That any major legislation could be passed at such a partisan moment speaks to a deep level of American concern with food production. A spate of high-profile disease-risk recalls over the last several years, from lettuce to peanut butter to 380 million salmonella-tainted eggs, has driven home a bipartisan truth: When something goes wrong in the industrial food chain, it spreads fast.

The Senate bill survived a last-minute amendment that would have eliminated its strongest provisions. The amendment was sponsored by Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma), who said, “The problem with food safety is, the agencies don’t do what they’re supposed to be doing now. They don’t need more regulations. They need less.” The bill did include an amendment that exempts small farmers, whom organic and local food advocates feared would be unable to afford the bill’s requirements.

President Obama supports the Senate bill, which must now be reconciled with an even stricter version already passed by the House. Final approval is expected in December.

Image: cw3283/Flickr.

See Also:

• Swine Flu Ancestor Born on U.S. Factory Farms
• Obama, Farm Industry Clash Over Antibiotics
• Fast Food: Just Another Name for Corn
• Change Finally Coming to FDA
• Food Web, Meet Interweb: The Networked Future of Farms

Brandon’s Twitter stream, reportorial outtakes and citizen-funded White Nose Syndrome story; Wired Science on Twitter.

Authors: Brandon Keim

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