Tag Archive for Farmers Markets

Speak Out On Behalf Small Farmers!

Farmers Markets are the bomb!  You get to meet the farmers who harvested the food you are purchasing.  They get to keep more of their profits when they sell produce at Farmers Markets.  When I attended the Greene Street Farmers Market here in Huntsville recently, I got to learn about proposed public policy.

Volunteers at the market were educating attendees about the Food Safety Modernization Act.  How could there be any controversy regarding food safety?    After all, everyone wants to avoid diarrhea and/or death from food poisoning!  Unfortunately, the cost of compliance with this legislation could put small farmers out of business.  The FDA estimates the average cost of implementing the produce rule for a “very small farm” ($25,000 to $250,000 in annual sales) amounts to $4,697 per year and a “small farm” ($250,000 -$500,00 in annual sales) amounts to $12,972 per year.

One of the things I love about Farmers Market is the wide variety of produce available.  During my recent foray to the Farmers Market, baby beets, curly kale, sweet potatoes, collards, potatoes, squash, and muscadine grapes were a few of the fruits and vegetables for sale at one farmer’s booth.  This law would require costly fencing be built around all these different vegetables and fruits.  Additionally, farmers would have to pay for costly testing and treatment of their water.

My friend, Youlanda, and I recently discussed this proposed legislation.  You “met” Youlanda in my June 5, 2013 and September 30, 2013 blog posts.  She is the daughter of a Black farmer.  She knows very well the back-breaking labor that goes on in the farming busines.  Youlanda exclaimed, “These regulations will run small farmers out of business.  If my father was still farming, there is no way he could afford to put fences around all the different vegetables he grew.  Also, it’s not the small farms where Salmonella and Shigella outbreaks occur.  My Dad farmed for over fifty years and there was never a case of food poisoning with his produce.”

As a fan of Farmers Markets, I have observed that a greater variety of produce is available there.  If more small farmers go out of business, less variety will be available to the consumer.

You can do something to help the small farmer.  The Food and Drug Administration is taking comments on this piece of legislation until 11/15/2013.  If you want to get more information on how to help the small farmer, you can log onto the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition’s Website: http://sustainableagriculture.net/fsma

You can send your comments via snail mail at:

Division of Dockets Management (HFA-305)

Food and Drug Administration

5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061

Rockville, MD 20852

If you wish to email comments go to Regulations.gov  You can comment on the Produce Rule (FDA-2011-N-0921) or the Preventive Controls Rule (FDA-2011-N-0920).  (You can comment on both rules, but you must comment separately)

THANKS FOR HELPING TO SAVE SMALL FARMS!

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