This is from David Goforth, an NC Extension Agent and small farmer I have
a great deal of respect for. Thought you all might like a look at his
perspectives.
What he says about HR 759 is alarming. Anyone know anything about it?
Don Boekelheide
Charlotte NC
www.urbanministrycenter.org
From David Goforth, NCSU Cooperative Extension:
You may have seen numerous emails about current legislation
concerning food safety. Some claim that backyard gardens will be
regulated or banned. One even claimed we would face fines if we didn’t
cut down any apple tree that might be growing in the backyard. Others
are worried about the impact on small farmers like the farmers we have in
Cabarrus county.
The two bills I have studied the closest are HR 875 and HR
759, and a similar senate bill. (I read the actual bill, not the
hype.) To me 875 doesn’t sound that unreasonable and if
applied as written, shouldn’t be a problem for local growers. ( I
understand this one isn’t getting much support.) HR 759 could
be a problem for anybody in agriculture and anybody who eats their
products.
You can find any actual legislation at the library of
congress website http://thomas.loc.gov/
Below is one take on some specific food safety
issues. (Original email was from Roland McReynolds with Carolina
Farm Stewardship) Obviously there are some biases here. I took the
liberty of picking a writer that matched my own biases, but I hope
you will think for yourself. I just wanted you to understand some of
the issues and not worry about some of the hype floating around the
internet.
* Scale-appropriate. Federal law should support
producers at each level, not impose a one-size-fits-all approach that
runs
small farms and farmers markets out of business.
* Risk-based. Measures to mitigate produce safety
risk or to implement safety solutions must be based on actual risk
assessments for different products and scales of farms, not assumptions
based on an
industrial food model.
* Science-based. Specific measures to mitigate
produce safety risk or specific metrics included in produce safety
solutions,
must be based on sound science, specific to the growing conditions on
individual farms. Funding research to develop a science-based approach to
on-farm produce safety should be a priority
* Provide tiered compliance alternatives. Compliance
with produce safety measures should be tiered to reflect farm size,
market
served and risk, for instance, a 2-acre fruit and vegetable producer
selling
exclusively through farmers markets or CSAs within 50 miles of the farm
vs. a
several hundred acre producer shipping produce to multiple outlets in
multiple
states. A tiered compliance program would include training on on-farm
produce
safety for all producers, with larger producers choosing to comply with
more
rigorous certifications to meet buyer specifications, not
federally-mandated
standards.
* Focused on education, not regulation. On-farm food
safety should center around education and incentives rather than mandated
regulations
with punitive measures for non-compliance.
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