HR 875-Govt Food Gestapos Are Tampering Again: New Federal Food Organization, The FSA May Be Worse Than the FDA

The Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009 would wrest state control of food safety and give it over to the Federal Government under this bill. Unlimited power to control food and all its sources would then reside in the hands of the newly-created bureaucracy the Food Safety Administration (FSA), within the Dept of Health and Human Services (DHHS).

Conflict of Interest or Is This State Rep Just Influence Peddling?

Linn Cohen-Cole pointed out in her March 9, 2009 article on OpedNews.com entitled Monsanto's Dream Bill, that HR 875 was presented by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) on February 4, 2009, to both the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and the House Committee on Agriculture. Interesting that Rep. DeLauro`s husband just happens to be Stanley Greenburg, a loyal employee of the gene giant Monsanto.

“The bill is monstrous on level after level - the power it would give to Monsanto…” Cohen-Cole writes. Implications of the bill’s requirements suggest arbitrary FSA regulations could eliminate all independent and family farms and organic farming organizations in an eventual wholesale transition to corporate factory farms.

But this type of legislation is no surprise. The bill was co-sponsored by 36 congressmen, all Democrats, while the new Obama administration recently appointed none other than former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack as the new Secretary of Agriculture. Without any concern about Vilsack’s bias toward Biotech, and maybe even without the knowledge that he enjoyed the frequent use of Monsanto’s corporate jet during his time in office, Obama praised him with “…he led with vision, promoting biotech to strengthen our farmers in fostering an agricultural economy of the future …” Passage of bill HR 875 could spell a future that may be unkind to the people of the United States as their freedoms to farm and enjoy natural food are subtlely taken from them.

New Food Safety Regulations, Total Federal Control

The mandates of HR 875 would make the FSA the sole regulator of “food safety”, as well as granting it virtually unlimited powers to set up and oversee an illegal federal takeover of our constitutionally guaranteed Tenth Amendment rights by an undefined system as bureaucratic and controversial as that of the currently unpopular FDA. All farms would be reclassified as FSA-regulated “food production facilities” subject to their enforced compliance with all FSA “standards”, plans, and control, under penalties of up to $1 million per infraction, with fine money being used however the FSA feels appropriate.

In United States v. Darby (1941), the case law states 'While the Tenth Amendment has been characterized as a 'truism,' stating merely that 'all is retained which has not been surrendered…' [citing Darby] The Amendment expressly declares… that Congress may not exercise power… that impairs the States' integrity ….' Fry v. United States (1975). The individual states, not having surrendered control of the food producers or the food produced within their borders, would have their rights violated by the Federal Government under the Tenth Amendment with passage of HR 875.

Such violation is clear, but apparently of no concern to the proponents of this bill or to the large bio-chemical interests that stand to gain by its passage. The FSA would thus be granted unlimited autocratic jurisdiction concerning food and food production under its own subjective definition of "safety", in spite of this unconstitutionality.

The language of the bill further expands on the definition of “contaminant" in a way that could grant virtually limitless authority to FSA to pronounce breaches of its statutes and levy fines wherever and however (and on whomever) they choose. This could allow such corporations as Monsanto to put the final nail in the coffins of the last-remaining family farms struggling for survival in this country.

In 1970, politician / statesman Henry Kissenger said "Control oil and you control nations; control food and you control the people." It seems some may think it’s time to bring this truth full circle.

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Mar 19, 2009 7:14 PM

Guest :

Once food is sold across the State line it becomes interstate commerce and so falls into the hands of the Federal government. If you follow any food legislation in Congress, particularly HR 4167 in the Republican Congress in 2006, you will see that. I was made aware during Reagan that food safety inspectors were being reduced. That process rose to an art form under GW Bush. Some of the inspections were subbed out to private sector inspectors who had limited authority and were limited to what they could inspect. Frankly, I think HR 875 is an effort to raise food safety inspection to almost a cabinet level, increase inspections, raise standards of safety and raise penalties for violations. I think it's a good idea. Not that your concerns, and those of Ms Cohen-Cole aren't warranted if you are concerned about corporate influence on the bill. That's possible, but I think the spirit of the bill is pretty sound. In the end it always has and always will come down to what we are willing to buy. That is where the most effective defense against your concerns sit.
Robert McElroy