Wrong list, Dianne.
On Tue, Aug 18, 2009 at 07:27:01AM -0400, Dianne France wrote: > > > Date: Mon, 17 Aug 2009 11:16:02 -0700 > > From: i...@westonaprice.org > > To: dianne_fra...@hotmail.com > > Subject: YOUR HELP NEEDED TO DEFEAT DANGEROUS FOOD SAFETY LEGISLATION > > > > > > YOUR HELP NEED TO DEFEAT DANGEROUS FOOD SAFETY LEGISLATION > > > > AUGUST IS THE MONTH TO VISIT YOUR SENATOR > > > > Dear Members, > > > > As you know, we have been following proposed food safety legislation > as it moves through the House and Senate. > > > > Last week, the House of Representatives passed HR 2749, the Food > Safety Modernization Act, and the next step in the process will be the > Senate. Although it is not certain, the Senate will probably focus its > food safety discussions on S. 510, sponsored by Senator Durbin of > Illinois. S. 510 is different from HR 2749, but it contains many of the > same problems (more below). If Congress passes a food safety bill in > the form of the House or Senate version, it will be difficult, even > impossible, for small food manufacturers and small farms to stay in > business-such as the farmer you get your fresh food from and the > majority of products listed in our shopping guide. > > > > NOW IS THE TIME TO VISIT YOUR SENATOR! > > Congress is back home for the month of August, so this is a great > time to set up an in-person meeting to discuss the food safety bills. > Meeting with your legislators is one of the most effective things you > can do to make your voice heard! > > > > We have over 10,000 members in the U.S. and there are just 100 > Senators. So it is possible to set up at least one meeting with every > Senator-hopefully thousands of you will visit your Senators. > > > > We know that many of our members have never met with their > Congressman or even thought about doing so. The prospect can be > intimidating or stressful. Yet there's no reason it should be. They > represent you - it's their job. Meeting with your legislators puts a > face to an issue, making it very real and tangible for them. It also > shows them how important the issue is to you. > > > > If you call and are told that their schedules are already too full to > allow a personal meeting or a meeting with an aide, then go to one of > the public events that your Senators will be attending! Ask their local > office for the schedule of events that they will be attending in August > and speak with them at those events. That allows you to educate members > of the public at the same time that you educate your legislators. > > > > Below are some tips to help with the meetings. And at the end of the > alert are some talking points on S. 510 and the food safety bills in > general. > > > > If you do set up a meeting, please send us an email at > i...@westonaprice.org with the title "Food Safety Legislation Activism" > so that we can keep track of our progress. > > > > TIPS ON MEETINGS: > > > > Before the meeting: > > > > 1. Find out who your Senators are. You can look this up at > www.senate.gov or call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121. (To > find out who your Representatives are, go to www.congress.org) > > > > 2. Contact their local offices. Introduce yourself, stressing the > fact that you're a constituent. Tell them you'd like to set up a > meeting with the Senator during the August recess to discuss the food > safety bills. You will most likely get transferred to a scheduler and > perhaps be asked to put your request in writing. > > > > 3. If you are unable to meet with the Senator, be willing to accept a > meeting with the staffer. Staffers often have a lot of input on issues! > > > > 4. Plan who will come to the meeting. Keep the group small, no more > than 3 or 4 people. > > > > 5. Plan which points each of you will cover to use your time most > effectively. We can help provide you with materials. Email > i...@farmtoconsumer.org or call the office at (703) 208-FARM (3276). > > > > 6. Dress in business attire and arrive early. > > > > During the meeting: > > > > 1. Introduce yourself and remind the Senator or staffer that you are > constituents. > > > > 2. Be succinct and clear about what you want: food safety bills that > do not harm the local food system. Try to emphasize positive items, > such as the inspection of imports or the regulation of the huge > industrial food processors, which would actually improve food safety. > > > > 3. While you're discussing the importance of local food systems, take > a moment to also discuss the National Animal Identification System and > the problems it poses. Encourage them to eliminate funding for the > program when the conference committee meets after the August recess. > > > > 4. Be prepared to educate him or her about the issues. Don't be > afraid to say "I don't know" and offer to follow up with more > information after the meeting. > > > > 5. Get the staffer's business card so that you can contact the person > again directly. > > > > After the meeting, write a thank you note. Email or fax is fine. And > then send us your impressions of the meeting so that we know where your > Senators stand and can follow-up as well. > > > > TALKING POINTS (note: these same problems are also found in HR 2749) > > > > - S.510 calls for federal regulation of how farmers grow and harvest > product. Farmers selling food directly to local markets are inherently > transparent and accountable to their customers, and there is no reason > to impose these regulations on them. Based on FDA's track record, it is > likely that such rules will also discriminate against diversified > sustainable farms that produce animals and crops in complementary > systems. > > > > - S.510 expands FDA's powers over food processors, regardless of > their size, scale, or distribution. FDA oversight of small, local food > processors is overreaching and unnecessary. Small processors selling > into local markets do not need federal oversight, unlike the large, > industrial, multi-sourced supply chains that are the cause of most > foodborne illnesses and food recalls. > > > > - S.510 applies a complex Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point > (HACCP) system to even the smallest local processors, imposing onerous > paperwork and record-keeping on these small businesses. Applying a > HACCP system to local foods facilities processing for local markets, as > well as farmers making value-added products, could undermine and > extinguish these emerging small businesses attempting to bring healthy > local foods to American consumers. In fact, when HAACP was applied to > the meat packing industry, it was instrumental in reducing the number > of smaller regional and local meat packers, yet failed to increase the > number of independent, objective inspectors in giant meat slaughtering > and packing facilities. For comments on HAACP by a small cheesemaker, > see > http://hartkeisonline.com/2009/07/24/small-farmer-warns-hr2749-will-put > -me-out-of-business/. > > > > - Bottom line: One size does not fit all when considering food safety > bills! Local foods businesses are not the same as animal factories or > mega-farms that sell products into industrial scale national and > international markets, and should not be regulated the same way! > > > > > > Our postal address is > > PMB #106-380 > > 4200 Wisconsin Avenue, NW > > Washington, District of Columbia 20016 > > United States > > > __________________________________________________________________ > > Windows Live: Keep your friends up to date with what you do online. > [1]Find out more. > > References > > 1. > http://windowslive.com/Campaign/SocialNetworking?ocid=PID23285::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:SI_SB_online:082009 -- indi -- The Silver List is a moderated forum for discussing Colloidal Silver. Instructions for unsubscribing are posted at: http://silverlist.org To post, address your message to: silver-list@eskimo.com Address Off-Topic messages to: silver-off-topic-l...@eskimo.com The Silver List and Off Topic List archives are currently down... 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