# Food Safety Standards Threaten Organic Farming - mnn.com



## OrganicTrade (Jul 23, 2009)

There appears to be much concern and some misinformation circulating on the Internet about several proposed pieces of federal legislation on food safety. One fear being expressed by consumers about the bills now being proposed is that they will make it illegal to grow backyard gardens and will be the death of organic farming. The fact is that there is no language to regulate, penalize or shut down backyard gardens, nor to stop organic farming. The proposed Food Safety Modernization Act only addresses food safety issues under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The National Organic Program is actually under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Each annual session of Congress, approximately 15,000 pieces of legislation are proposed on the federal level, with only 2 percent becoming law. Any legislation on food safety will take time. Thus, nothing will happen over night, and there will be a time and a place for public comment. In the meantime, the Organic Trade Association's has formed a Food Safety Task Force to thoroughly analyze the impact of any food safety legislation being proposed, and will advise the industry and governmental bodies on recommendations that promote and protect organic agriculture and products and improve food safety.


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## Food_Safety_Training (Jul 23, 2009)

new food saftey act is really harsh for small farmers, the FDA should have planned an alternative for small farmers, this isn't fair, the giants of food industry will definitely take advantage of this.


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## Tee (Mar 26, 2009)

Thank you for the very enlightening comment. It is true that many people usually react in jerk-knee fashion, to any type of new bills proposed that may involve a particular interest. It may be this way as well within the vegetable gardening and organic farming communities.

As I stated in the post, I believe in food safety just as many backyard gardeners do. This is one of the main reasons why people decide to grow their own food in the first place. It is my firm belief that the majority of food safety issues stem from the giant agribusinesses, and not from local gardeners and organic farmers. Those businesses should be the main focus of these bills.

While you say that there will be a time and a place for public comment, I feel that there is always a time and a place for public comment, debate, and understanding of every party's views on a subject. 

Just my opinion.

Tee


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