if all farms,
conventional as well as organic, had to follow the organic
regulations for manures/composts, we’d have safer produce.”
CAFOs Are Responsible for the Most Dangerous Foods...
Small family farms are rarely responsible for major food
outbreaks – CAFOs, however, are, and this is why they should
be more strictly regulated, if not eliminated entirely. For
instance:
- In 2010, over half a billion eggs from two Iowa CAFOs
were recalled due to
Salmonella poisoning
- The massive spinach recall in 2006 was due to E. coli
commonly found in CAFO cattle
- In the largest meat recall in US history,
143 million pounds of CAFO beef were recalled because
the company did not prevent sick animals from entering the
US food supply
Yet the FDA’s draft regulations designed to implement FSMA
are not only targeting the CAFOs guilty of the most serious
abuses and risks to public health. As the Cornucopia Institute
put it:
“...the FDA’s draft regulations designed to
implement the new law appear to ignore the
will of Congress. Instead, the regulations would
ensnare the country’s safest family farmers in burdensome
regulations in a misdirected attempt to rein in
abuses that are mostly emanating from industrial-scale
factory farms and giant agribusiness food processing
facilities.”
The FDA’s Draft Guidelines Ignore the Root Causes of
Foodborne-Disease Outbreaks
The riskiest pathogens are found on CAFOs, and it is on these
giant industrial farms where nearly all pathogenic pollution
that contaminates groundwater, fertilizers and the air come
from. But the FDA’s draft guidelines do not address the rampant
disease on CAFOs, nor their pathogen-filled manure, which
contaminates surrounding communities, farms and the food supply,
spreading antibiotic resistance in its wake.
The regulations should be targeting high-risk areas to food
safety, including CAFOs, and often the processing stage of food
production. Yet these are the very practices being ignored or
given leniency. The Cornucopia Institute expands on a handful of
other issues with the proposed guidelines:3
1. The FDA draft rules do not address a major root
source of pathogenic contamination of produce:
intensive feeding/confinement of livestock (CAFOs).
2. The draft rules fail to target risky practices,
such as fresh-cut produce (bagged spinach and lettuce, etc.),
which is inherently riskier, causing over 90% of the E.coli
O157:H7 (a particularly deadly strain) illnesses stemming from
contaminated produce, according to CDC/FDA data. Yet fresh-cut
is not covered in the Produce Rule: it is exempt because it is
"processed."
3. The draft rules show a bias against biodiversity.
The proposals would "sterilize" farmland removing habitat for
wildlife and beneficial insects which offer
biological controls of pests (rather than using toxic
agrichemicals). The FDA tends to view farms as food processing
facilities: closed controlled environments which need to be
sterilized.
4. The draft rules show a strong bias against organic
farming methods.
The draft rules fail to discuss how scientific evidence
demonstrates that increasing organic matter and biodiversity in
the soil can help control pathogenic bacteria. The rule
denigrates the effectiveness of thorough manure composting while
allowing sewage sludge (banned in organics) in fresh vegetable
and fruit production.
5. Agribusiness/government regulation may
economically crush our country's safest family-scale farms.
The FDA's own economic analysis of the draft rules
acknowledges that certain produce farms and food processors will
be driven out of business, and that the cost to a small farm
might be as much as $12,000 per year. Large industrial
operations already have, as they should, quality control staff
and laboratories. Small and medium sized operations do not, due
to limitations in terms of economy of scale.
6. The FDA is engaging in "food safety theater"
rather than investing in hard research to focus limited
resources on the riskiest farms and processors.
The FDA lacks the data to properly assess the risks on
organic farms - or on any farms for that matter - yet insists on
applying uniform standards, favoring a sterility paradigm based
on inadequate science, to all farms. Adequate research is
imperative before placing widespread regulatory burdens on
family farmers!
7. The egg guidance lacks scientific merit and will
hasten a shift of organic production to CAFOs.
The draft guidance makes it expensive and
impractical to provide legitimate outdoor access for
commercial-scale organic flocks. At the same time, in consort
with the USDA, the FDA institutionalizes tiny
screened structures as meeting the legal requirement for "access
to the outdoors." The FDA has ignored published research that
suggests public safety would be improved by
addressing giant older buildings, caged production and forced
molting.”
You Can Help Protect Small Farmers: Let Your Opinion Be Heard
Do you enjoy purchasing your food from a local farmer’s
market, food co-op or community-supported agriculture (CSA)
program? Do you believe small organic farmers should be able to
continue to provide food to their communities? The Cornucopia
Institute has developed a proxy letter that you can print out
and sign. They are going to hand deliver these letters to the
FDA. They said:
“We have heard time and again that regulators and
lawmakers, who have no problem blowing off online petitions,
sit up and take notice when they receive hard-copy
communications – especially when they’re hand-signed and
hand-delivered!”
Download your proxy letter now, feel free to add
additional comments and concerns on the back of the letter, and
mail it to:
The Cornucopia Institute
PO BOX 126
Cornucopia, WI 54827
The Real Power Is in Your Hands
You may feel that there’s little you can do to change the
corrupted food system in the US. But the truth is, if every
American decided to not purchase food that comes from CAFOs, the
entire system would collapse overnight. It doesn't take an act
of Congress to change the food system. All that is required is
for each and every person, or at least a majority, to change
their shopping habits.
Sourcing your foods from a local farmer is one of your best
bets to ensure you're getting food that is wholesome and that is
grown in a sustainable fashion. I encourage you to visit your
local farm directly, if you have one nearby, and also take part
in farmer's markets and community-supported agriculture
programs.
Ask the farmers how they grow their food, bring your children
so they can see it first-hand, and revel in the connection you
re-establish between yourself and your source of food; it’s a
connection that is in many ways a representation of life itself.
You can find an ever-increasing number of "eat local" and "buy
local" directories, in which local farms across the US will be
listed. The following organizations can also help you locate
farm-fresh foods in your local area:
- Local
Harvest -- This Web site will help you find
farmers' markets, family farms, and other sources of
sustainably grown food in your area where you can buy
produce, grass-fed meats, and many other goodies.
-
Farmers' Markets-- A national listing
of farmers' markets.
- Eat Well
Guide: Wholesome Food from Healthy Animals --
The Eat Well Guide is a free online directory of sustainably
raised meat, poultry, dairy, and eggs from farms, stores,
restaurants, inns, and hotels, and online outlets in the
United States and Canada.
- Community
Involved in Sustaining Agriculture
(CISA) -- CISA is dedicated to sustaining
agriculture and promoting the products of small farms.
- FoodRoutes
-- The FoodRoutes "Find Good Food" map can help you connect
with local farmers to find the freshest, tastiest food
possible. On their interactive map, you can find a listing
for local farmers, CSAs, and markets near you.
© Copyright 1997-2013 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.