Food Safety Act, NAIS and farm update...

Recently, the online local food community has been alive with news concerning the "Food Safety Modernization Act". Although HR875 is unlikely to go anywhere, we do have much to be concerned about, as watch dogs viewing the horizon of what's to come. From this perspective there are multiple challenges before us at the national level (HR875, HR759, HR814, SB51 and SB425... all reviewed by FARFA - click here). It is apparant to most of the country that industrial food manufacturers DO need to be more regulated for our safety (as food recalls are becoming a regular circumstance), but we need to make sure that a "one size fits all" approach does not threaten our local food economy which provides our safest and freshest food.

Locally at the state level, SB 682 will limit NAIS to a voluntary program in Texas. This bill was left pending last week by the Senate Agriculture Committee and may be voted on this week. I'm urging everyone to take action by contacting the Senate Committee members urging them to vote "YES to SB 682". CONTACT INFO HERE >>

With all of that serious stuff behind us, our family farm is daily encouraged by the growing awareness for local food and our community. People are going out of their way to eat, grow and live more locally. Recently we had a group of young people stay with us while riding their bikes across North America from Vancouver to Boston spreading the news about living more sustainably. They termed their trek "The Urgency of Now". After harvesting for our CSA and planting 500 tomatoes they rode off toward Houston, and ultimately Boston by June. The "Good Food Revolution" is underway, and we ourselves are off to spread the good news in Waco, TX this weekend at the Spring Farm Day at World Hunger Relief Farm, April 4th. If you are in the area we hope you can make it out.


Yours in the local food revolution,
Farmer Brad