KEY POLICY ISSUES

FOOD SAFETY

What You Can Do

Read an article by CAFF’s Policy Director concerning the Food Safety Modernization Act.

Donate to our food safety campaign. Your special gift is urgently needed.

View our Local Food Sheet.

Join out Email List if you’d like to receive updates on this issue!

See the Executive Summary of CAFF’s Food Safety White Paper. Or download the full report.

Download a Food Safety update, written by CAFF’s Policy Director (December 2009).

 

CAFF in the Food Safety News

Movie: Defending Family Farmers Industrial Food Safety Fallout
Judith Redmond, “Inspired by the Spinach Scare, New California Rules Could Wilt Small Farmers” Daily Grist, October 4, 2007
Elizabeth Henderson and Jack Bradigan Spula, “Food Safety: Let’s Work on this Together”
Carolyn Lochhead, “Crops, Ponds Destroyed in Quest for Food Safety” San Francisco Chronicle, July 13, 2009
Len Richardson, “Sterile Farming Adds to Food Risk” California Farmer, January 2009
Jason Mark, “Neat Freaks: How Food Safety Rules are Threatening Environmentally Friendly Farming Practices” Earth Island Journal, Spring 2008
Li Miao Lovett, “Fields of Overkill” High Country News, May 2008
Judith Redmond, “Food Safety Procedures: Protect Diversity and Sustainable Agriculture” CCOF Certified Organic Magazine, Winter 2008
Sage Dilts, “Food Safety Conference Sees Misguided Industrial Agriculture Strategies” Slow Food Blog ‘Civil Eats’, December 2008
Barry Estabrook, “Politics of the Plate: Greens of Wrath” Gourmet, November 2008
Michael Pollan, “Vegetable-Industrial Complex” New York Times, October 15, 2006

 

Other Articles about Food Safety

An interesting perspective on the dilemmas of food safety compliance for small operations from Richard Oswald “Food Safety, Sanely” Daily Yonder, June 11, 2010
Richard Rominger and Michael Dimock, “Response to drought is dry run for a response to climate change” San Francisco Chronicle, February 11, 2009
AP Press, “California Farmers Use Guns, Poison to Protect Crops: Growers respond to pressure from buyers to avoid another E. coli outbreak” August 29, 2008
Len Richardson, “GAP Metrics a work in progress” California Farmer, March 2008
Nancy Shute, “Better Safe Than Sorry” US News and World Reports, May 20, 2007
Uprising Radio segment featuring Judith Redmond, December 2007
Cindy Skrzycki, “In a Pickle Over Self-Regulation for Produce Growers” The Washington Post, December 2007
Dania Akkad, “Liability lawyer tells farmers to clean up their act” Monterey Herald, March 1, 2007
Carol Ness, “New Worry for Farmers” San Francisco Chronicle, February 21, 2007
Mary Engel and Rong-Gong Lin II, “Processing May Spread E. coli; Some Food Safety Experts Say the Mixing of Greens for Packaging May Increase the Risk of Contamination” LA Times, January 20, 2007
Glen Martin, “Farms may cut habitat renewal over E. coli fears” San Francisco Chronicle, December 19, 2006
Kevin Howe, “Safe Food, Quality Water at Odds: E. coli outbreak adds to conflict” Monterey Herald, December 20, 2006
Kate Campbell, “Food safety proposal goes to fresh vegetable handlers” Ag Alert from the Farm Bureau, December 20, 2006
Christine Souza, “Farmers ask FDA about aspects of food-safety rules“, Ag Alert, April 17, 2013

 

More Information

CAFF Guide to Proposed Food Safety Regulations – January 2008 (pdf)

California Certified Organic Farmers: CCOF promotes and supports organic food and agriculture through an organic certification program, trade support, producer and consumer education, and political advocacy. CCOF provides certification services to all stages of the organic food chain from farms to processors, restaurants and retailers.

California Farm Bureau: The California Farm Bureau’s purpose is to protect and promote agricultural interests throughout the state of California. It is California’s largest farm organization, comprised of 53 county farm bureaus.`

Download Monterey County’s Food Safety Environmental Protection Literature Review (pdf): The Monterey RCD’s mission is to conserve and improve Monterey County’s natural resources, integrating the demand for environmental quality with the needs of agricultural and urban users.

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

Produce Safety Project: Safe and Sustainable Final Report May 2011 (pdf)

UC Davis Food Safety: A resource for presentations, publications, and other websites with information related to the production, harvest, and processing of foods.

UC Davis Center for Produce Safety: Provides the produce industry and related stakeholders with actionable information on enhancing the safety of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Western Growers Association: Provides information to supplement and explain food safety programs.

Western Institute for Food Safety and Security: Resources and white papers concerning food safety and security.

Wild Farm Alliance: A resource for articles and media focused on food safety.

David Runsten
Policy Director

Dave directs all of CAFF’s policy work as well as the food safety and water stewardship outreach. Dave is an agricultural economist who conducted research on such topics as contract agriculture in Mexico, fair trade coffee in Oaxaca, regional competitiveness of the produce industry, living wages in Los Angeles, and farm labor in California.

dave[at]caff.org    |    530.756.8518 x125

CAFF Legislative Representation, Sacramento
Justin Malan, Eco Consult

CAFF Legislative Representation, Washington DC
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

CAFF Policy Advisors
Stellman Keehnel, Esq., DLA Piper, Seattle
E. Phillip LeVeen, PhD, Berkeley