Jaime de Zubeldia is one of the primary stewards and residents of ReZoNation Farm. He was introduced to gardening and beekeeping as a child, and studied biology before earning a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Arizona. Jaime’s career began in land development, but his concerns over our society’s rapid consumption of resources compared with historical research of the demise of past civilizations, led him to question the long-term sustainability of cities and the rampant consolidation of food and seed industries. He believes that community-based, resource-efficient farming will be key in restoring the health of our soils, and in turn our communities.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

The Language of Politics

This month marks the second year of a long wait.  The FDA's Food Safety and Modernization Act is in the home stretch of becoming law and potentially changing how we grow, process, and move our food from place to place - regardless of whether you are a tiny family or industrial farm.

Please note: this applies to both regular food and "good food" as some have officially defined.

Our local food policy council is just now trying to decipher what this means for small rural and urban farmers alike, including everyone they serve.

For the record, I applaud any effort that attempts to improve the quality and safety of our food, and encourages everyone involved in our food system to be a little more organized and cautious.  I like things to be organized - makes me feel like I'm in control of things I really have no control over.  Maybe this 2.0 version of our food system will do just that - give us the control we've been longing for all this time.

I thought nothing of the wording used to label the FDA Food Safety and Modernization Act, until I actually had to write it down for the twentieth time today.  You have to admit, it's a pretty slick and professional sounding title - FOOD SAFETY AND MODERNIZATION - one that sounds powerful and carries with it an aura of authority.

But reflecting on it a bit more I became confused.  What do they mean by the word "Modernization"? 

I thought our food system was already "Modern"?! 

Heck, I can have individually packaged slices of cheese and eat pineapples in the desert ANY TIME I WANT! 

Maybe this time around, this "act" (did you catch the pun?) will be extra-Modern, and we'll finally get it right with this super-duper, extra heavy-duty, deluxe version!  Everyone knows by now the one we have is so third-world.

I'd like to propose we call this what it is...the "FDA Food Safety and Pretending To Fix Our Screw-Up and Getting Our Act Together....For Real This Time...Act".

Yes, I admit this title's a bit long-winded.  Maybe that's why they just settled for "Modernization".

There's an unrelated issue to all of this though.  The new "act" seeks to provide "coverage" (yes, that's the word used to describe this) to food handlers in the food chain, almost regardless of size, including the ones that haven't caused illness, or who can't afford to be inspected to ensure they have a safety plan in place.  The new "act" takes a step towards widening the umbrella of who is monitored and regulated, and a bigger umbrella will undoubtedly require a larger budget to hold it up. 

The rhetoric over the last few months has already been churning to prepare us for what would have to be a new legion of federally mandated state officials to keep track of the new and improved food system.

I guess that's what they mean by "Modern".

"The times...they are a changing."

No comments: