Americans Have No Right to Unfettered Food of All Kinds APN Newsletter 05-12-10

8/7/2019 Americans Have No Right to Unfettered Food of All Kinds APN Newsletter 05-12-10

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Americans Have No Right to Unfettered Food of All Kinds

APN Newsletter 05 12 10

http://www.americanpreppersnetwork.com/2010/05/you-have-no-natural-right-to-

food.html

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

You have no natural right to food

Posted: 11 May 2010 08:56 AM PDT

No matter what your stance is politically, you are human. You eat and drink as a matter of survival, but as

humans we consume as social beings. No one has the right to take away food found in it's natural state.

However the FDA thinks that we should not be allowed to eat and drink what we so desire. Another

agency that wishes to save us from ourselves.

From Natural News;

The FTCLDF(http://www.ftcldf.org/Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defence Fund) highlighted a few of the

key phrases from the FDA's response document in a recent email to its supporters. They include the

following two statements from the FDA:

"There is no 'deeply rooted' historical tradition of unfettered access to foods of all kinds."

[p. 26]

"Plaintiffs' assertion of a 'fundamental right to their own bodily and physical health,

which includes what foods they do and do not choose to consume for themselves and their

families' is similarly unavailing because plaintiffs do not have a fundamental right to

obtain any food they wish." [p.26]

There's a lot more in the document, which primarily addresses the raw milk issue, but these statements

alone clearly reveal how the FDA views the concept of health freedom. Essentially, the FDA does not

believe in health freedom at all. It believes that it is the only entity granted the authority to decide for

you what you are able to eat and drink.

The State, in other words, may override your food decisions and deny you free access to the foods and

beverages you wish to consume. And the State may do this for completely unscientific reasons -- even

just political reasons -- all at their whim.

******

But it gets even worse. On page 27 of the dismissal, the FDA also states thatAmericans do not havea fundamental right to enter into private contractual agreements with one another,

either.

Read entire article here>>>>http://www.naturalnews.com/028757_raw_milk_FDA.html

I found some more tidbits

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http://www.americanpreppersnetwork.com/2010/05/you-have-no-natural-right-to-food.htmlhttp://www.americanpreppersnetwork.com/2010/05/you-have-no-natural-right-to-food.htmlhttp://www.americanpreppersnetwork.com/2010/05/you-have-no-natural-right-to-food.htmlhttp://www.ftcldf.org/http://www.ftcldf.org/http://www.ftcldf.org/http://www.naturalnews.com/028757_raw_milk_FDA.htmlhttp://www.naturalnews.com/028757_raw_milk_FDA.htmlhttp://www.naturalnews.com/028757_raw_milk_FDA.htmlhttp://www.americanpreppersnetwork.com/2010/05/you-have-no-natural-right-to-food.htmlhttp://www.americanpreppersnetwork.com/2010/05/you-have-no-natural-right-to-food.htmlhttp://www.americanpreppersnetwork.com/2010/05/you-have-no-natural-right-to-food.htmlhttp://www.ftcldf.org/http://www.ftcldf.org/http://www.naturalnews.com/028757_raw_milk_FDA.htmlhttp://www.naturalnews.com/028757_raw_milk_FDA.html


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Americans Have No Right to Unfettered Food of All Kinds - Continued

Here>>>http://www.newswithviews.com/Hannes/doreen103.htm

There is No Right to Consume or Feed Children Any Particular Food (pg25)

There is No Generalized Right to Bodily and Physical Health. (pg26)

There is No Fundamental Right to Freedom of Contract (pg 27)

Posted by Phelan at 8:44 AM

http://www.naturalnews.com/028757_raw_milk_FDA.html

Raw milk battle reveals FDA abandonment of basic human

right to choose your foodMonday, May 10, 2010

by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger

Editor of NaturalNews.com

(NaturalNews) The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FTCLDF), an

organization whose mission includes "defending the rights and broadening the

freedoms of family farms and protecting consumer access to raw milk and nutrient

dense foods", recently filed a lawsuit against the FDA for its ban on interstate sales

of raw milk. The suit alleges that such a restriction is a direct violation of the United

States Constitution. Nevertheless, the suit led to a surprisingly cold response fromthe FDA about its views on food freedom (and freedoms in general).

In a dismissal notice issued to the Iowa District Court where the suit was filed

(http://www.thecompletepatient.com/storage/ds%20mtd%20memo%20in

%20support.pdf), the FDA officially made public its views on health and food

freedom. These views will shock you, but they reveal the true evil intent of the FDA

and why it is truly a rogue federal agency.

The FDA essentially believes that nobody has the right to choose what to eat

or drink. You are only "allowed" to eat or drink what the FDA gives you permission

to. There is no inherent rightor God-given right to consume any foods from naturewithout the FDA's consent.

This is no exaggeration. It's exactly what the FDA said in its own words.

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You have no natural right to foodThe FTCLDF highlighted a few of the key phrases from the FDA's response

document in a recent email to its supporters. They include the following two

statements from the FDA:

"There is no 'deeply rooted' historical tradition of unfettered access tofoods of all kinds." [p. 26]

"Plaintiffs' assertion of a 'fundamental right to their own bodily and

physical health, which includes what foods they do and do not choose to

consume for themselves and their families' is similarly unavailing because

plaintiffs do not have a fundamental right to obtain any food they wish."

[p.26]

There's a lot more in the document, which primarily addresses the raw milk issue,

but these statements alone clearly reveal how the FDA views the concept of healthfreedom. Essentially, the FDA does not believe in health freedom at all. It

believes that it is the only entity granted the authority to decide for you what you

are able to eat and drink.

The State, in other words, may override your food decisions and deny you free

access to the foods and beverages you wish to consume. And the State may do this

for completely unscientific reasons -- even just political reasons -- all at their whim.

This has all emerged from the debate over whether raw milk sales should be legal.

But the commonsense answer seems obvious: Of course raw milk should be legal!

Since when did the government have any right to criminalize a farmer milking his

cow and selling the raw, unpasteurized milk to his neighbor at a mutually-agreeable

price?

The U.S. government's secret agenda to eliminate raw

milkRaw milk has been in the spotlight recently as defenders of the food are constantly

battling with state and federal authorities over the freedom to buy and sell it. At the

national level, the FDA has been on a ruthless crusade to eliminate all sales of raw

milk everywhere. Lately, the agency seems to have shifted its tactics from attackingraw milk dairy farmers directly to going after raw milk "buying clubs" and "cow-

share" programs, which effectively bypass the draconian laws in many states by

establishing private contracts between individuals.

In a cow-share program, you buy a share of the cow's produced milk, and you pay a

cost of the cow's upkeep. It's sort of like CSA shares for farm veggies, but with cow's

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milk instead of veggies. This arrangement drives the FDA absolutely batty because

it bypasses their authority and allows free people to engage in the free sales of

raw dairy products produced on small family farms.

But why is the FDA hell-bent on stopping raw milk from being sold in the first place?

Think about it: What is it about this particular whole food that has regulatorsworking overtime to make sure you don't drink it?

It certainly has nothing to do with food safety, as the FDA commonly claims is its

reason for opposing it. Raw milk's track record of safety is phenomenal, and all

legitimate studies indicate that it's actually less prone to harbor harmful bacteria

than the pasteurized stuff (which is all dead, modified milk anyway).

According to a Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF) report

(http://www.realmilk.com/documents/SheehanPowerPointResponse2009Oct.pdf),

between 1980 and 2005, there were ten times more illnesses from pasteurized milk

than there were from raw milk. And most of the reports that link illness outbreaks

with raw milk provide little or no evidence that raw milk was even the culprit.

But apparently the facts don't really matter to the FDA (is anyone surprised?)

because the agency continues to repeat false talking points about how raw milk is

inherently dangerous and that drinking it is "like play Russian Roulette with your

health".

Big Dairy behind push to eliminate raw milk

The real reason why the FDA opposes raw milk is because Big Dairy opposes rawmilk. Just like Big Pharma, Big Dairy has worked very hard behind the scenes to

steer FDA policy in its favor. And according to some recent reports

(http://www.thecompletepatient.com/journal/2010/4/30/the-food-rights-firestorm-

spreads-is-big-dairy-helping-regul.html#comments ), Big Dairy is one of the primary

forces trying to eliminate raw milk because it threatens the commercial milk

business.

Recently in Massachusetts, for example, the state's Department of Agricultural

Resources (MDAR) has been targeting raw milk buying clubs

(http://www.thecompletepatient.com/journal/2010/1/31/too-much-of-a-good-thing-ma-regulators-begin-to-turn-against.html ) that purchase raw milk from rural dairy

farms and have it delivered to urban drop-off points where many of the customers

live. Raw milk sales are legal in Massachusetts as long as they are done at the farm,

and the state has long tolerated buying clubs, which are convenient for customers

and technically perfectly legal.

But this situation now seems to have changed. MDAR recently sent cease-and-desist

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letters to four buying clubs even though there is no Massachusetts law that

prohibits their existence. When club members challenged the legitimacy of the

warnings, MDAR decided to propose a new regulation to specifically outlaw buying

clubs. (They just can't stand the fact that people are buying raw milk, can they?)

Get this: Scott Soares, a Massachusetts legislator who is friends with the MDARcommissioner, held a preliminary meeting in advance of the May 10th proposal

hearing to discuss the matter with interested parties. Fifteen educated and

passionate consumers and farmers of raw milk showed up to challenge Soares, who

ended up revealing to them that "large dairy producers" had contacted him to push

for raw milk restrictions.

To make matters worse, it was revealed that Soares failed to follow proper protocol

by not opening a docket to keep a record of all interactions relating to the proposal.

So not only did Soares reveal that he's basically bowing to political pressure from

Big Dairy by supporting the restrictions, but he's also violating proper legislative

procedure in the process.

So what we have here is a classic case of a large and powerful industry pushing

government regulators to outlaw competing products so that it can monopolize the

market. It's the same thing that Big Pharma does in getting the FDA to destroy

nutritional supplement companies. But now it's happening with raw milk, too.

What's next? Will all farmer's markets be outlawed because the veggies haven't all

been irradiated or pasteurized?

As usual, it's all about the money, and as you follow the money trail all the way upto the federal level, you find the same thing happening everywhere: At the FDA,

USDA, FTC and so on. U.S. government regulators have become monopoly market

enforcers for Big Business, and they won't let anything get in their way... not

even personal health freedoms or just basic access to food.

I'm sensing a Ghandi moment coming on here. Somebody is going to have a

powerful public demonstration against tyranny by drinking raw milk in the same

way that Ghandi led his followers to harvesting salt. People have a natural-born

right to real food, and the FDA is violating human rights by attacking

producers of raw milk.

Unconstitutional position of the FDAIt's not really news to the folks in the natural health community that the FDA

opposes personal health freedoms, but according to the FTCLDF, the FDA's recent

response to its lawsuit is one of the agency's boldest statements yet about how it

views health freedom in America. It practically turns the FDA into a dictatorial

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Gestapo-like agency whose mission is to destroy the U.S. Constitution and deprive

people of their natural rights.

Not only does the FDA think it has the power to regulate interstate trade; it also

thinks it can regulate intrastate trade (which means buying and selling within state

borders). In fact, the agency made this very clear on page 6 of its dismissal when itwrote, "It is within HHS's authority...to institute an intrastate ban [on unpasteurized

milk] as well."

This is the FDA trying to run rampant over States' rights. The federal government,

after all, isn't satisfied to exercise control over the limited powers granted to it by

the U.S. Constitution -- it wants to overthrow the tenth Amendment and dictate

rules, regulations and laws that the states are being forced to follow.

This is blatantly unconstitutional. The Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

forbids the federal government from intruding on the laws of individual states, and

is only allowed to wield powers expressly granted to it by the Constitution (powers

granted by the People, in other words).

There is no power granted to the federal government to ban the sales of raw milk.

I've read the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and I never saw it mentioned in

there. The very idea, by the way, would have seemed bizarre (and downright

stupid) by our nation's founders, many of whom actually operated farms and drank

raw milk themselves.

According to the FTCLDF suit, the FDA is clearly operating outside Constitutional

authority by forbidding raw milk from being transported across state lines fromstates where it is legal to sell it. And for the FDA to arrogantly announce that it has

the authority to ban intrastate raw milk sales shows just how tyrannical and

oppressive the agency has now become.

The FDA, bluntly states, has become an enemy of the People. It is taking away

the rights that your forefathers helped protect (often with their lives). The FDA is

destroying what your fathers and grandfathers fought for in World War II. It is

attempting to terrorize the raw milk producers of America and run them out of

business through a campaign of threats and intimidation. This is the agency that's

supposed to be working for the People? Give me a break...

Even private contracts aren't a fundamental right,

according to the FDABut it gets even worse. On page 27 of the dismissal, the FDA also states that

Americans do not have a fundamental right to enter into private

contractual agreements with one another, either.

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Huh? Are you kidding me?

Buying clubs, cooperatives and community supported agriculture programs (CSAs)

all rely on private contractual agreements in order to operate. People contract with

each other to obtain clean, healthy food from the sources of their choice withoutgovernment intrusion. But now the FDA is saying that people don't actually have

this right. To enter into such a private contract to purchase food, milk or even water

is a violation of federal law, the FDA now claims.

You are just a subject of the King, you see, and you have no rights. You must eat

and drink what you are told. You must behave in a way that is allowed by your King.

You have no rights, no protections and no freedoms. You are a slave, Neo.

The "substantive due process" clause of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S.

Constitution, however, assures people of this right when it states that no person

shall "be deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process of law." And being

able to make personal food choices without having to obtain permission from Big

Brother is definitely included under this clause.

But the FDA -- aw, heck, all of Washington for that matter -- doesn't honor the U.S.

Constitution in any way, shape or form. The document is little more than a tattered

piece of American history according to the Nazi nut jobs running federal agencies

today. They are no more likely to respect the Constitution as they are to leap from

their desk job chairs and magically transform into flying elephants.

But all hope is not lost... there are things you can do to fight for your freedoms.

What you can do to protect food freedomAccording to David Gumpert from The Complete Patient

(http://www.thecompletepatient.com/ ), raw milk is a proxy issue that really

addresses food freedom at large. Whatever is decided about raw milk will set a

precedent for everything else.

That's why it's so important to support raw milk freedom whether you drink milk or

not (I don't drink milk, but I support raw milk freedoms nevertheless). Not only islegalized raw milk beneficial to small, family farmers who are able to maintain

livelihoods because of it, it also supports the local food economy. It's also, by the

way, a whole lot healthier than pasteurized milk!

On January 28, 2009, Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) introduced HR 778, a bill that

would end all federal restrictions on interstate traffic of raw milk. It's along the same

lines as the current lawsuit which challenges the constitutionality of such

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restrictions in the first place. You can read the entire bill at the following link:

(http://www.ftcldf.org/docs/HR_778_Interstate_Traffic_of_unpast_milk_012809.pdf)

The FTCLDF has a petition page (http://www.ftcldf.org/petitions/pnum987.php )

where you can contact your Congressmen and urge support for HR 778. You can

even ask your Senators to cosponsor it. Please support this effort by signing thisonline petition.

Even more urgent than this is the need to express your opposition to a "food safety"

bill going before the U.S. Senate called the "FDA Food Safety Modernization Act".

Also known as S. 510, this bill, if passed, will drastically increase the FDA's power

over food and make it very difficult to obtain natural, unprocessed foods of any

kind. It would give the FDA completely power to irradiate, fumigate, pasteurize or

otherwise destroy every item you consume, from fruits and vegetables to dairy

products.

Remember how I said that the FDA (wrongly) thinks it has the power to regulate

intrastate trade? Well S. 510 would specifically grant the agency this power. The

FDA would then have the power to destroy all small, local farming, gardening or

dairy operations in your home town, even if your state expressly defends your rights

to engage in such activity.

Can you imagine a SWAT team of FDA agents showing up at your door because you

grew organic broccoli and sold some at the weekend farmer's market without

fumigating it with poisons first? That's what's coming to your home town,

everywhere across America.

S. 510 is the final version of H.R. 2749, which was passed last summer by the House

of Representatives. There's still time to stop it, but we need your help. So please

sign the petition linked above.

I know sometimes it seems like the politicians aren't listening, and for the most part

that's true, but a massive outcry against this attempted takeover of food is sure to

get their attention and may even force them to back down.

You can read all about both bills at the following link:

(http://www.ftcldf.org/news/news-foodsafety.htm )

You can also contact your Senators by visiting this link:

(http://www.opencongress.org/people/senators )

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Join the Raw Milk Drink-In!The Organic Consumers Association, by the way, is holding a Raw Milk Drink In in

Boston today (May 10, 2010). Here's the announcement from the OCA. Please go

join the drink in if you live near Boston!

Suzanne the Cow on Boston Common for "Raw Milk Drink In"

Raw Milk Enthusiasts Slam Proposed State Ban on Raw Milk Buying Clubs

Press Conference Precedes 10 AM Public Hearing at Massachusetts Department of

Agricultural Resources

MOOVE OVER CORPORATE COWS! WE WANT PASTURE NOT PASTEURIZED! THE

MDAR IS UDDERLY RIDICULOUS! MDAR'S RAW MILK BUYERS' CLUB BAN IS BULL!

MDAR SHOULDN'T COWTOW TO BIG AG!

BOSTON - On Monday, May 10, 2010, for perhaps the first time since the park was

used, prior to 1830, as a pasture, a cow will graze on Boston Common. The cow is

Suzanne, a beautiful pasture-raised Jersey who gives healthy raw milk through

Eastleigh Farm in Framingham, MA.

The occasion is a gathering of raw milk enthusiasts and dairy farmers who will bring

a cow to the Common for a "Raw Milk Drink In" and then gather at the State House

for a press conference.

The raw milk rally comes as the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural

Resources (MDAR) attempts to restrict the delivery of raw milk to thousands of

consumers throughout Massachusetts. Earlier this year, the MDAR issued a cease

and desist order to four raw milk buying club drivers who were delivering the milk to

customers in urban and suburban areas of the state.

Who: Raw milk cow, farmers and consumers.

What: Photo opportunity with raw milk cow, "Raw Milk Drink In" and press

conference.

When:8 am Cow & "Raw Milk Drink-In," Boston Common

9:20 am Press Conference, State House

10 am Public Hearing, Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources

2 pm Cow leaves Boston Common

Where: Boston Common - Adjacent to Brewer Fountain, then Statehouse

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Speakers available for interviews:

Doug Stephan, Raw Milk Dairy Farmer, Owner Eastleigh Farm in Framingham, MA,

(bringing the cow).

David Gumpert, author of The Raw Milk Revolution: Behind America's Emerging

Battle Over Food Rights.

Max Kane, a Wisconsin buying club owner who is currently fighting contempt of

court charge brought by the WI Dept of Agriculture for his refusal to reveal his

sources of Raw Milk.

Mark McAfee, the owner of Organic Pastures Dairy Co., the largest raw dairy in the

country, based in California.

More Information:

Over three million Americans now prefer organic raw milk and raw milk dairy

products over pasteurized milk because of its superior nutrition and disease fighting

qualities and because it comes from small, local producers who pasture their dairy

cows, rather than keeping them confined all day and all year in dairy feedlots on

huge, disease-ridden factory farms.

There have been no reported cases of raw milk-related illnesses in Massachusetts in

over ten years.

Alexis Baden-Mayer, Political Director for the Organic Consumers Association says,

"We don't need a 'new solution.' Up until this proposed ban, everything has been

fine. If there's any change to Massachusetts regulations, it should be a change to

make it easier -- not harder -- for us to get the healthy organic raw milk and dairy

products we want. This law would deny us our right to choose what we eat and

drink."

Learn more at www.organicconsumers.org/raw-milk

http://www.newswithviews.com/Hannes/doreen103.htm

FDA WANTS TO CONTROLEVERYTHING YOUR FAMILY EATS

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By Doreen HannesMay 8, 2010NewsWithViews.com

The Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FTCLDF) has achieved a tremendous coup

in their suit against the FDA regarding the FDA's abuses over transport of privatelyowned fresh (unpasteurized) milk. In a brief the FDA filed requesting that the caseagainst them be dismissed for lack of standing, the FDA has shown that they truly thinkwe cannot decide what we want to eat or drink without their permission. It's amazing.One would think that we could not have possibly lived prior to the formation of the FDAjust over one hundred years ago.

The legal brief by the FDA actually has the audacity to proclaim in the table of contentssuch things as:

There is No Right to Consume or Feed Children Any Particular Food (pg25)

There is No Generalized Right to Bodily and Physical Health. (pg26)

There is No Fundamental Right to Freedom of Contract (pg 27)

FDAs Regulations Rationally Advance The Agencys Public Health Mission(pg27)

Let's have a look at the first citation above (emphasis added) beginning on page 25

there is no deeply rooted historical tradition of unfettered access to food of allkinds.To the contrary, societys long history of food regulation stretches back to thedietary laws of biblical times. Modern food safety regulation in the United States hasits roots in the early food laws of the American colonies, which themselves incorporatedthe tradition of food regulation established in England. (-citing a Virginia statutepassed in 1873, that made it an offense . . . [to] knowingly, sell, supply, orbring to be manufactured . . . milk from which any cream has been taken; ormilk commonly known as skimmed milk). Comprehensive federal regulation ofthe food supply has been in effect at least since Congress enacted the Pure Food andDrugs Act of 1906, and was strengthened by the passage of the FDCA in 1938. Thus,plaintiffs claim to a fundamental privacy interest in obtaining foods oftheir own choice for themselves and their families is without merit.

If this weren't so horribly serious it would be hilarious.

The FDA is fighting a case that builds on the desire and right to consume fresh(unpasteurized) milk, which the FDA maintains is a lethally dangerous practice, byciting a law that prohibits any change of the nature of fresh milk!

But wait, there's more.we haven't begun to scratch the surface yet:

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There is No Generalized Right to Bodily and Physical Health.

Plaintiffs assertion of a fundamental right to their own bodily and physical health,which includes what foods they do and do not choose to consume for themselvesand their families is similarly unavailing because plaintiffs do not have a

fundamental right to obtain any food they wish. (Emphasis added)

I almost can not believe they were so overt in their complete and total disregard for themost fundamental human right of all, yet their own words convict them. If you cannotdecide what food you wish to eat, you certainly cannot even entertain the idea that youare free! The FDA has seemingly vaunted itself to the level of parenthood over the entirenation simply by being created via an act of Congress. Like a parent telling a four yearold, "Eat it! It's good for you!" Right..Never mind the fact that the FDA has refused todo any real testing on genetically modified foods, or that they say aspartame is fine foryou to drink when it becomes toxic at 85 degrees. Don't even mention that they haverefused to regulate nanofoods (smaller than a molecule technologic creations) that yourbody cannot assimilate. Yet since you don't have any "generalized right to bodily andphysical health" they can allow you to be poisoned with the continued blessing ofCongress. And the likely passage of new powers to be given to the FDA will surely behelpful in giving us all "food safety" and healthful food. Right. Sorry, my sarcasm shouldbe palpable.

According to the FDA, you don't have a right to bodily and physical health by decidingwhat you want to eat or don't want to eat. They know better than you, even better thanGod Almighty and don't you forget it. Just wait until they have expanded powers underS510 and HR2749. They will almost certainly extrapolate that authority to do homerefrigerator checks on whomever they want.

In their final sentence under this section of the FDA's motion to dismiss, they really hitit out of the park:

Finally, even if such a right did exist, it would not render FDAs regulationsunconstitutional because prohibiting the interstate sale and distribution ofunpasteurized milk promotes bodily and physical health.

So you don't have a right to it and they are promoting your non-right by their illustriousactionsPlease. There are a myriad of studies attesting to the healthful benefits offresh milk. Yes, there are concerns associated with it as well, and people should do thebest they can to become educated on the subject before making a decision for

themselves, but this hyperbolic 'public good' claim is farcical at the least. Particularlywhen the FDA has so miserably failed in their charge to inspect processing facilities andimports. A recent Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report revealed that the FDA hasinspected less than 25% of the facilities they are charged with inspecting in five years.They inspect LESS than 1% of imports and allow the aforementioned biotech andnanotech foods to enter the food supply without the slightest flinch on their part. All thewhile they proclaim they are performing a public good.

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The final affront to all that is decent in this FDA legal brief follows:

There is No Fundamental Right to Freedom of Contract

In arguing that FDAs regulations violate substantive due process because they interfere

with plaintiffs contract rights by restricting the use of an agent to accomplish whatthe principal herself ought to be free to do, plaintiffs ask this Court to resuscitate long-dead, Lochner-era jurisprudence. See Ferguson v. Skrupa, 372 U.S. 726, 729 (1963)(There was a time when the Due Process Clause was used by this Court to strike downlaws which were thought . . . incompatible with some particular economic or socialphilosophy, but that doctrine has long since been discarded). Plaintiffs anachronisticinvitation should be rejected.

The excerpt above has deeper implications than one might realize at a glance. In myestimation it has a terrific amount to do with many of the obtuse rulings the state andfederal courts have delivered. We are being told that we do not have the right to makeagreements. Evidently, all agreements have been made for us by our superiors.

Historically, the only people without the right to contract are minors, felons and slaves.Obviously, we cannot be minors because we can never reach the age of majority whereinwe are free to decide what we eat for ourselves. So we are either felons or slaves. Whichcategory we have been relegated to is open for discussion, but we certainly are not free.To boldly state that we have no right to freedom of contract is an astonishing, andrevealing, admission.

To boldly state any one of the cites above is astonishing. We have no right to decide what we eat

or don't eat, we have no right to bodily and physical health, we have no right to contract, and the

FDA is 'rational'. So saith the FDA. in Case 5:10-cv-04018-MWB, Document 11-1 filed on

04/26/10.

The FDA believes that we are too stupid to swallow. Yet we are supposed to swallow thatthey are interested in securing a safe food supply for us, and that the FDA needs morepower to regulate food on farms and we should give it to them by passing S510 orHR2749.

They'll take care of usyou betcha.

Related Articles:

1-White House Seeks to Controls your Food to save the children(http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20004653-503544.html)

2010 Doreen Hannes - All Rights Reserved

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http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20004653-503544.html Vote @

this site too!!!!!

May 11, 2010 10:02 AM

White House: Stop Marketing Unhealthy Foods to Kids

Posted by Peter Maer

Updated 1:10 p.m. ET

A White House report warns "The childhood obesity epidemic in America is a national healthcrisis."

The review by the Task Force on Childhood Obesity says one out of every three children isoverweight or obese. The task force is a key part ofFirst Lady Michelle Obama's campaign(http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20001944-503544.html) to solve the problem of obesitywithin a generation.

The report includes familiar themes, emphasizing the importance of improved nutrition andphysical activity. It also calls for some new and dramatic efforts to curtail marketing ofunhealthy foods.

"We have a roadmap for implementing our plan across our government and across the country,"

Michelle Obama told reporters today.

But administration officials repeatedly emphasized the effort would rely on "bully pulpit"pressure and not any new federal mandates to push the changes.

Setting the tone for that pressure, the first lady said, "No one gets off the hook on this one fromgovernments to schools, corporations to non-profits all the way down to families sitting aroundtheir dinner table."

She said she would "focus my energy" to keep the issue at "the forefront of the discussion insociety."

The task force wants junk food makers and marketers to go on what amounts to an advertisingdiet. It says media characters that are often popular with kids should only be used to promotehealthy products. If voluntary efforts fail to limit marketing of less healthy products to youngviewers, the task force suggests the FCC should consider new rules on commercials in children'sprogramming. It also challenges food retailers to stop using in-store displays to sell unhealthyfood items to children.

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But Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz said, "A regulatory approach iscertainly not where we want to start." He told a briefing, "You start by pushing self-regulation,by pushing your bully pulpit; sometimes shaming companies that don't do enough."

Leibowitz indicated the FTC would issue new subpoenas to major food marketing and fast food

companies that were questioned in 2005 about their marketing approaches. The FTC chief saidthe agency would determine whether the firms have honored commitments and "whether we canmake them do more."

Leibowitz sees some marketing of healthier foods but he concedes "more needs to be done."

The advisory panel proposes better food content labeling on products and vending machines.Restaurants and vending machine companies are urged to display calorie counts. The experts saythe FDA and USDA should cooperate with the food and beverage industries to develop astandard system of nutrition labeling on the front of packages. The study also suggests thatrestaurants should re-evaluate portion sizes, improve kids' menus and list more healthy food

choices.

The task force also sees a potential pocketbook approach to keep people from buying unhealthyfoods. It calls for analyzing the effect of imposing state and local sales taxes on less healthyproducts.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius emphasized, "There is no proposal for afederal tax on sugar."

She noted some local governments have seen a possible correlation between a lower use ofsugary items and increased taxes on certain products.

The White House study says school systems should consider promoting healthier food incafeterias. One idea: "swap deep fryers for salad bars."

Children will likely cheer the panel's call for schools to promote recess for younger students and"physical activity breaks" for upper level grades.

The report found one out of every three children is overweight or obese, conditions that increasetheir risk of developing diabetes, heart disease and cancer in their lifetimes. The cost of treatingobesity-related ailments is estimated to be $150 billion per year.

The task force concludes that strategies listed in the report "should" achieve the goal of solvingthe childhood obesity problem within a generation. It concedes it won't be easy.

http://www.thecompletepatient.com/journal/2010/4/30/the-food-rights-firestorm-

spreads-is-big-dairy-helping-regul.html#comments

At a NH Restaurant, a Waitress Asks, And How Would You Like That Milk, Raw orPasteurized?; MA Hypocrisy | Main | Food Regulators As Benign DictatorsFDA Says It

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Could Be Tougher on Raw Milk; Anyway, No Absolute Rightto Any Particular Food OrBodily and Physical Health

Let's Give a Round of Applause to MDAR for a Wonderful "Teachable Moment," and ShowWhat Good Students We Are

MDAR Tries 11th Hour Switcheroo to Stifle Raw Milk Debate: In This Circus, the ShowMust Go On

Scott Soares' Not-So-Lengthy Journey from Raw Milk Supporter to Big Dairy Pitchman;Mark McAfee, Max Kane to Join Boston Festivities; Wins for Meadowsweet

Why Regulators Everywhere Are Watching MA So Closely, And Why the Answer Must BeNO, NO, NO

At a NH Restaurant, a Waitress Asks, And How Would You Like That Milk, Raw or

Pasteurized?; MA Hypocrisy

The Food Rights Firestorm Spreads: Is Big Dairy Helping Regulators Use MA As Test toBust Raw Milk Buying Clubs?

The Food Rights Firestorm Spreads: Is Big Dairy Helping

Regulators Use MA As Test to Bust Raw Milk

Buying Clubs?

Friday, April 30, 2010 at 10:12AM

Id like to personally thank the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for articulating its food-rights policy. I know, I dont usually have nice things to say about the FDA, but Im feelingappreciative because the agency has made it so much easier to explain the food-rights struggle tolarge numbers of people. Just to re-cap, the agencys position, as articulated in its response to thesuit filed by the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund(http://www.ftcldf.org/ )(described in myprevious post), is three-fold:

--Theres no absolute right to any raw unprocessed food, unless the FDA says its okay;

--Theres no right to good health, except as approved by the FDA.

--Theres no right for citizens to contract privately for their food.

More Americans appear to be getting the message. The outcry in California against SB 201 in2008 was a first sign. Then, of course, the peoples will was thwarted by Gov. Schwarzeneggersveto. Over the past six months, weve had the popular push in Wisconsin, a state where theregulators have gone bonkers to eliminate raw milk, to pressure legislators to approve making itavailable from the farm; the proposed law now sits on the desk of a governor who has indicated

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he hears the consumer outrage (but is certainly subject to the not-so-gentle whispers from BigDairy and the FDA).

And now, just within the last few weeks, we see a firestorm building in Massachusetts over aseemingly small but arbitrary decision by a regulator to restrict consumer access to milk. Unlike

Wisconsin, which never officially sanctioned raw milk sales, Massachusetts has long allowedsales from dairy farms, and delivery to consumers by any of a half dozen or more buying clubs.

Everything was working fine in Massachusettsmore dairy farmers producing ever more rawmilk and in the process creating a revival for the states moribund dairy industry. No hint ofillnesses in over a decade.

The Massachusetts Department of Agriculture seemed to be doing its job of supporting stateagriculture by encouraging raw-milk-producing dairy farmers rather than fighting them, like theregulators in neighboring New York state. Late last year, MDARpublicly supported dairy farmerDoug Stephans (http://www.thecompletepatient.com/journal/2009/12/17/the-framingham-ma-board-of-health-

gets-down-to-business-abou.html ) in his fight with state and local public health authorities and helpedhim gain approval to sell raw milk from his Framingham, MA, dairy.

But then something happened early this year(http://www.thecompletepatient.com/journal/2010/1/31/too-much-of-a-good-thing-ma-regulators-begin-to-turn-against.html ) to change MDARs approach. Theagency sent cease-and-desist letters to four buying clubs that had been quietly and efficientlydelivering raw milk to consumers who didnt want to burn the gasoline or were unable becausethey dont have cars or even are disabled, to travel the hour or two hours to dairy farms in centralMassachusetts and pick up their milk. (The buying clubs essentially enter into contracts withindividual consumers to pick up and deliver their milk.) The letters werent well received by theowners of the buying clubs, and they began mobilizing support from their customers and

legislators to challenge MDAR. They argued that Massachusetts laws and regulations dontspecifically prohibit the buying clubs, making the cease-and-desist letters so much paper.

MDAR seems to have agreed, because two weeks ago it proposed a new regulation to prohibitthe buying clubs. The regulation would make Massachusetts the first state in the country toexplicitly ban raw milk buying clubs.

In advance of a hearing May 10 on the proposed regulation, a Massachusetts legislator friendlywith the MDAR commissioner, Scott Soares, set up a meeting last Monday for the regulator todiscuss with a few consumers his reasons for going after the buying clubs.

Surprise--15 consumers and farmers showed up for the meeting, and started peppering thestartled Soares with questions about why he was taking an action that will inevitably reduceconsumers access to raw milk, and quite possibly put at least a few of the more than twentydairy farms selling raw milk out of business.

These 15 consumers werent just a few people off the street. They included some prominent localcitizens who know how the system worksa local lawyer, a public health professional, the headof a nonprofit organization, and a high-ranking federal regulator. The latter, Hugh Kaufman, was

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Chief Investigator with the Environmental Protection Agencys Ombudsman Office, amongother high-level positions over a forty-year period.

Kaufman put Soares on the spot during the Monday meeting when Soares said at one point thatthere was as much passion from anti-raw-milk people as from pro-raw-milk people. Who were

these anti-raw-milk people, Kaufman inquired.

He said that large dairy producers had communicated to him, recalls Kaufman. I asked himwho they were. He said he couldnt tell me.

But Kaufman says Soares talked about concerns the dairy representatives have that if somethinggoes wrong with raw milk, it will hurt all the dairies. (This is a familiar refrain by theconventional dairy industry that has no basis, since public health and health regulators are quickin any suspected illness from raw milk to alert consumers, in shrill terms, to the distinctionbetween raw and pasteurized milk.)

That led Kaufman to inquire whether Soares had written any of this down. Soares said he hadnt.

Kaufman maintains that when government officials have conversations with industryrepresentatives while new regulations are being considered, the officials are supposed to open adocketmake a written record of what happened and when.

I should say at this point that four other people who were at the meeting with Soares haveconfirmed Kaufmans account of what occurred. Moreover, I tried via phone and email to obtaincomment from Soares. His publicity official emailed me Thursday asking what I wanted toinquire about. I wrote her back that I wanted his version about what was said at the Mondaymeeting about his contacts with dairy officials. I didnt receive a response.

Kaufman thinks he understands the problem: Soares couldnt handle 15 knowledgeable people.In the process, he opened up a pandoras box. Now his legal problem is that he is hiding from thepublic the names of the large business entities, that he is meeting with, who are pushing him torestrain trade. As well as hiding from the general public, the fact that he's being pushed by thesebusiness entities in the first place. Not making a public record of these ex-parte discussions withthe big dairies lobbying him to harm their competitors, during an Official GovernmentRulemaking, is NOT legit.

Ill add to Kaufmans impressions. We know that the FDA and Midwest agriculture officialshave targeted raw milk buying clubs (http://www.thecompletepatient.com/journal/2009/9/30/why-wi-

authorities-are-pushing-hard-on-zinniker-farm-milk-ou.html )the case of Wisconsin buying club ownerMax Kane and the pressure to force him to testify about where he obtains his milk and who hiscustomers are is a direct result of the official crackdown.

What MDARs Soares seems to be saying is that the dairy industry is part and parcel of thecampaign to hamper raw milk distribution by cracking down on buying clubs.

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And now we have the official FDA policy to not only limit access to natural foods it deemsdangerous, but to oppose private contracts (such as via buying clubs).

At least its all out in the open. Now its up to consumers to let the regulators and politiciansknow how they feel about this joint government-industry enforcement campaign to deprive

citizens of health-giving foods of their choice. The next big opportunity comes May 10, at 10 amat 100 Cambridge St, Conference Room A, 2nd Floor in Boston, Mass. Come one, come all. Itsall within shouting distance of where the real Boston Tea Party took place.

The Complete Patient |

David,

You are so right....finnally now we know the agenda and the positions. No more hiding anddenial.

It is a Big Ag and FDA brotherhood backed up by years of FDA policy making that all occurredbehind closed doors in favor of pasteurization and drug pushing.

The FDA is anti-wholefood, anti-prevention, anti-health, anti-freedom and anti-rights. They saidit themselves.

To be pro any of these things would create fairness and competition to its Big Ag anti-bioticabusing and GMO cloned genetics buddies and most of all their drug pushing homicidal pharmaindustry alliances.

We now have the war cry....we now know the target. We the people must demand that the FDAstay completely away from our food and demand that the USDA control food with completetransparency.

This definitely has now become defined as a 21st century civil rights movement. Denial offood...there can not be a more personal forced severance from such an essential right.

I am going to use the FDA dismissal motion document as the basis of my educational activitiesgoing forward. This will piss people off more than anything. No more ambiguity. No moreguessing about who the enemy is or what it believes.

Just so everyone knows....I saw Roger Gural in action when he was fighting in front of Judge

Wanger in Fresno. He is no threat....he needs to stay behind the regs. The regs and facts stink sobadly...that even the judge could not believe the arguments. Remember what he told theFDA...."...what you are requesting is draconian..., unprecedented... and amounts to taking OPDCout to a tree and hanging them until dead with out a trial". Thats Judge Wanger ( Federal Judgein Fresno ) responding to FDA arguments.

When the FDA has had years of unfettered authority to quietly control the regs and developpolicy according to their own corrupt motives, the end result when exposed is disgustingly

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fascist. It does not and can not tolerate public or judicial review.

Gary Cox is going to kick their asses so badly....they will never sit down again.

David....thank you so very much for defining this battle and its elements so perfectly.

MarkApril 30, 2010 |

http://www.thecompletepatient.com/journal/2010/1/31/too-much-of-a-good-thing-

ma-regulators-begin-to-turn-against.html

Too Much of a Good Thing? MA Regulators Begin to Turn

Against Raw Milk Sales By Cracking Down on

Buying GroupsSunday, January 31, 2010 at 10:00AM

Scott Soares, commissioner of the MassachusettsDepartment of Agricultural Resources.

For years, Massachusetts has epitomized(http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/magazine/articles/2008/03/23/got_raw_milk/) a sensible approach toraw milk. It provides permits to dairies selling raw milk directly from the farm. And its toleratedbuying groups that deliver milk from the rural central and western parts of the state to Boston inthe east, and other urban areas.

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Now, all of a sudden, the state seems unwilling to turn a blind eye to the buying groups it hastolerated for some years. In the last year, three have been sent cease-and-desist orders by thestates Department of Agricultural Resources. The latest to receive such an order is BlancheLennington of Granny Bs Raw Milk Buying Group, in western Massachusetts, which servesabout 15 customers. She says that when she called the state official who signed the order, she

was told it originated from a complaint from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

The buying groups extend the reach of raw dairies way beyond the farm, allowing consumerswho are unable to drive the hour or two to a farm to conveniently obtain their raw milk fromdropoff points designated by the buying group.

Why the shift by the state? I asked that question of Scott Soares, the DARs commissioner, andhe insisted there has been no shift. He argued that the buying groups have always been illegalunder Massachusetts law, and that his department has begun going after them after learningabout their existence from its own investigators scanning the Internet.

Entrepreneurial individuals are looking to extend sales off the farm, he told me.

The fact that some buying groups have been operating for a number of years doesnt make themlegal, he explained. It was an illegal project then and its an illegal project now.

Nor would he allow that such buying clubs are akin, as one farmer put it to me, like asking afriend to go pick up your milk for you. Under Massachusetts law, raw milk can only be solddirect from the farm by dairies with raw milk permits issued by his department. The buyinggroups are actually more accurately described as milk distributors, which is illegalTheywould have to be licensed as milk dealers, which participate in the pasteurization process.

He admitted that there have been no reports of anyone becoming ill from raw milk in the stateindeed, Massahusetts hasnt had any illnesses from raw milk since 1999, while three people diedfrom pasteurized milk in 2007. Still, he said, his agency has concerns about a loss of controlwhen (raw milk) leaves the farm. There is no guarantee the milk will be held at the propertemperature.

He denied that the three cease-and-desist letters have come about because of complaints from theMassachusetts Department of Public Health. And he denied suggestions that a crackdown onbuying groups would severely curtail raw milk sales in Massachusetts, despite the fact thatseveral have grown significantly in recent years, and many consumers depend on theirconvenient regular dropoffs. Weve been trying to promote people visiting farms. This has been

driving more people to visit (raw dairy) farms.

Despite the denials about a change in policy, it appears that the policy has changed. Everyoneinvolved in raw milk in the state appeared to have been pleased with the existing arrangement,and last June, the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) of Massachusetts released astudy (http://www.thecompletepatient.com/journal/2009/6/23/a-new-survey-helps-us-understand-why-raw-milk-is-the-new-go.html) describing the economic benefits of raw milk to local communities around the

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state, indicating that raw milk sales account for $600,000 revenues annually, which mostly stayswithin local communities.

Indeed, over the last couple years, it seems as though the climate has gradually turned sour forMassachusetts raw dairies.

Perhaps the first sign of trouble occurred in 2008, when the states Department of AgricultureResources sent cease and desist orders to dairies offering samples of raw milk at farmersmarkets. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health then followed up with letters to alllocal public health officials warning about growing raw milk consumption.

Last month, the town of Framingham seemingly approved allowing its last remaining dairy farmto sell raw milk, but since then has apparently been vacillating on the exact testing rules it wantsto impose on the dairy. The farm has already received a raw milk permit from DAR, but cantbegin selling milk until the Framingham Board of Health signs off. The towns board of healthapproved the sale, but has apparently gotten bogged down in writing up rules, and the farmer,

Doug Stephan, says he feels they dont want to approve it. I wasnt able to connect with him byphone, but he wrote me: I am being slammed by the beuarocrats and am feeling quite alone,actually. The situation on saving the farm is onerous, as we have an administrator who is out ofcontrol, and I wish I knew where to turn for legal help from one of these groups.

Scott Soares denied that the DAR crackdown came at the behest of state public health officials,who were at odds with his department over approving the Framingham dairy for raw milk sales.

Its hard to know exactly whats behind the change in climate in Massachusetts. I suspect itspart of a spreading crackdown on buying groupsweve seen actions taken against groups inWisconsin, Georgia, Missouri, and now Massachusetts. The crackdown may have been presaged

by emails describing a conference call that I reported on in my book, The Raw Milk Revolution,and then described (http://www.thecompletepatient.com/journal/2009/9/30/why-wi-authorities-are-pushing-hard-on-zinniker-farm-milk-ou.html) on this blog. The emails indicate that the U.S. Food and DrugAdministration in late 2008 was choreographing an assault against buying groups.

Such efforts are having the combined impact of arousing consumer ire, and forcing dairy farmersto opt out of permit programs, and work underground. Too bad, because Massachusetts had anice situation.

***

I've been traveling a good deal and speaking to a number of groups about raw milk over the lastfew days, which is why I haven't posted as much as I'd like. I'll have more about my travelsupcoming.

The Complete Patient

http://www.thecompletepatient.com/

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Dozens Plead, Cajole, Argue for Hands Off Raw Milk

Buying Clubs, But Commish Hears a Different Story

Monday, May 10, 2010 at 06:37PM

Scott Soares, Massachusetts agriculture commissioner, left,

after the hearing Monday.

One after another--farmers, moms, dads, lawyers, buying club owners, a state rep, and a blind

woman, some 49 in all--they testified this morning before the commissioner of the MassachusettsDepartment of Agricultural Resources, Scott Soares. More likely would have spoken out, exceptthe hearing room filled up with about 125 people, and another 60 or more couldn't get in.

After threatening in a late-Fridaypress release (http://www.mass.gov/agr/news/pr/330CRM27-announcement-050710. pdf ) that people wouldn't be able to testify on his agency's crackdown on rawmilk buying clubs, Soares relented in the bright sunshine of a new day. He allowed thetestimony, and in doing so, he opened a flood gate of emotional appeals, lasting three-and-a-halfhours.

Though his Friday afternoon release pointed to the "passion and concern on all sides of the raw

milk debate," the message by 48 of the 49 who testified was pretty much the same: lay off thebuying clubs (with the 49th person being neutral on buying clubs). Guess all those passionateanti-raw-milk people didn't feel passionate enough to take some time off from work and expresstheir passion.

"Without the buying clubs, we will not survive," said Pam Robinson, owner of a 280-acre rawdairy farm in central Massachusetts.

Harvey Schwartz, a lawyer and member of a Boston-area buying club, said buying clubs werejust one expression of the principal-agent relationship. "An agent can be designated to pick upmy Oxycontin, and stop off and buy a bottle of vodka, and while at it, a carton of cigarettes," hesaid. "Under Massachusetts law, I can authorize the agent to buy me the cow. Yet your agency'sposition is the agent can't buy me a gallon of raw milk."

I testified about the economic development impact of the crackdown, arguing that smallenterprises like the buying clubs and raw dairy farms will shed valuable jobs, during a time ofeconomic hardship. Mark McAfee, ofOrganic Pastures Dairy Co.(http://www.organicpastures.com/ ),seconded that notion. "I've hired five people in the last 90 days," he testified about his dairy,which continues to expand from growing demand for raw dairy products.

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Rebecca, a single mom living in Boston, credited raw milk with helping relieve her two-year-old's digestive problems and frequent ear infections. "I would never have access to raw milkwithout the buying clubs."

A blind woman, Alice Dampmen Humel, sat with her seeing-eye dog, and said she depends on a

buying club. "I can't get out to get my milk."

Alice Dampmen Humel, a blind woman, with her dog, testifies abouthow eliminating raw milk buying clubs would deprive her of her only way to obtain the milk. Indrawing the hearing to a close, Soares congratulated himself for being there. It's not usual, hesaid, "that the commissioner comes to a regulatory hearing." Lucky us.

He was even colder when I approached him immediately afterwards and asked him what hethought of the emotional testimony. "It's what I expected." He added that the biggest revelationto him was that "there are a lot of people out there supplying milk that aren't licensed operators."In other words, they don't have a Milk Dealer license he insists is necessary to qualify to pick upmilk for someone else.

So how do you get such a license? Well, there's never been a buying club licensed as a MilkDealer, he noted, so it's not clear how one would even go about getting such a license. In otherwords, the four buying clubs that have received cease-and-desist orders can't solve the problemby applying for Milk Dealer licenses.

Sounds something like a Catch-22 to me. Soares said his department has decided "to address the(raw milk) issue more broadly over the next thirty days," and the Milk Dealer issue will be partof the consideration.

That should mean more hearings. But is this man listening?

I guess you could say the circus continues, yet at this particular show, there weren't a lot ofpeople laughing.

(For more on the pre-hearing festivities at the Boston Common, including Max Kane of

Wisconsin chugging some very fresh raw milk, here's a local television reporthttp://www.myfoxboston.com/dpp/news/local/cow-in-boston-common-for-raw-milk-enthusiasts-20100510.)

http://www.ftcldf.org/news/news-foodsafety.htm

S.510 and HR 2749 represent landmark legislation that will significantly

increase the federal government's power to regulate intrastate commerce

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while hurting this country's ability to produce safe food and to become

self-sufficient in food production.

Food Safety: The Worst of Both Bills (HR 2749 & S 510)

If S 510 (the FDA Food Safety Modernization Acthttp://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?

d111:S.0510: ) passes the Senate, there would be a conference committee between members of theHouse and Senate to draft a food safety bill that would combine provisions of S 510 and HR2749 (the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:h.r.02749: ) into a final version of the bill. The full House and Senate each would vote on thisversion of the bill to determine whether the food safety bill becomes law.

Both bills take a one-size-fits-all approach towards food regulation, threatening to leave smallfarmers and local producers unable to afford the cost of complying with the legislation'srequirements. They would also significantly increase the power of the federal government toregulate intrastate commerce and give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) substantiallygreater power overall while making the agency less accountable for its actions.

In reality, neither bill would improve food safety; in fact, the new requirements would cause anincrease in imported food, a major source of the food safety problems in this country. Either billwould diminish the freedom and liberty Americans currently have to obtain the food of theirchoice from the source of their choice. What follows is a review of the more damagingprovisions of the two bills under the following subheadings:

A. National Agriculture and Food Defense Strategy B. Authority over Movement of Food C. Criminal and Civil Penalties D. HACCP Plans E. Food Traceability F. Safety Standards for Produce

A. NATIONAL AGRICULTURE & FOOD DEFENSE STRATEGY

S 510: Sec. 108 - National agriculture and food defense strategy [A--pp.161-167]

S 510: Sec. 109 - Food and Agriculture Coordinating Councils [A--pp. 167-168]

While HR 2749 doesn't mention the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), DHS isreferenced no fewer than twenty-two (22) times in S 510--nowhere more so than Section 108 ofthe bill. Section 108(a)(1) calls for the Secretaries of Health and Human Services (HHS) andAgriculture, in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security, to prepare the 'NationalAgriculture and Food Defense Strategy' and submit it to Congress.

Section 108(5) requires that the strategy be consistent with theNational Incident Management System, the National ResponseFramework, the National Infrastructure Protection Plan, and theNational Preparedness Goals. All of these programs were created

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Both bills contain numerousprovisions imposing a one-size-fits-all regulatory schemethat will make it difficult forsmall farms and localproducers to comply with thenew laws.
http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:S.0510:http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:S.0510http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:S.0510http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:h.r.02749:http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:h.r.02749http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:h.r.02749http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:h.r.02749http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:S.0510:http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:S.0510http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:S.0510http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:h.r.02749:http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:h.r.02749http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:h.r.02749


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as a result of Executive Orders issued by various presidents bypassing the process ofrepresentative government. Moreover, the only reference to food in the Homeland Security Act[6 U.S.C. 188] was a requirement that, in establishing university-based centers of excellence tohelp DHS carry out its mission, one criteria the department was to consider in selecting the'centers for excellence' was a "demonstrated expertise in food safety" [1--p. 12]. DHS created

the frameworks for the programs and is responsible for their implementation by federal, state andlocal government agencies.

The Food and Agriculture Government Coordinating Councils (GCC) and the Food andAgriculture Sector Coordinating Councils (FASCC) referenced in Section 109 of the bill werecreated in 2004 as part of the National Infrastructure Protection Plan. The GCC is thegovernment's primary source for the coordination of interdepartmental work on food security inpreventing the intentional contamination of food and attacks on U.S. agriculture; FASCC is theprivate counterpart to the GCC. Its members consist of representatives from groups such as theInternational Dairy Association (IDA), the National Milk Products Federation (NMPF), andKraft Foods Global Inc.-small farmers need not apply.

One question that needs to be asked is: Do food and agriculture need to be part of the enormoushomeland security apparatus that has been built up since 9/11? In a 2007 report, entitled "TheDepartment of Homeland Security's Role in Food Defense and Critical InfrastructureProtection" [1], DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) listed three "prominent domesticincidents of food contamination:

In 1984, members of a religious cult poisoned ten Oregon salad bars with Salmonella, resultingin 751 individual cases of illness.

In 1996, a disgruntled employee of a Texas hospital willfully tainted snacks in a staff

breakroom. This incident caused illness in 12 people.

In 2003, a Michigan supermarket employee infected 200 pounds of beef with an insecticide,causing illness in 92 people." [1--p. 4]

That was it! The OIG repor

Americans Have No Right to Unfettered Food of All Kinds APN Newsletter 05-12-10

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