In Washington’s culture of revolving doors, Michael R. Taylor has rotated between employment at the FDA and Monsanto since beginning his career in 1976.  Until President Obama appointed him the new “food safety czar” he was most recently the vice president for public policy at Monsanto.

Maybe the President’s decision on this appointment was effected by eating too many chemically-sprayed vegetables before the crop came up in Michele’s organic garden, which a Monsanto spokesman actually claimed was “dangerous and irresponsible”. Yes, organic gardening and farming, Monsanto claims, is dangerous–those pests and fungi could run rampant, though they already are rampant despite the chemical companies’ efforts for decades.

Revolving doors–FDA to Monsanto and back

Taylor’s major contributions to FDA policies/Monsanto’s interests include getting bovine growth hormone approved for use in the dairy industry. The rBGH hormone is suspected of fostering cancerous tumors but what is certain, is that safety tests haven’t been done, and the nation’s general health is declining. Many organic food activists consider Taylor the FDA administrator most responsible for FDA approval of the genetically modified rBGH–and, incidentally, it’s made by Monsanto.

Then as attorney for Monsanto–the doors revolved again–Taylor advised Monsanto on suing states or companies that wanted to tell the public that their products were free of Monsanto’s drug.  He has, however, reversed his earlier stance regarding genetically-modified seeds and foods; Taylor now admits that genetically engineered foods should be labeled and go through safety testing. Now there’s a point for public safety.

In his duties in the new position–now back at the FDA–Taylor will be planning implementation of new food safety legislation.  God help us–the fox is in charge of the henhouse.

Imminent threat to food safety

One has to wonder who–really–is drafting the legislation effecting our food supply.  Quite possibly staffers from Monsanto, Con Agra, Dow Chemical and similar corporations wrote House bill 2749 and found a “receptive” representative in Congress to sponsor it.

HR2749 gives the FDA tremendous power in dictating every aspect of growing food in American (HR875 reported April 2009 in this blog appears to have stalled in committee, but never mind, HR2749 has similar tyranical coverage of our food supply). The bill doesn’t address underlying causes of food safety problems, but it gives the FDA  sweeping powers to tell small farmers how to raise and harvest crops, and diminishes existing judicial restraints on FDA actions.

Threats to Organic Farming

The Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009 will treat family farms the same as multinational corporations, giving the FDA the power to

• Quarantine and halt all movement of food in a geographic area,
• Regulate how crops are raised and harvested –could this mean requiring use of GMO seeds and requiring chemicals in soils and on plants?
• Oversee on-farm production activities
• Search business records without a warrant
• Force farmers to use a costly tracing system
• Impose criminal and civil penalties and a $500 annual registration fee

Swept through the House like a  tornado

The bill, HR2749, was a stealth bill brought into the House  of Representatives just before the August recess and voted by oral call, usually reserved for noncontroversial bills. Three versions of the bill were introduced on Wednesday, July 29 at 12:15 am, 9:36am and 10:50am, and a vote requiring a two-thirds majority didn’t pass on the 29th. But the next day, House Resolution 691 dispensed with reading HR2749, limited debate to one hour, granted an opportunity for one amendment to the bill (was offered by ONE representative who’d actually read the bill, but no action taken). On 30 July by a SIMPLE MAJORITY, the bill passed 283 to 142. 

What was the rush? The bill was pushed through like a farmer trying to bring in the crop with a storm on the horizon.  The BigAg lobbyists have a stronghold on our Congressional reprentatives, and now their man is leading the FDA’s office of food safety. There is a storm on the horizon. Monsanto intends to rid the White House of Michele’s organic garden.

What you can do 

To tell your Senator to READ this bill and to protest this stanglehold on the nation’s food supply, visit the website of Farmer-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund, www.ftcldf.org and sign their petition.  Buy locally grown foods, which is more nutritious for you and puts seven times the money into your local economy by supporting area farmers instead of international shippers/marketers.

Salud!

Beverly A. Jensen, Ph.D.

President, www.WomensMedicineBowl.com