Sunday, January 1, 2023

Americans Should Know Where Our Food Comes From

What I want for us in 2023 is not that much different than what I've wanted for years.

For many years, I've wanted our American agriculture industry to be free to grow and produce what we need without government interference. I grew up understanding that American farmers and ranchers fed the world with reliable, safe, sanitary, healthy food. We did so because our methods of ranching and farming reflected our concern with quality assurance. 

Of course, while quality assurance has meant safety controls and inspections which are the primary tools for American ranchers and farmers, Foreign Ag Importers don't have to adhere to such quality control guidelines or regulatory laws. In fact, according to the FDA, "the FDA is not authorized under the law to approve, certify, license, or otherwise sanction individual food importers, products, labels, or shipments." 

Please understand. According to the FDA, "Today more than 200 countries or territories and roughly 125,000 food facilities plus farms supply approximately 32 percent of the fresh vegetables, 55 percent of the fresh fruit, and 94 percent of the seafood that Americans consume annually." 

Yet, today, we import foods from other nations that have zero methods of inspection, and the risks of Americans becoming ill by way of consuming produce, meats, and seafood from other countries is a bigger problem than ever before. Actually, from what I've been told by friends in the medical field, more Americans than ever are experiencing illnesses caused by eating contaminated food imported from other countries. 

Foreign Importers "can import foods into the United States without prior sanction by FDA, as long as the facilities that produce, store, or otherwise handle the products are registered with FDA, and prior notice of incoming shipments is provided to FDA." Also, Foreign Imported "food products are subject to FDA inspection only when offered for import at U.S. ports of entry." 

In fact, while provisions of U.S. law say "importers of food products intended for introduction into U.S. interstate commerce are responsible for ensuring that the products are safe, sanitary, and labeled according to U.S. requirements, and all imported food is considered to be interstate commerce," none of the FDA inspection processes apply to imported agricultural products. 

The problem that I have with this is that the Federal Government is all for allowing uninspected, possibly unsanitary, and subsequently unsafe agricultural products into the United States from foreign countries. But to make matters worse, the FDA says that private American family farms and ranches are types of establishments that are considered "unapproved food sources." 

So while the FDA states "American consumers seek a safe, diverse, and abundant food supply that is simultaneously affordable and available throughout the year. To help meet these consumer demands, the United States imports about 15 percent of its overall food supply," the FDA also suggests food establishments should reject food from private American family farms and ranches. 

The FDA does that while acknowledging that Foreign Agriculture Importers don't have to adhere to U.S. laws regarding agricultural production, inspections, safety regulations, and sanitary requirements. The Federal Government does not, and cannot, hold Foreign Agriculture Importers to the same standards as American Agricultural Produces. 

This is spelled out by the FDA when they say, "importers of food products intended for introduction into U.S. interstate commerce are responsible for ensuring that the products are safe and sanitary." Reading this statement by the FDA, we can see that the Federal Government is "trusting" the unregulated agriculture producers in foreign countries to not do what American ag producers are forbidden from doing by law. And by the way, that trust is broken daily since we know that Foreign Ag Producers are not concerned with American laws -- including our laws forbidding the use of know carcinogens as pest control. 

The bottom line is that allowing the importation of unsafe and unsanitary foods into the United States is an example of Globalists trying to further globalize the agriculture marketplace -- even if it means placing Americans at great risk of illness and death. This is especially true in regard to the detriment of our children and our seniors because of sacrifices in food safety measures in most foreign countries. 

It is said that for American consumers, the primary advantages of imported agricultural products are the cheaper prices, availability, and of course variety. But, since millions of Americans get sick each year from non-existent food-safety standards and shabby at-best inspection regimes, the number one reason that we Americans should know where our food comes from is that foreign agriculture producers and those importers who deal with all sorts of countries, especially those unfriendly to the United States, simply don't have our safety in mind.

Tom Correa