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If we don’t believe having a safe food supply matters, just look to Germany – 31 people dead, 3,100 more infected, and millions of dollars in destroyed crops, all apparently due to a deadly new strain of E. coli bacteria. While this particular strain hasn’t been seen here yet, similarly dangerous bacteria have, and we continue to have outbreaks of foodborne illness. That threat prompted Congress just six months ago to modernize our nation’s horribly outdated food safety laws, which hadn’t had a major change since the 1930s. But TODAY, the House may turn back that progress on food safety in the United States! We need you to send an email right now so your Representative in Washington knows what you think of this plan. Tell your Representative now isn’t the time to weaken our nation’s food safety system! The proposal being voted on today would undermine the safety modernization program by slashing $200 million next year from the Food and Drug Administration. The agency will do much of the new work, including including new programs to detect unsafe food imports and ways to more quickly track the source of an outbreak. Advocates say such deep cuts will make it nearly impossible to carry out the recently approved new law. Meanwhile, $200 million could be spent to promote U.S. agriculture overseas – a program that gives money to such large grower cooperatives as Sunkist, Welch’s and Blue Diamond to promote their goods. If you believe the House can do better than this plan, let your Representative know now. Dealing with our nation’s budget and deficit is important work, so tell your Representative if you want a better approach to food safety for you and your family. Send an email now. The House may vote at any time! Thank you for speaking out on this important issue. If you know others who may want to weigh in, please forward this email to them. Sincerely, |
