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the non-toxic times
This article was included on a newsletter I get from seventh generation.
Thought some you might like to read it also: The Non-Toxic Times Newsletter Vol. 8, No.8, June 2007 Proposed Laws (or Lack Thereof) Could End Up Playing With Your Food If we are what we eat, we may be in trouble! That's according to recent headlines that suggest we don't have to look very hard to find any one of a number of troubling links in our nation's food chain. Toxic pet foods fed to pigs. Tainted spinach. Imported foods from countries with questionable safety records. Genetically modified staples. It's enough to give you indigestion, which makes this update on food legislation important food for thought. Several important pieces of food legislation are currently pending in Congress. Together with one that was passed but remains ignored, they either constitute a full frontal assault on the safety of our food supply or its salvation depending on where the roll calls fall. Here's the run down, including how you can help stop or jump start each one: .. In late May, the House Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry quietly added language to the upcoming 2007 Farm Bill that would pre-empt any and all state prohibitions against foods or other agricultural products that have been deregulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The passage approved states that "no State or locality shall make any law prohibiting the use in commerce of an article that the Secretary of Agriculture has inspected and passed; or determined to be of non-regulated status." Observers say the added text targets several state laws that limit or prohibit the planting of genetically modified crops. This assault on states' rights and their abilities to raise the food safety bar higher than ground level, which is approximately where federal regulators currently have it, would also have the effect of preventing states from taking any action when food contamination incidents occur. Concerned consumers are being advised to demand that the subcommittee remove this language form the bill. To do that, visit http://ga3.org/campaign/House_Ag. For more information about the issue, visit http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/F...nPR5_24_07.cfm. .. Over at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), officials have proposed new regulations that will eliminate labeling requirements for irradiated foods. Regulations currently in place require food companies to clearly label any foods that have been treated with x-ray or gamma radiation, a process which destroys vitamins and nutrients, creates unique new compounds never before eaten by human beings, and produces carcinogenic by-products like benzene. The proposed rules would take away consumers' right to know which foods they buy have been "nuked" and let food producers deal with the industry's currently widespread problem of bacterial contamination by taking a quick but dangerous radioactive shortcut. People who eat food (that would be all of us) are being asked to flood the FDA with comments opposing this toxic gift to agribusiness that comes at the people's expense. To do that, visit http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia...aign_KEY=11102. To learn more about the issue of food irradiation, visit http://www.organicconsumers.org/irradlink.cfm. .. In what is starting to sound like a broken record, regulators at the USDA once again can't resist the temptation to bow down before their corporate overlords and meddle with the National Organic Standards. The agency is considering allowing 38 non-organic spices, coloring agents, and other ingredients in foods designated "USDA Organic." Current regulations allow any food product with at least 95% certified organic ingredients to be labeled organic as long as the remaining 5% or less of non-organic ingredients appear on a special USDA list of approved non-organic items that may be used because they are generally not available commercially in organic form. The agency is considering expanding this list to include such things as non-organic hops, dill weed, elderberry juice and annatto coloring agents, sausage casings, and fructooligosaccharides, a bulking agent. According to farmers, 90% of the ingredients on the list can be easily produced organically. And while food producers had two years to petition the USDA to include a specific ingredient on the revised list, the public had a mere seven days to comment on the proposed rule changes. That comment period has passed and as of this writing the USDA appears ready to amend the list. Citizens are advised to contact their congressional delegation and protest the changes to the National Organic Standards and to send their comments to Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns even though the comment period has ended. To do that and learn more, visit http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia...aign_KEY=11401. .. Finally, activists are demanding that Congress stop blocking implementation of mandatory Country of Origin Labels (COOL) on foods. COOL legislation was part of the 2002 Farm Bill and was to go into effect in September of 2004. The law would require all food products to label their country of origin. These labels would give consumers concerned about things like food contamination, suspect "organic" foods, global warming-linked long-distance food transportation, the use of pesticides illegal in the U.S., countries with poor food safety records and questionable production practices, and other serious food issues the information they need to make better choices. Unfortunately agribusiness interests and large chains like Wal-Mart have convinced Congress to block implementation of the rules. Send a letter to your congressional delegation demanding that the COOL law be allowed to take effect at http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia...aign_KEY=11257. |
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