Newsletters: July-August-September 2010
Florida’s Lack of Food Freedom
Natural Times July/August/September 2010
By Paul Rutkovsky
There are many issues we should be aware of when it comes to small, local family farms and how their products get to us. It is important that we continue to have access to local food without an antiquated law that threatens to shut down many small farmers. We know that produce grown in our region does not have to travel long distances or pass through several distributors before it gets to the farmers’ market or New Leaf Market. It’s usually the same process with small dairy and pastured poultry, eggs and beef farms. What really makes local foods vital and necessary is that many of us know these farmers, instead of an unknown factory farm hundreds or thousands of miles from Tallahassee. When our food is produced anonymously, there is often less responsibility or care for the product and, in this case, the product is the food we put in our bodies. Therefore, it is justified to regulate large factory farms. The Florida Food Safety Act, passed in 1939, treats every food producer the same—regardless of the distribution channel. It is difficult, to impossible, for most small farmers to pay for expensive regulatory oversight. Senator Carey Baker and Representative Bryan Nelson recently introduced legislation called the Florida Food Freedom Act.
The Florida Food Freedom Act of 2010 would allow family farms to prosper by defining a short food distribution chain and exempting it from burdensome regulatory oversight that a longer, multi-layered food distribution system should be required to have. The Florida Food Freedom Act permits a single-link food distribution chain that starts with the farmer and ends with the customer. The Act would acknowledge that the relationship between the producer and the customer provides sufficient oversight. This assumes the producer’s integrity and the customer’s interest in how the food is raised, harvested and prepared. It is not clear now if the Act will move forward, because Senator Baker is not running for reelection.
Regional Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has become a popular way for the public to buy local, seasonal food directly from a farmer. Most CSA customers personally know the farmer who sells the product. This is not an anonymous relationship. Buying directly from small family farmers, especially organic produce (no pesticides) and free range meats (less fat content), can assure a superior and healthier product.
Herman Holley from Turkey Hill Farm in Tallahassee, Florida, grows vegetables and fruits for market and also has a flock of assorted egg-laying chickens. It’s a small flock of chickens, relative to large factory farmed egg production. However, the Florida Food Safety Act requires all egg farmers, regardless of size, to build a separate facility for egg washing, weighing, and packing. This can be prohibitive for small farmers like Herman and can cost up to $25,000.
Florida’s 1939 food act is antiquated. For instance, small egg farmers in North Carolina, who produce under a certain number of eggs, are not subject to the same laws as large factory egg farms. It is not certain that the Florida Food Freedom Act will find a new legislator for sponsorship; however, it is clear that small farmers in Florida need an amendment to the present laws that regulate large factory food production.
On Tuesday, June 29, 2010 the Florida Food Safety and Food Defense Advisory Council will meet in the Eyster Auditorium, 3125 Conner Boulevard, Tallahassee, FL. The availability of not only farm fresh eggs, but all direct from the farm to the consumer Florida products may be impacted by this meeting.
All facts came from the following:
www.organicconsumers.org
www.localharvest.org
