Eggzactly!

free range (uncaged) large poultry operation

Minnesota is a 'fly-over' state, one which is active in producing the food supplies for the entire nation and beyond.  In this context, I contacted the office of one of our Minnesota senators, junior Senator Al Franken.  My response to that contact was extraordinarily prompt, and as has been my experience when contacting his office on other matters, his response was also substantive and to the point - not some 'blow-off' generic / one-size-fits-all reply.  I found the content of that response sufficiently interesting in view of the current egg-recall  and  related large number of illness, and the subsequent findings of sanitation-related problems with the mega-factory farming operation in our adjoining state of Iowa to be worth sharing here,
 minus my redacted personal email information etc.:

Thank you for contacting me about food safety. I appreciate you taking the time to share your concerns with me on this important issue.


While the U.S. food supply is one of the safest in the world, public health officials estimate that each year millions of people (including thousands of Minnesotans) become sick -- and thousands more die -- from foodborne illnesses. The current system relies too heavily on reacting to outbreaks after they have occurred, instead of preventing their occurrence in the first place. There's a lot of room for improvement.


That's why I introduced the Food Safety Enforcement Act. This bill would increase the sentences that prosecutors can seek for people who knowingly contaminate the nation's food supply and endanger Americans' lives. Companies that knowingly sell contaminated or unsafe food need to face serious consequences. In 2009, three Minnesotans died from contaminated peanut butter. Anyone who puts profits before safety is a criminal and needs to be prosecuted as such.


Minnesota is regarded as the national leader in early detection of foodborne diseases, and we have a long record of working effectively with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on food safety. However, the FDA does not currently have all the tools it needs to ensure the safety of our food. S. 510, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, builds on what works in Minnesota and would address many of these inadequacies. Overall, this bill would improve the safety and security of our food and enhance our foodborne illness surveillance systems.


While safety is of critical importance, it is equally important that Minnesotans are still able to go to their neighborhood farms and farmers' markets to purchase food directly from producers. As a member of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), I worked with Senator Merkley from Oregon to include provisions in S. 510 that ensure small farms and organic farmers would not be overburdened by this legislation. These changes ensure that small farms and markets would be exempt from any additional and duplicative food safety record keeping requirements under the bill.


On December 18, 2009, S. 510 was reported favorably out of the HELP Committee. As a member of this committee, I was proud to vote for it. The bill is now expected to come before the full Senate in the near future. As Congress finalizes food safety legislation, I will continue to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to ensure that any legislation will bring safer food to all Minnesotans.


Al Franken, U.S. Senator

In contrast to the track records for introducing successful legislation - or in the case of Michele Bachmann, for comparison, failing to introduce ANY substantive AND successful legislation - I hope our Penigma readers will also find this of interest, both for the content relating to the immediate issue, and as food for thought in the larger context of what our legislators in representative government SHOULD be doing for their constituents.  Thank you Senator for the prompt response from your office; this indicates the kind of representation that constituents deserve but do not always receive.  Thank you as well, Senator, for putting in the time at what you are supposed to be doing on our behalf instead of grandstanding anywhere but Congress or your home state.  Thank you Senator, for being so conscientious and thoughtful in researching and proposing this legislation. I was particularly impressed with the attention given to the differences in regulation appropriate to small business and family farm agricultural operations which could become onerous, as distinct from the issues of food safety regulation appropriate to the risks of big business 'factory farming' operations that Senator Franken demonstrated.

"factory" / caged poultry farming
(the white shape in the center foreground
appears to be a dead chicken)

Well done, Senator Franken.  Well done.