Listen to Common Sense, not Nonsense, and Support the Food Safety Modernization Act

Improving Food Safety Won't Threaten Family Farmers

We need your help and support. Congress is considering legislation to improve food safety, and prevent the massive outbreaks and recalls that have left many consumers uncertain about the safety of what they purchase and eat. Recent events prove that Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7 sicken thousands of people, and threaten the lives of children, elderly, and people with weak immune systems.

Unfortunately, Internet rumors have led many people who support organic and sustainable agriculture to believe bills like H.R. 875 will curtail their ability to grow, sell, and eat organic and natural foods. That is untrue. The bills will provide the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with the new authority and tools it needs to protect you and your family.

CSPI's goal is to protect the public’s health, and we need to stop the false rumors. The best way to do this is to help people understand what is true about the bill and why CSPI supports it.

Please contact your member of Congress and tell them to listen to common sense, not nonsense, and to support H.R. 875, the Food Safety Modernization Act!

Sincerely,
Michael F. Jacobson, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Center for Science in the Public Interest

P.S. Your financial support will help CSPI mobilize in key Congressional districts around the country and help food safety reform become a reality. Please help us with $25, $50, or even $100 today!

Tell me more

Subject:

Dear [ Decision Maker ],

(Edit Letter Below)

I agree with President Obama that no parent should have to worry that their child is going to get sick from their lunch.  Unfortunately, literally millions of people have suffered from preventable foodborne illnesses in recent years.  Most recently, nine people died and hundreds were sickened by peanut products produced in a shabby processing plant that FDA inspectors hadn't visited since 2001.  Now we learn that pistachios also turned up with dangerous Salmonella contamination.

The endless series of outbreaks from foodborne diseases demonstrates that our food safety system is broken and in desperate need of repair.  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn't have the authority it needs to oversee our food supply and make sure the companies that process our food do so with safety as their top priority.

Congress needs to pass responsible, effective reforms for FDA.  That is why I urge you to support H.R. 875, the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009, sponsored by Rep. Rosa DeLauro.  This bill would give FDA modern tools and a mission focused on prevention.

H.R. 875 would fix our food safety system by creating a dedicated Food Safety Administration within the Department of Health and Human Services so that food safety doesn't continue to take a back seat to regulation of drugs and medical devices.

The bill requires registration and rigorous inspection of food processing facilities here and in foreign countries.  It would help prevent contaminated food from reaching grocery store shelves, and provide the FDA with the authority to recall foods (currently, the FDA can only ask companies to recall foods) and tough new enforcement tools for addressing the few occasions when either criminal or negligent acts do endanger the public health.

I know rumors are being spread, and you are probably hearing from constituents who fear that this bill would hurt small farms and organic farming.  The rumors are patently untrue.  It would NOT ban organic farming, promote use of genetically engineered seeds, require animal identification, nor regulate road-side stands, farmers' markets, or backyard gardens.  H.R. 875 is a food safety bill that focuses on one thing: protecting consumers from food that is contaminated because of unsafe production practices.

Please listen to the responsible voices in the farm and consumer communities and don't let Internet rumors dissuade you from supporting the strongest possible bill for protecting Americans from contaminated food.  H.R. 875 is that bill.  Please let me know that you will support effective measures to fix our broken system food safety system by cosponsoring H.R. 875, the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009.

Thank you for considering my views, and I look forward to hearing yours.

Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address]

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