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Defending the rights and broadening the freedoms of family farms and protecting
consumer access to raw milk and nutrient dense foods.
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FDA Food Safety Modernization Act & Local Food

Join Attorney Pete Kennedy and food activist Harry Hamil on the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund's radio show this Saturday.  

UPDATE: Listen to the recording of this show.

1st Hour

2nd Hour

The Food Rights Hour
Republic Broadcasting Network (RBN)
Saturday, March 12, 2011 
8 pm - 10 pm Eastern; 7 - 9 Central; 6 -8 Mountain, 5 - 7 Pacific.

Listen Live http://republicbroadcasting.org/?page_id=11044

QUESTIONS? Be sure to call in during the Show: 800-313-9443

Attorney Pete Kennedy, FTCLDF President and Farm-to-Consumer Foundation Vice President, will be your host. This week's guest is Harry Hamil, a North Carolina grower, retailer and distributor of local, healthy food. Tune in to their discussion of the potential impact of the recently enacted FDA Food Safety Modernization Act on the local food movement.

Since July 2009 shortly before H.R. 2749 passed the House, Harry Hamil has focused on the federal food safety legislation as a result of realizing that, as written, the bills (H.R. 2749 & S. 510 which eventually passed as H.R. 2751) would make it impossible for growers to meet the burgeoning demand for locally grown and produced food. Not only would such legislation stop much of the value-added processing that farmers are doing but would also force almost all of the recent small start-up processors and distributors to close.

As Harry concluded, "It won't matter that we are growing and producing the safest, healthiest food in America because regulations will make it impossible for us to bring that food to market because we can't meet the personnel and financial demands of regulations because of this industrial-size-fits-all regulatory approach to food safety." The emphasis needs to be on expanding the availability of healthy food not "safe" food.

Be sure to call in with your questions. CALL-IN NUMBER: 800-313-9443


Pete Kennedy is an attorney in Sarasota, Florida and serves as the president of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund and vice president of the Farm-to-Consumer Foundation. Prior to and since the founding of these organizations, Pete has worked on raw dairy issues in various States as well as other food distribution aspects including extensive reviews of legislation, particularly food safety and raw milk bills. He also provides instruction on the legal aspects for Cow-Share College & Goat-Share University.

 

In 1995, during Harry's 35-year career in insurance and investments, he and his wife, Elaine, began redirecting their energies to reviving local, healthy food in western North Carolina. Named, "2010 Co-Activists of the Year," by the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, the Hamils run the year-round Black Mountain Farmers Market.  Since July 2009, Harry has focused on the food safety legislation and regulation issues including testifying at the National Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement (NLGMA) hearing in Charlotte on October 22, 2009.   The Hamils convened the informally organized Healthy Food Coalition to foster collaborative efforts to make food healthier and available to all Americans.  For more information, write [email protected]