Food labeling law heads to the Senate

On-air this morning, KPOJ host Thom Hartmann suggested a conversation here at BlueOregon about the federal food-labeling law that passed the House last week - and is now headed for the US Senate.

First, a news recap:

The House on March 8 passed, 283-139, a bill (HR 4167) to federalize and make uniform the food safety and labeling laws of the 50 states. The federal standards on health warnings on packaged foods would override any stricter state or local requirements, but states could petition for exemptions or to establish tougher federal standards.

And second, an analysis by Alan Guebert (a freelance agriculture journalist):

The uniformity act is a fat, old carp multinational food firms have been selling Congress for years. The goal is to override nearly 200 state laws and make the Food and Drug Administration the final word for food labeling on everything from fruit to nuts. ...

“Under the guise of national ‘uniformity,’ this bill would eliminate critical state laws that protect consumer health while leaving in place an inadequate federal system based on the lowest common denominator protection,” opines the [Consumers Union].

Consumers Union isn’t the only national voice in opposition to watering down local food safety and food labeling laws. Attorneys general of 39 states sent a joint letter to Congress noting the uniformity labeling proposal “eviscerates” important consumer warnings now carried on labels in their states.

The proposal drew similar fire from the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture. Its current president, J. Carlton Courter III, Virginia’s state ag director, notes the proposal “threatens existing food safety programs in the states” where, he adds, 80 percent of all U.S. food inspections occur. ...

This time, however, the favor seekers formed a rich, well-manicured Astroturf lobby, called the National Uniformity for Food Coalition, to give the appearance the proposal had vast, well-manicured grassroots support.

Grassroots support from Coalition members like Cargill, the American Meat Institute, ConAgra, Dean Foods, Hormel, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the National Pork Producers Council.

This is, of course, an issue here in Oregon -- not just because we all eat, too -- but because Oregon has been a national leader in organic farming and consumption; and is the only state to see an increase in the number of farmers in recent years.

Discuss.

Previously here at BlueOregon:
The Grocery Gauntlet, by Leslie CarlsonSaving Oregon's Farms by Shopping Local
NY Times discovers Oregon's penchant for locally-grown food