It’s About Making Babies!

View from the Porch‘s Tam alerts to this piece of Big Government Tyranny. Thanks, Tam. It turns out the proposed NAIS – National Animal Identification System – was an inspiration to bozos buying votes with fear.

Linn Cohen-Cole gives a good rundown on this scary piece of tyranny, Goodbye Farmers Markets, CSAs, and Roadside Stands

The full text of the bill is at GovTrack.us H.R. 875: Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009

We just had people die, and disrupt lots and lots of food and lives, from the e. coli in peanut butter. So, what could be more safe than to require everyone that grows food and sells it off their farm – register with a new federal agency – the Food Safety Administration.

This registration includes random, at least annual, federal inspection. Safety records have to be in order. $1,000,000 fines. Per offense.

That is, they *really* want to punish anyone with the capital and assets to produce food.

From Crptogon’s review of the proposed law:

Does this really apply to fruit and vegetables? Yes.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

…

(12) FOOD- The term ‘food’ means a product intended to be used for food or drink for a human or an animal and components thereof.

How does this affect farmers who just sell fruit and vegetables at farmers markets?

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

…

(9) CATEGORY 5 FOOD ESTABLISHMENT- The term ‘category 5 food establishment’ means a food establishment that stores, holds, or transports food products prior to delivery for retail sale.

…

13) FOOD ESTABLISHMENT-

(A) IN GENERAL- The term ‘food establishment’ means a slaughterhouse (except those regulated under the Federal Meat Inspection Act or the Poultry Products Inspection Act), factory, warehouse, or facility owned or operated by a person located in any State that processes food or a facility that holds, stores, or transports food or food ingredients.

That is, if you grow it, and you take it off your property to sell – you are a food establishment. If you haul your corn or wheat to the elevator, if you haul your cows to the sale barn – you are a food establishment.

If you grow it and someone else hauls it off – you are still a food production facility, and the FSA will be watching your records and premises. It is forbidden to forbid entry by FSA to inspect the operation or copy records. It is forbidden to fail to register.

Monsanto – GMO and “Better living through the chemistry we sell”.

It is interesting to note, among the rationale’s for this bill (emphasis added).

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES.

(a) Findings- Congress finds that–

…

(5) the task of preserving the safety of the food supply of the United States faces tremendous pressures with regard to–

(A) emerging pathogens and other contaminants and the ability to detect all forms of contamination;

…

(E) maintenance of rigorous inspection of the domestic food processing and food service industries;

(6) Federal food safety standard setting, inspection, enforcement, and research efforts should be based on the best available science and public health considerations, and food safety resources should be systematically deployed in ways that most effectively prevent food-borne illness;

Note that the wife of the author of this bill works for Monsanto.

Also under Findings; Purposes:

(b) Purposes- The purposes of this Act are–

(1) to establish an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services to be known as the ‘Food Safety Administration’ to–

(A) regulate food safety and labeling to strengthen the protection of the public health;

…

(C) lead an integrated, systemwide approach to food safety and to make more effective and efficient use of resources to prevent food-borne illness;

…

(4) to establish that food establishments have responsibility to ensure that all stages of production, processing, and distribution of their products or products under their control satisfy the requirements of this law.

(5) CATEGORY 1 FOOD ESTABLISHMENT- The term ‘category 1 food establishment’ … that slaughters, for the purpose of producing food, animals that are not subject to inspection under the Federal Meat Inspection Act or poultry that are not subject to inspection under the Poultry Products Inspection Act.

(6) CATEGORY 2 FOOD ESTABLISHMENT- The term ‘category 2 food establishment’ means a seafood processing establishment or other food establishment (other than a category 1 establishment) not subject to inspection under the Federal Meat Inspection Act, the Poultry Products Inspection Act, or the Egg Products Inspection Act, that processes raw seafood or other raw animal products, whether fresh or frozen, or other products that the Administrator determines by regulation to pose a significant risk of hazardous contamination.

…

(14) FOOD PRODUCTION FACILITY- The term ‘food production facility’ means any farm, ranch, orchard, vineyard, aquaculture facility, or confined animal-feeding operation.

Notice the Cat 2 establishment includes whole milk, currently used for organic products such as soap, and for pet food. The pet food angle means, yep, feds watch that operation, too. Prepare to document and record.

Don’t let the “farm, ranch” list throw you. If you have something that goes into food for people or animals to sell or barter – you are a farm or ranch. Get ready to register.

Or protest this insanity – let your Congressman and Senators know you won’t be happy if this “change” gets passed.