Critics say federal food-safety bill would put unfair burdens on small and organic farms

The Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009 aims to prevent food contamination like the salmonella outbreaks that have caused sickness and widespread recalls over the past few years. But many say that the bill would put stress on family and organic farms.

The safety plans that would be required are already present in larger factory farms. "Small farmers and small processors only do one chicken, one pig, one cow at a time," Texas farmer Kay Richardson told Fred Afflerbach of the Temple Daily Telegram. "You’re not going to have that possibility of cross-contamination like you do in the big areas." Richardson and other critics of the bill say it will place undue burden on farms like hers. "There’s just no way they can possibly comply with it. It takes a person working almost full-time to do it," says John Stone, spokesman for U.S. Rep. John Carter.

But the bill's supporters say it is necessary to prevent outbreaks like those resulting from salmonella contamination of peanut butter, spinach, tomatoes, and, most recently, pistachios. "The bottom line is that too many American families are getting sick from the food they eat and that needs to change," Liz Richardson (no relation to Kay Richardson), spokeswoman for Trust for America’s Health, a non-profit organization that supports the bill. “But reform can absolutely be accomplished in a way that strengthens small farms and bolsters America’s food industry as a whole." (Read more)