The Wall Street Journal this morning reports that at least some of the nation’s livestock and grain farmers are objecting to the Obama administration’s proposed revisions to the nation’s food safety regulations. At issue are rules that they believe could give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the ability to regulate their businesses, a concern that resonates with at least some influential Congressmen.
"Live animals are not 'food' until the point of processing, which is why this bill needs to clarify that the FDA does not have regulatory authority on our farms, ranches and feedlots," said Sam Ives, a veterinarian who spoke for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.
The perceived vagaries of the legislation’s language also has created something of a dispute between Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, and Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), a main sponsor of the FDA food-safety bill, with Peterson threatening to kill the bill if he is not satisfied with the specificity of its language.
"Live animals are not 'food' until the point of processing, which is why this bill needs to clarify that the FDA does not have regulatory authority on our farms, ranches and feedlots," said Sam Ives, a veterinarian who spoke for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.
The perceived vagaries of the legislation’s language also has created something of a dispute between Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, and Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), a main sponsor of the FDA food-safety bill, with Peterson threatening to kill the bill if he is not satisfied with the specificity of its language.
- KC's View:
- I hope this is just a bureaucratic snafu, as opposed to a serious challenge to changes in a system that desperately needs to be overhauled. If it is the latter, it would be a shame. But probably, considering the ways of Washington, not an enormous surprise.
