June 16, 2011
Organic Farmers Beware!
Proposed Rule Could Plow Under
Organic Leafy Greens Growers
Out of left field, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS)—a marketing agency—has issued a proposed national food safety rule for spinach, lettuce, and cabbage, despite the fact that AMS is not a food safety agency. Small and mid-sized organic farmers would have to comply with potentially burdensome, one-size-fits-all obligations that processors and distributors who sign on to the rule would require.
The proposed National Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement (NLGMA) does not include protections for the small and mid-sized organic farms that make up our nation’s vibrant local food system. It could effectively shut small and mid-sized organic farmers out of the leafy greens market.
Tell the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) to withdraw this unnecessary and confusing rule.
Send a quick email to Melissa Schmaedick at AMS:
Melissa.S...@ams.usda.gov
Talking points for your letter to AMS:
- I oppose the National Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement, and AMS should withdraw the proposed rule.
- The Agricultural Marketing Service is NOT a food safety agency and it should leave food safety regulation to the Food and Drug Administration.
- In the proposed rule, processors and distributors would dominate the governance structure and organic farmers and consumers would only have token representation. The most powerful voices in the leafy greens market would drive the development of standards, taking a one-size-fits-all approach, to the detriment of small and mid-sized organic farmers and processors.
- If AMS issues a final rule, it must include the provisions in the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) that provide alternative, scale appropriate food safety compliance measures for small and mid-sized organic producers and processors.
Thank you for writing a quick email to the Agricultural Marketing Service! They need to hear from people around the country that this proposed rule is unnecessary.
Important Additional Resources
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For more information about the National Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement, please read the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition’s blog posting.
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For more information about the Food Safety Modernization Act, please read our Frequently Asked Questions.
Please forward this alert to other organic supporters.
If you have any questions, please contact Udi Lazimy, OFRF Policy Organizer, at u...@ofrf.org or 831-426-6606 x 109.
Support OFRF's Work to Advance Organic Agriculture!
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