Regulators using egg recall to push support for tyrannical 'food safety' bill S.510

Friday, September 10, 2010 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
Tags: egg recall, food safety bill, health news

(NaturalNews) The billion-or-so egg recall fiasco that took place this summer is a perfect example of the failures implicit in modern, industrialized agriculture. But rather than respond to the situation with concerted efforts to reform Big Agribusiness and return to clean, localized food production methods, some groups and regulatory agencies are calling on Congress to pass legislation that would shift total control of the nation's food supply to Monsanto and various international governing bodies.

According to a recent CNN article, the Center for Science in the Public Interest and several other groups allegedly representing "victims" of the recent salmonella outbreak, are calling on the U.S. Senate to pass the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Food Safety Modernization Act--also known as S.510--as the solution to the broken food system. According to them, the bill will give the FDA the power it needs to properly regulate and prevent future illness outbreaks.

But in reality, the FDA already has the power it needs to properly regulate. It simply fails time and time again to actually do its job. While favoring the corporate offenders responsible for the outbreaks, the FDA continually goes after small producers that produce clean food, and even against food itself (which the agency has claimed is inherently dangerous and in need of pasteurization).

In a nutshell, the agency has utterly failed to address the real problems that cause food contamination and is in desperate need of major, fundamental reform that will limit its power and help restore real food freedom.

Instead of instigating this type of reform, however, S.510 will essentially give unconstitutional control of the U.S. food supply to multinational corporations and force the U.S. to relinquish its sovereignty to international governing bodies.

S.510, the Trojan horse ushering in world government

The roots of S.510 date back to the early 1990s when then-President Bill Clinton unveiled the Hazardous Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) program. HACCP was hailed at the time as the solution to meat contamination problems. But in the same pattern as S.510, HACCP did nothing to actually address the problem and everything to make it worse.

Under the guise of addressing meat contamination, bureaucrats and multinational corporations pulled a fast one on the public by introducing a program that actually rewarded violators and eliminated a significant amount of food freedom. The corporate offenders responsible for meat contamination actually benefited from HACCP because it allowed them to "inspect" themselves, and shifted to their control a large segment of the meat industry. The program literally eliminated thousands of local food processors that had been producing clean meat all along.

Today, the same thing is happening with S.510. Last summer, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the precursor to S.510--known as the Food Safety Enhancement Bill (H.R.2749)--and S.510 is now waiting in the wings.

Advocates of S.510 are hoping that when Congress reconvenes, it will pass S.510 right away in order to solve all our food problems. But just like HACCP did with meat, S.510 will actually make the problem worse, while at the same time steal the last remaining food freedoms we have left.

"If accepted [S.510] would preclude the public's right to grow, own, trade, transport, share, feed and eat each and every food that nature makes. It will become the most offensive authority against the cultivation, trade and consumption of food and agricultural products of one's choice. It will be unconstitutional and contrary to natural law, or, if you like, the will of God," explained Dr. Shiv Chopra, a microbiologist with Health Canada, concerning the bill.

According to some reports, the bill contains language that would give Monsanto--in conjunction with the United Nations (UN), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO)--total control over all food, food production systems, farms and even food and dietary supplements.

S.510 and the elimination of food freedom

S.510 will radically alter the way American food is produced and managed. If passed, it will dissolve U.S. sovereignty over its own food supply and force the nation to comply with WTO food mandates. This includes compliance with international Codex Alimentarius regulations that threaten to remove access to dietary supplements and organic food.

The very existence of local and organic farming--including even backyard gardens--is threatened by the contents of the bill. All food production systems will be required to register and comply with international mandates, and no such systems will be permitted to operate outside this bureaucratic framework. This means that any transactions involving food that are not under government control will be considered illegal smuggling.

With Monsanto at the helm, the right to own and plant unadulterated seeds will eventually no longer be permitted. All seeds and food materials will belong to a centralized authority that will dictate what can and cannot be grown, as well as how it will be grown. Governing bodies could require that all crops be treated with pesticides, as well as mandate that only genetically-modified (GM) crops be planted, for instance. Under this paradigm, every U.S. farm will become industrialized, and organic farming could be completely eliminated.

All animals will have to be registered and traced using National Animal Identification Standards (NAIS) under S.510. International governing bodies will have the power to declare that animal stocks be destroyed, even if there is no evidence that the animals are sick. They can then require that patented, genetically-modified animals take their place.

In the event that S.510's illegitimate "food czar" declares a food "emergency", all U.S. food facilities and farms will immediately be placed under the control of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Defense.

S.510 abolishes the rule of law and fundamental constitutional protections

Perhaps the most disturbing aspect about S.510 is the fact that it does away with the rule of law that is foundational to the American republic. The U.S. Constitution guarantees certain fundamental protections for citizens, including the right to a fair trial by jury. But under S.510, violators of the food code will be subjected to corporate tribunals that have unlimited, unchecked power to do as they please.

The entire American system of government--a system that is supposed to be by the people and for the people--could literally be overthrown if S.510 is passed. As it stands, the bill is just one more piece of the deconstruction process designed to integrate the U.S. into a world system of government, and it threatens the very health freedoms millions of Americans are still able to enjoy.

The food system definitely needs a major overhaul, but not the kind offered in S.510. It is crucial that concerned citizens do everything possible to oppose this bill. If you value the freedom to choose healthy, clean foods and do not want governments telling you what you can and cannot eat, then you must take action.

The National Health Freedom Coalition has put together a helpful resource about S.510 that allows you to contact your Senators directly to oppose the bill. You can access the page at:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/850/p/d...

At the bottom, simply enter your zip code and you will be directed to a page containing a customizable form letter as well as the direct phone numbers for your Senators.

You can also read S.510 for yourself at the following link:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bil...

Sources for this story include:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/09/08/food.sa...

http://foodfreedom.wordpress.com/2010/04/24/...

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bil...