Now that the Senate is done, the House of Representatives is beginning to work on its version of the Farm Bill. The House Agriculture Committee is scheduled to do the "mark up" of the House Farm Bill this week, beginning on Wednesday.

The good news is that Representative Chellie Pingree (D-ME) plans to introduce an amendment  to help small-scale slaughterhouses through technical assistance, grants, and more (details are at the end of this alert). The lack of small-scale slaughterhouses in many areas of the country is a huge barrier to the ability of local farmers to raise livestock for market. If we want to increase access to locally raised meats, we need to help existing and new small-scale slaughterhouses to succeed.

The bad news is that the Biotech Industry has already managed to insert pro-GMO provisions into the draft Farm Bill. These provisions would limit the scope of USDA's review of new GMO crops, provide for automatic approval if the agency doesn't meet very short deadlines, and create a national policy approving of GMO contamination of our food supply.                                        

 TAKE ACTION  

Below is a list of the members of the House Agriculture Committee, organized by State, with their phone numbers. If your Representative is on the Committee, please call him or her. Otherwise, call the Chairman and Ranking Member.

If you don't know who represents you, you can find out at www.house.gov or call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.                             

 MESSAGE  

My name is ____, and I am a constituent. I urge Representative _________ to vote in favor of the Pingree Livestock Amendment to provide assistance for small-scale slaughterhouses. Having access to locally raised meats is very important to me and my family, and small-scale slaughterhouses are a vital part of the local food system.   

Having access to non-genetically engineered foods is also very important to us, and I am very concerned about the provisions in the draft Farm Bill that prevent meaningful review of GMO crops, placing both farmers and consumers at risk.

Please speak up for both farmers and consumers, by voting YES on the Pingree Livestock Amendment and by working to STOP the GMO riders.                                  

HOUSE AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE 

Chairman:  

OKLAHOMA: Rep Frank Lucas (202) 225-5565

Ranking Member:  

MINNESOTA: Rep Collin Peterson (202) 225-2165

 

 PINGREE LIVESTOCK AMENDMENT

The Pingree Amendment will do five things to help very small and "certain small" slaughterhouses, which include facilities with no more than 25 employees:

1) Outreach and Technical Assistance - Establishes a new division within USDA to coordinate technical assistance activities within USDA agencies and provide grants to state agencies (including Extension, nonprofits, and partnerships) in order to provide outreach, education and training to small processing plants.

2) Guidance on Process Control - Requires USDA to develop guidance for small processing plants, including on-farm and mobile processing facilities, on how to comply with the regulatory requirements.

3) Grant Program - Creates a small-processor grant program to provide competitive grants to small processors, including on-farm and mobile processors.

4) Electronic Submission of Labels and Public Information on Label Content - Requires USDA to provide an electronic submission option for the meat label approval process and to provide improved public access to information on the label approval process.

5) Meat and Poultry Processing Report - Directs USDA, in cooperation with the States, processors, and growers, to submit a report to Congress within 2 years of enactment of the bill to analyze additional steps that can be taken to better meet the needs of small meat and poultry growers and processors.