With all the food recalls that have hit us hard over the past several months, you would think that tougher food safety rules would walk through a Congressional committee. Well, you’d be wrong. Yesterday the House (House of Representatives) “narrowly” defeated a bill that could have helped us all feel more assured about the food stream. The Administration has been strongly supportive of this, but no one seems to be listening.

There was lots of finger pointing and accusations, but no food safety. Sure we want our food recalls to become an event of the past. We want food safety to be paramount in discussions. Not everyone can have a personal relationship with a farmer, with membership in a CSA, or even be assured of the locale of the goods. Too many people are taking unfair adminadvantage of touting “local” when they could be describing a product from a significant distance away.

Food miles are important, but food safety does not mean compromise. Everyone, from the farmer to the FDA and kindred agencies, would be more accountable.

Let’s get a move on. Skip the special interests and listen to the needs of all constituents.

We need to know strict food safety laws will be in place.

NOW.