Here is the text of an e-mail I received this morning from our local organic farm. If you can help with the protest against the proposed severly restrictive USDA regulations, please take the time to write the letter. Thanks sooo much!
Sandy
Quote:
Hi Everybody --
I'm writing to let you know about an impending regulation that could potentially ruin the ability of small family farmers to grow and sell leafy greens to the public. The USDA, in response to the spinach scare a couple years ago, is proposing over-the-top rules for all growers of leafy greens -- corporate farms and small farms alike -- and for all leafy greens. Not just spinach. This could include bi-weekly lab tests and sterilization of fields.
While this might sound like a good safety measure on the surface, the truth is, small farms cannot possibly afford multiple lab tests. And sterilization of fields! An organic farm is a whole, live, sustainable being. Nutrition comes to the plants through the soil, of which we, the small farmers, are the stewards. Half the work we do goes into building the soil, so it nourishes the plants and thus nourishes all of us.
Corporate farms produce 95% of all salads and leafy greens. It was from those corporate farms that contaminated spinach was released to the marketplace. That the USDA is trying to impose guidelines against that kind of thing happening again is understandable. What is not understandable, is how they plan to lump in farmers like us and other small farms across the country, who cannot possibly abide by such rules and still stay in business.
We only found out about this proposal yesterday. There is a way to fight it, however. TODAY, December 3rd, is the deadline for posting comments to the USDA. Below is a link for you to use to make comments. I received a copy of an excellent letter from a customer this morning, the body of which I'll reprint here for you to use as a template if you wish:
Docket ID: AMS-FV-07-0090
Docket Title: Food Safety Regulations for Leafy Greens Under the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937 (AMAA)
Document ID: AMS-FV-07-0090-0001
Document Title: Handling Regulations for Leafy Greens Under the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937
To Whom It May Concern:
I urge you to refrain from passing any regulation or law which further inhibits the ability of America’s small farms to participate and compete in today’s agricultural markets.
I, and my family, are regular consumers of greens (and other vegetables) produced by small, family-owned farms in the Central Texas area such as
. These independently-owned farms are growing and selling produce in a marketplace dominated by corporate growers.
I ensure my family’s food safety by purchasing from growers with whom I have relationships and whose practices I know. Small, family farms are ill equipped to handle the administrative burden required by regulations targeted at large, corporate concerns, and small growers represent just a tiny percentage of food safety concerns, despite their growing share of the marketplace.
Please protect small growers. They represent the future of agriculture.
In order to submit your letter, please follow these instructions:
Go to 1) Go to www.regulations.gov.
2) Under "Search Documents" Step 1, choose "Documents with an Open Comment Period."
3) Under Step 2, choose "Department of Agriculture - All"
4) Under Step 3, choose "Proposed Rules."
5) Under Step 4, choose "Docket ID" and then type in "AMS-FV-07-0090" and then click "Submit."
6) On the next screen, click on the tiny yellow button on the left side of the page, under the column "Comments Add/Due By."
7) Follow the instructions on the next page, and remember to scroll down to the bottom of the page to fully submit your comments.
Here is a link with more information:
http://cornucopia.org/index.php/protect-fresh-leafy-greens-and-family-farms/#more-362
Thank you for taking a few minutes to read this.
Jo Dwyer
Angel Valley Organic Farm
http://www.angelvalleyfarms.com