URGENT Message from the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund & FOOD DEMOCRACY NOW

From Food Democracy Now: Join Michael Pollan & Eric Schlosser in urging your Senators to pass the Tester-Hagan Amendment to protect family farmers! Click here to call your Senators Now! Yesterday we made over 3,000 calls, can we get to 5,000 From the FTCLDF: The S.510 vote on November 17 was simply to allow cloture (limit debate period); the vote on November 18 has moved S.510 to the Senate floor for a vote.

CALL Your SENATORS ASAP Implore Them to Reject S.510 S.510 presents a major threat to the local food movement, States' autonomy to regulate food, and America's ability to be self-sufficient in food production. S.510 will significantly increase the power of FDA, an agency which has stated on public record that the American people have no ''fundamental right to their own bodily and physical health" and "do not have a fundamental right to obtain any food they wish". S.510, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act of 2010 needs to be stopped! Call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121; ask to be connected to your Senator's office. OR Go to www.Congress.org and Enter your zip code on the right side under "Get Involved" and click "Go" Click on your Senators' names then click the "Contact" tab to get the office phone number(s) Clearly state that you are calling about S510, the Food Safety bill. Ask for your Senator to Vote Against S.510 Be sure to give your Zip Code. If you get an answering machine, leave a brief message and immediately call another office. Ask Friends & Family to Call, too!

WHY AMERICANS NEED TO TAKE ACTION

S.510 will expand FDA's jurisdiction over intrastate commerce and impose one-size-fits-all regulations that will make it difficult for many small businesses to survive. See Talking Points at the end.

How bad can a federal food safety bill be? Let me count the ways! Better yet, let Senator Coburn give you a short video tutorial on the underlying problems with S.510.

FDA's failure to exercise its current powers hardly justifies rewarding the agency with expanded authority in the aftermath of the egg recall and peanut butter fiasco.

Moreover, FDA has proven itself untrustworthy to operate in the best interest of the American public as clearly seen in allowing the nontherapeutic use of antibiotics in animals and its lax policy regarding genetically modified foods.

Congress needs to get the message: Solve the real food safety problems--the centralized food distribution system and imported foods--and not regulate our local food sources out of business.

Go to www.farmtoconsumer.org/stopS510 to use the online Reject S.510 petition to send a live email to your Legislators and local newspaper editor.

Tell your Senators to protect local foods and vote against S.510.

To see these points as quick talking points, go HERE