Comments for Congress sends food safety bill to Obama at http://www.theind.com , comment 1 to 8 out of 8 comments http://www.theind.com Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:31:12 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.theind.com/news/indreporter/7549-congress-sends-food-safety-bill-to-obama#comment-13672 I agree. However, I am a firm believer that the federal government and only the federal government should regulate the safety of our food. - LAFAYETTE NATIVE RESIDING IN CA Mon, 03 Jan 2011 18:27:55 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/indreporter/7549-congress-sends-food-safety-bill-to-obama#comment-13671 Lafayette Native, I think you've somewhat underframed the issue here. It's not so much local/state Board of Health oversight of the local grocery establishment that we all interact with regularly. By contrast it is the ten thousand acre produce farms, the CAFOs (Confined Animal Feeding Operations) and their associated under-regulated and animal waste runoff and further poor oversight in the slaughterhouses run by as few operators now as we have old-fashioned Broadcast Networks, which are the problem. The producers not the retailers are nationwide and at times transnational in scope. Take note that I am asserting that the issue is not simply a failure of enforcement but also a failure to construct oversight rules in the past that has led to this problem. There is little doubt in my mind as to why additional legislation by the Congress was necessary to more explicitly spell out what the Executive Agencies should be doing to ensure our food is safe to eat and that production processes are not contaminating drinking water supplies and surface water supplies in the regions where production takes place. Maybe everyone could go watch Babe 2, when Babe left Farmer Hoggett's pastoral acreage to arrive at the CAFO for reference, then check out either Food, Inc. or Fresh for more awareness on these issues. Finally, I'd just add: This is Louisiana, almost everything and anything can grow here year round. It is ludicrous and cravenly wasteful that our perishable food is shipped across the continent for the convenience of the national-scale agribusiness and retail industries, thereby wasting precious fuel sources. Last I read, State Departments of Agriculture are trying to encourage farmers to move back into "real" food production for the increased income unsubsidized crops especially those grown organically, can provide to farmers. Hopefully we'll see more of this and a proliferation of vendors at the Farmers Markets across Acadiana. - Jason D. Faulk Mon, 03 Jan 2011 18:14:31 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/indreporter/7549-congress-sends-food-safety-bill-to-obama#comment-13654 Score one for the american people. It is high time that we put some regs on the people that feed us. Sister Sarah, Rev Beck, Grand Klux Haily Barbour, ragin cajun, Northsidian, and their race hate base will no doubt claim that their freedom is being abridged and that tyranny is on the horizon, but at least they won't die from eating poision food from pigly wiggly. IDIOTS! - LAFAYETTE NATIVE RESIDING IN CA Mon, 03 Jan 2011 11:57:00 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/indreporter/7549-congress-sends-food-safety-bill-to-obama#comment-13646 Thanks, Jason...at least someone knows what's really important. Thank goodness the Tester amendment was included. The food safety hazards are generated by huge industrial farm operations, as you said, which are a relatively recent thing. Our food system has been so homogenized and centralized in recent decades, and the government corporatocracy has promoted this through farm subsidies. This bill almost was a major blow against the re-emergence of local foods and organic farming. Monsanto gave our Senator Vitter thousands of dollars to back the bill. Giant agribusiness backed the original bill because it would have put big burdens on the nascent local food movement; I bet they didn't count on Tester and a few good lawmakers who put the people ahead of the lobbyists. - Resident Mon, 03 Jan 2011 08:17:39 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/indreporter/7549-congress-sends-food-safety-bill-to-obama#comment-13634 written by Locked and Loaded , December 30, 2010 “If people let the government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny.” ~Thomas Jefferson, 1781 Listen here, ragin cajun, there you go again quoting those old white guys from 300 years ago. Food safety has nothing to do with what people choose to eat. If you want to buy crawfish from china that is unregulated, use your freedom and purchase it. - LAFAYETTE NATIVE RESIDING IN CA Sat, 01 Jan 2011 14:14:02 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/indreporter/7549-congress-sends-food-safety-bill-to-obama#comment-13628 The main benefits here with the Food Safety Bill is that through the Mangager's Amendment and the 'Tester Amendment" sponsored by Sen. John Tester of Montana, local, small producers of agricultural products are going to be exempted from most of the reporting requirements that would be burdensome to the local, craft, organic, sustainable food producers. That is as it should be. Most of the food safety hazards in the past couple decades have been generated by the giant continental scale food producer conglomerates. Accordingly they will be properly regulated by FDA now instead of USDA, and hopefully staffing for inspection will go back up to historical levels that our ancestors in the early 20th century fought and died for so that we could have safe meat and produce to eat. This is not a partisan issue, but a right to safe food issue. If the business of producing and selling food gets so big as to be impersonal and unaccountable, then we shouldn't have to rely on lawsuits for safety and compensation. It is the right role of the state to ensure food safety. On the plus side, the more you know your local farmers, the more accountable and moral they will be. Most of these are goodly, hard working Christian folk that need our support. Keep your dollars at home! Support your local farmer. - Jason D. Faulk Fri, 31 Dec 2010 20:35:17 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/indreporter/7549-congress-sends-food-safety-bill-to-obama#comment-13617 Is it true that Obama signed a Government contract with Hawaii, for twenty million PINEAPPLES and thirty million COCONUTS, to mix up some CUBA LIBRE'S and some WHITE RUSSIAN'S, for Michelle's Entourage from the EAST SIDE. Is this true ? - northsidian shotgun Thu, 30 Dec 2010 23:07:04 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/indreporter/7549-congress-sends-food-safety-bill-to-obama#comment-13614 “If people let the government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny.” ~Thomas Jefferson, 1781 - Locked and Loaded Thu, 30 Dec 2010 22:28:00 +0100