I feel like I spent a lot of time thinking (and writing) about the personal side of the picture – One Small Change moments, food moments, gardening moments.  And some other part of my brain spends a lot of time on sustainability issues from a big-picture, theoretical, and scientific standpoint.

The first, I think, is natural.  Our day-to-day lives are built around the small things, and when it comes down to it, we spend all our time being in the world.  Part of living consciously is our awareness of that being in the world, which is what the small stuff is all about.  The second is just how my brain works.  It’s what I find fun and interesting and intellectually stimulating.  Because I’m a big. giant. geek.  There, I said it.

But there’s a whole other side of the picture – the concrete, political, policy side.  It’s not really about individual actions, or theoretical and philosophical questions.  Yet the argument can be made that this side is actually more important, because it shapes the way we get our information and make our decisions.  And in many ways it defines the parameters of our society.

So please excuse me while I get all political up in here.

The Food Safety Bill

Now, don’t get me wrong.  I have no problem with food safety.  I’m just not a big fan of saddling small family farmers, many of whom are already operating at a slim margin, with registration fees and procedural requirements (traceability and monitoring) that could push them over the financial edge.

Here’s the deal.  Say I buy a tomato that was grown a few states away with thousands of tomatoes, then shipped to a warehouse a few states away with thousands of other tomatoes from other industrial scale farms, then shipped to a distributing center and then shipped all over the country.  And say that tomato is contaminated and I get SUPER sick.  I can totally see the need to know what farm that tomato came from and be able to trace where the other tomatoes in that batch went so they can be pulled from shelves across the country.

But if I go down to the farmers market and buy a tomato from Bob and Jane and get sick because it’s contaminated… does that scenario really present a traceability issue?  Not to mention the fact that the majority of food-related disease outbreaks… oh wait… don’t come from small family farms.  (This could, in part, be due to scale and % of market share.  But I also think it’s because small family farms are actually part of the community they serve and, in many cases, eat their own food!)

Senator Tester (ha ha) proposed an amendment that would exempt small farmers from this particular bunch of regulations.  You can find more info on how to help at the Cornucopia Institute, but to make a long story short, call your Senator now and ask them to support Senator Tester’s Amendment to S. 510.  The Senate could vote on this as soon as next Tuesday (the 13th), so time’s a wasting.

And One More – Beef Labeling

First, a quick sum up.  In February, the organic standard changed to require a specific amount of pasture time for ruminants (that’s those grass-eating critters).  Except not cows that we eat, during the last four months of their lives.  Unfortunately, that really defeats the point of the pasture standard from both a nutritional and a cruelty-minimization standpoint.

Did you think that organic stamp on your meat meant grass-fed?  The guy at the grocery store definitely thought so when I pestered him about grass-fed beef.  (Yes, I have become one of those obnoxious people who bug grocery store clerks about things I would like to see stocked.  Supposedly it only takes 5% of us being obnoxious to catalyze an inventory change.)  Well that’s not what it means.  And, even after the pasture standard change, that’s still not what it means.

Again, I’m going to refer you to the Cornucopia Institute’s analysis of this issue for more information.  To (poorly) summarize, the FDA has opened the issue up for comments.  Go comment!  Personally, I love Cornucopia’s proposed three-tiered labeling system that would allow consumers to make informed decisions about exactly what they’re buying.  I think that’s a really good idea.

Alright, /end political rant.  But seriously guys, this makes a big difference.  The livelihood of small farmers and being able to make informed choices about our food… well, it matters.  So if you care, take a few minutes and speak up.  If not you, then who?