House Republicans vote to cut funds to implement food safety law--'Food Industry can police itself

Saying the cuts were needed to lower the national deficit, the House also reduced funding to the Agriculture Department’s food safety inspection service, which oversees meat, poultry and some egg products.

Saying the cuts were needed to lower the national deficit, the House also reduced funding to the Agriculture Department’s food safety inspection service, which oversees meat, poultry and some egg products.

“Do we believe that McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken and Safeway and Kraft Food and any brand name that you think of, that these people aren’t concerned about food safety?” Kingston said on the House floor.

“The food supply in America is very safe because the private sector self-polices, because they have the highest motivation. They don’t want to be sued, they don’t want to go broke. They want their customers to be healthy and happy.”

That's right, folks. We dont need government oversight of these industries. Because they police themselves! That's why we've had major outbreaks of food born illness from industrial sources in the past few years. Because they police themselves!

Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.) tried unsuccessfully to restore some money to FDA by arguing that the agency is overwhelmed by imported foods, inspecting just about 1 percent of the supply after it arrives in U.S. ports. “China is the Wild West,” Dingell said. “The stuff they are exporting to the U.S., I’m not sure I would feed my hogs. It’s time to stand up and say we’re going to spend what it takes to keep people safe.”

www.washingtonpost.com...

You know what the PTB will do now? A food 9/11 e coli outbreak bigger than the one in Europe. They will say, "see you need the food safety act, you peons!"... This is good news tho! S+F

Well if it leads to less raids on organic farmers, good.

But of course that's not what's gonna happen. Big business are gonna love this, it will cut their ``costs`` yet again... at the expense of consumers while organic farmers will still be raided by those crazy FDA agents and their SWAT teams.

Usually I will be the first to read into these and find some justification for the government's policies but this one is beyond my scope of comprehension. All someone needs to do is look at history for many many examples of how the private industry does not police themselves at all.

Swift foods anyone? Absolutely disgusting what these company's will do if they are not regulated.

This is also very dangerous to the American public and though I usually tend to lean republican my views are quickly shifting the other way when they pull stuff like this.

Originally posted by JJDoggie84
You know what the PTB will do now? A food 9/11 e coli outbreak bigger than the one in Europe. They will say, "see you need the food safety act, you peons!"... This is good news tho! S+F

Wait, so your theory is that 'tptb' are cutting funding for our food inspections so that there will be a big outbreak of food born illness so that they can institute the very same food inspections they voted to defund?

And you find that to be 'good news'???

the republicans also voted to cut 853 million dollars for the women, infants, and children program...where are all the republicans here condemning this...oh yeah...i forgot...those poor people need to just go away and die, because the wealthy need more tax cuts. food safety?...the republicans say, don't raise my taxes to fund food safety checks....epa?...the republicans say, don't tax me to make sure the water and air are safe.
these republicans should be taken out of congress, strung up to the nearest tree, and hung for sedition and trying to destroy america from the inside... where did these republicans come from? the goebbels and goering school of the master race?
these republicans are not americans, they are some other type of filthy, loathsome, creatures. i want to go take a shower and wash off the stench, after reading what they cut in this "ag" bill.

reply to post by incrediblelousminds

That's why we've had major outbreaks of food born illness from industrial sources in the past few years. Because they police themselves!

Wrong!

The Dept. of Ag. inspections and FDA regulations completely failed to prevent the catastrophic egg problem, even though they add $0.10 a dozen to the costs of eggs. The industry and producer remedied the problem with NO federal assistance.

The only purpose such systems and protocols serve are to increase prices for smaller operations and consolidate prouction into larger corporate producers. For the government, bigger is better. Yet it's the larger ones you claim are the worst!

Other publicized outbreaks were attributed not to Kroger, et al, but to producers employing cut-rate illegal alien labor who defecate in the fields they're harvesting, rush to pick as much as fast as they can, never learned about hygiene, and couldn't care less about US regulations and laws.

The additional intrusions sought by the nanny-state socialists would've intruded unnecessarily on small-scale producers who care about their product and reputations without any laws forcing them to.

Anyone who thinks more regulations and regulatory spending will protect us from the unscrupulous and corrupt isn't playing with a full deck.

One only needs to look at the "good old boy" systems "regulating" mortgage lending, investment banking and "controlled" substances to see the utter failure of trying to add money or manpower to a system that doesn't work.

We don't need to spend more money or increase regulations; we need to better spend money and enforce common-sense rules already on the books.

jw

Originally posted by jdub297


We don't need to spend more money or increase regulations; we need to better spend money and enforce common-sense rules already on the books.

Definitely. Of course, this is about CUTTING funding to regulatory agencies and claiming industry can police themselves. Not spending MORE.

We DO need to make sure existing rules are enforced. And cutting funding to existing agencies while claiming the industry can police itself is demonstrably backwards.

Republicans just LOVE to defund regulatory agencies to the point that they become ineffective, so they can then claim government doesnt work!

And this will pass the Senate!

Originally posted by jdub297


Anyone who thinks more regulations and regulatory spending will protect us from the unscrupulous and corrupt isn't playing with a full deck.

Are you intentionally confusing this issue? This is about CUTTING funding, not spending more. Hoping to avoid cuts is not s;pending more'.

sheesh, you corporate apologists never debate the actual points.

reply to post by incrediblelousminds


looks like we're going to have McPoop Burgers much quicker than that Asian Scientist planned. our Clown Shoe wearing fiends in Washington DC somehow manage to out-do themselves on a daily basis.

meanwhile, plenty of money for Foreign Manipulation and War War War. there is no Americans left in the White House. no sir. they packed up and left a long time ago.

the quicker we put the politicians heads atop tall poles the quicker we can get to fixing whats left of America. when y'all decide to boogie down to Pennsylvania Avenue please stop by the house, I'll come with.

reply to post by jimmyx


Seldom can someone put another persons thoughts down in writting, but you pretty much nail'd it. Tried to give you 29 stars, but haven't figured that out yet.

Thanks for breaking it down to the nitty gritty.

Who wants to bet that if these cuts are approved that after the next big food born illness outbreak from corporate 'self-regulated' industries that these very same politicians will say that it's evidence that government regulations dont work and should be further gutted?

Well...which is it?

Everybody here bitches about the FDA coming down on food, farms, raw milk, the Amish, the organic farmers, mom n pop fruit stands and such....so less funding is a good thing.

Everybody bitches cause they are cutting funding over an industry many here don't like nor trust and if we practice what we preach here, we wouldn't be eating McDs or KFC or factory farm foods anyway.....

So which is it?

If you know a product on the market is crap....then don't buy it. If no one buys it, then it will either change or die on the market. So...avoid crap foods...

The less government the better...I don't want no government man snoopin' around my farm.

Originally posted by AlreadyGone
Well...which is it?

Everybody here bitches about the FDA coming down on food, farms, raw milk, the Amish, the organic farmers, mom n pop fruit stands and such....so less funding is a good thing.

No, less funding is not a good thing. The argument against " raw milk, the Amish, the organic farmers, mom n pop fruit stands and such" is not that we dont want government oversight. It's that going after small producers while ignoring the big players is suspect and counter to the mandate of the FDA.

Everybody bitches cause they are cutting funding over an industry many here don't like nor trust and if we practice what we preach here, we wouldn't be eating McDs or KFC or factory farm foods anyway.....

Because regardless whether I choose to buy and consume those foods, the public health is very much in my and your interest. Many people DO buy and consume them, and they deserve to know that the Federal Agencies tasked (at the request of the people) to inspect these industries are doing their job.

The less government the better...

"Less government is better" is a myth perpetuated by mulit-national corporations who dont like the idea of being held accountable by the elected officials of the people of the countries in which they do business.

And I've been farming commercially for several years.

Originally posted by incrediblelousminds
Are you intentionally confusing this issue? This is about CUTTING funding, not spending more. Hoping to avoid cuts is not s;pending more'.

I'm no "corporate apologist." Did you read the budget or the subject article?

House Republicans cut millions of dollars Thursday from the Food and Drug Administration’s budget, denying the agency money to implement [new] food safety laws approved by the last Congress.
...
The House also reduced funding to the Agriculture Department’s food safety inspection service, which oversees meat, poultry and some egg products.

www.washingtonpost.com...

This is about NOT funding new legislation that would've increased the regulatory, reporting and compliance burden on small producers and was supported by ag giants such as Monsanto and ConAgra..

Some Ag funding was cut as well, but these are the same guys who failed with the regs already on the books. Are you contending there's no "fat" in the budget that INCREASED spending almost across the board?

jw

Originally posted by AlreadyGone
Well...which is it?
Everybody here bitches about the FDA coming down on food, farms, raw milk, the Amish, the organic farmers, mom n pop fruit stands and such....so less funding is a good thing.
Everybody bitches cause they are cutting funding over an industry many here don't like nor trust and if we practice what we preach here, we wouldn't be eating McDs or KFC or factory farm foods anyway.....
So which is it?
If you know a product on the market is crap....then don't buy it. If no one buys it, then it will either change or die on the market. So...avoid crap foods...
The less government the better...I don't want no government man snoopin' around my farm.

The nanny-state apologists will next want the gov't to not only tell us what to eat, but how to eat it and where to buy it.
They have no faith in a citizenry that thinks and acts for its own benefit and is not totally dependent upon some overlords for protection and sustenance.

I know where my lettuce, meat and bread come from. I do not need the USDA to tell me that Spaghetti-Os are not good for me or my wallet, or that I should only use Monsanto-engineered seeds in my gardens.

I hate one line replies, but have none of you anti government types read "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair? This is why we have food laws. There I made it to the second line.

reply to post by jdub297


yes, i'm sure you feel secure in knowing that YOU wont be effected. And obviously that is where your concern stops. Who cares if other people are effected, because you live in a bubble, right?

Originally posted by jimmyx
the republicans also voted to cut 853 million dollars for the women, infants, and children program...where are all the republicans here condemning this...oh yeah...i forgot...those poor people need to just go away and die, because the wealthy need more tax cuts. food safety?...the republicans say, don't raise my taxes to fund food safety checks....epa?...the republicans say, don't tax me to make sure the water and air are safe.
these republicans should be taken out of congress, strung up to the nearest tree, and hung for sedition and trying to destroy america from the inside... where did these republicans come from? the goebbels and goering school of the master race?
these republicans are not americans, they are some other type of filthy, loathsome, creatures. i want to go take a shower and wash off the stench, after reading what they cut in this "ag" bill.

Make no mistake about it, these same republicans have been here all along. It's just that now, we have "Transparency." Because of their inability to accept the fact that America has elected Barack Obama as our first mixed race President, they have decided to oppose every single initiative that he supports. In doing so, they have decided that it makes absolutely no difference how stupid that decision may be, even if it means that they will now have to oppose something that they used to support. Transparency is a beautiful thing, don't you think?

Republicans could care less about the middle class and the poor and their policy positions can change like the wind. Good thing too! If we just make a point of always standing upwind, the "stench" isn't so overwhelming.