04 June 2010

A Family Farmers Call to Action

The following letter was written by Portland Farmers Market vendor Scott Frost of Nature’s Fountain Farm in an effort to help the public understand the impact of Senate Bill 510 on small farms:

Farmers, Artisanal Producers, and Eaters,

How much do you love your local food system?

On May 5th, I attended a meeting of the FDA (Food & Drug Administration) held in Portland regarding pending regulatory changes to our current food safety laws.  This will take place in the form of Senate Bill 510, “The Food Safety Modification Act.”  If not written fairly with scale appropriate measures it could have dire consequences on those of us who market farm direct, e.g., farmers’ markets, CSA’s, restaurants, etc.  One size fits all legislation could potentially put us all out of business.

Therefore, I am asking all of you to stand united with one voice to urge our legislators to protect our local, sustainable food system.  It is the safest, healthiest, most traceable, sanest food system in the world.

Contact:

Sen. Ron Wyden (503) 589-4555

Sen. Jeff Merkley (503) 326-3386

The FDA is accepting comments, most likely through June 2010. To submit comments, go to www.regulations.gov:

  1. Choose “Submit a Comment” from the top task bar
  2. Enter docket number FDA-2010-N-0085 in the “Keyword” space, then click “Search”
  3. Scroll down and choose “Submit a Comment” from the “Action” column

You can also support Sen. Jon Tester (D-Montana) who is proposing an amendment to Senate Bill 510 that would exempt farm direct marketers with sales under $500,000.  Please get involved.  Your voice matters.

Sincerely,

Scott Frost
Nature’s Fountain Farm
(541) 926-1652

For additional comments from Scott Frost and more information on Senate Bill 510 please read this Oregonian article.