The Urban Permaculture Farm Magazine

Today more than ever, people want control over what they breath, drink and most importantly, eat. This is why Urban "Sustainable" Living is a rising tide to those green thumbed backyarders and livestock savvy folks in this country. Driven by the desire to grow, live and eat healthy.

With all the media buzz around good foods gone bad, such as peanuts, greens and most recently, even pistachio nuts, the public is demanding better regulation and safety checks from their government. So, the U.S. Government is responding, with new regulations, bundled into H.R. 875.

It's easy to scan over this proposal and panic if things are taken out of context. The panic is on the part, based on my reading of online blogs from backyard produce folks, of those who think big brother will stop them from producing and sharing/selling their own home grown produce.

The first thing which is thrown to the fore, are the consequences, fines... up to $1,000,000.00 per violation and up to 5 years in prison! Based on my reading of the proposal, this document covers large food producers and other sources for foods intended for human consumption. Would that include a local farmer's market, or Aunt Janet's corn and tomato stand along route 89? Possibly, but in proportion to the scale of the operation and level of violation only. So, no, you are NOT going to lose your farm because you've decided to sell some surplus produce at your road side stand. There is also, to my knowledge, no specific mention of undue measures being strapped to the backs of the local organic grower.

The design and intent of the bill, based on my understanding, is to give more teeth to regulation of large scale growers, in and outside the United States, in the event of food born illness. It forces them to retain solid records of all food origins and a paper trail from source to consumption. I think Aunt Janet knows that her corn and tomatoes have come from her garden, fertilized by her free range chickens and carted to her very local point of sale. Anyone having made their produce purchase, and becoming ill from that sweet pepper, will have an easy time tracing it back to the source. Not so easy with some of the produce currently occupying a grocery chain shelf.

Our law makers are hearing plenty from those small scale growers and producers, all concerned about having to implement industrial control measures, potentially putting them out of business. The result is, again based on my current reading, that the bill will not survive as is. That revisions/addendums will be required to protect the small scale producer from undue cost and regulation. There is NO evidence, that locally grown produce, represents a threat to human consumption on the scale which would require new regulation.

A new proposal is already in the works, according to law makers... H.R. 759 for example. In this bill, small producers/business would be exempt from the higher costs associated with larger scale players in the food industry. For the record, there are currently several bills being considered regarding new regulation of the food industry. There is breathing room and time for debate.

The bottom line is the public tends to trust locally grown and harvested foods over those which are imported. Buying locally produced foods, is a predictable result of a lack of trust in the safety of our produce... even more so, the growing of your own food, on your own plot, without any middle person whatsoever.

The desire for foods which cannot be grown in your area, or which are out of season, will still bring the consumer to the primary grocery market in your area. When we go there, we want our food to be safer than it has been in recent history. This is the driving force behind new and more potent regulation. Let's just not shut down Aunt Janet in the process.

www.FredsFineFowl.com