***Irradiation of any food is not a good idea. Irradiation robs food of its vital nutrients. Washing one's before and after handling food that has also been washed, is the best and only real safeguard for vegetables and fruits.
*** I am concerned with the proposed rulemaking for several reasons. First, I have healed many health problems by consuming a strict raw, organic food diet. It has truly been a miracle for me to detoxify my body with natural food after years of consuming a standard American diet. No pills or treatments have had the power of to affect my health like a raw food diet has. I need to be able to obtain these foods because I personally have experienced the miraculous effect of pure untampered food as God gave us. The risk of E. coli 0157 contamination comes predominantly from ?fresh cut? lettuce and spinach? the pre-washed, pre-cut bags of greens that have recently become so popular. Therefore, even if the USDA were to require standardized growing practices, it should apply only to large-scale suppliers of ?fresh-cut? bags of leafy greens, and exclude whole leafy greens that have never been implicated in an E. coli 0157 outbreak, such as kale, arugula, and chard. A one-size-fits-all approach is totally inappropriate in addressing this important health and environmental rulemaking proposal. I consume these to maintain my restored health, and I need to be able to buy organic vegetables that have not been irradiated, so I strongly believe that organic should exclude irradiation. Also, any consumable item that has been irradiated should by law have to indicate that on its label.. If federal guidelines were to be enacted, there should be an exemption based on scale?small-scale farmers should not have to follow the same rules as large- scale operations that have been responsible for past widespread contamination. Moreover, exemptions should exist for traditional farmers selling locally and for farmers with organic certification. Although no fresh food production is risk free, the smaller operations, with hands-on management, pose an infinitely smaller risk to the nation?s citizenry. Finally, I oppose the proposed Marketing Agreement because it would likely be costly and overly burdensome to small- and medium-scale growers and could potentially drive these farmers out of business. As a daily consumer of llarge quantities of raw leafy greens and a supporter of environmentally sustainable, local food systems, I urge the USDA to not support one-size-fits-all requirements that would dictate to farmers how to grow their vegetables, especially when such guidelines are not evidence based and are written by and for large-scale operations?farms, that based on past experience, might very well need additional regulatory oversight. Sincerely, Hope Lucky
*** Please reconsider your plan to subject vegetables to irradiation. Have you researched to see if this will kill the healthy nutrients that are essential to keeping and maintaining healthy humans? If you have done studies, publish your results so we can understand exactly how the irradiation will affect our food source. I consider this a serious step in devaluing and perhaps destroying our already "over processed" food supply. Thank you for your consideration.
***PCRM has 5,000 medical doctors and 100,000 lay people who are opposed to the irradiation of raw greens. If sheep are not allowed to be pastured in the fields in which the greens are later grown, or if cattle's holding pens are not upstream from the fields, there would be no problem with contamination. Irradiation destroys the very factors that people need for cell regeneration from live greens. The electricity in live foods is the very thing that keeps one's heart pumping, the diaphragm flexible, the nerves and muscles firing and flexing. When we eat nothing but cooked foods, we degenerate. When we eat living foods that have not been irradiated or sprayed with poisons, we are able to continuously rebuild our immune systems.in the constant battle against illness. Think of the children and grandchildren who need to have their greens untampered with irradiation. Reduce the pollutants. Have sufficient bathrooms and washrooms for the people who pick and gloves for hygienic sorting, rollers and conveyor belts minus the fiberglass and asbestos, and boxing/packing materials that are not plastic, and we, the people, will get healthier and won't have to worry about e. coli or other fecal bacterial contamination. People are getting well with raw foods. People are dying eating irradiated and sprayed with insecticide and pesticide foods. Be strong and vote for pure foods, not irradiated or poisoned (like with the almond vote) foods..
*** I am making a comment about this because I am a raw foodist and only eat food that has not been heated above 118 degrees. I do not want leafy greens to be pasteurized because then I would not be able to purchase these any longer. I will have to find another source of greens that have not been pasteurized or learn how to grow my own food. Pasteurization and irradiation of foods may be better for large corporations that want an easy way to make their food sanitary but it is not better for the American people!!!
*** Docket #AMS-FV-07-0090. Docket ID AMS-FV-07-0090-0001. Federal Register/Vol. 72, No 192/ Thursday, October 4, 2007 page no. 56678, 56679, 56680. Food Safety Regulations for Leafy Greens Under the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937 (AMAA). I am a heavy consumer of fresh raw leafy greens. Since fresh raw fruits and leafy greens have been my diet for 7 years, I have enjoyed vibrant health and far more energy throughout the day. I have noticed an alertness especially upon waking up and after lunch. When I was on a diet of pasteurized and irradiated foods, I would wake up drowsy and be exhausted after lunch. Friends who have often been exhausted have asked me what I was doing to feel so well. I have always said I've increased my percentage of fresh raw fruits and leafy greens in my diet. After they checked their own urine pH and found it more acidic, without fail, each person adding a greater percentage of raw leafy greens to their diet brought their urine pH to a more alkaline state, and they all felt a difference of more vibrancy. It is of the utmost importance for raw leafy greens to be available for the general public to purchase and consume. Proposing pasteurization or irradiation would change the basic chemical makeup of leafy greens. Leafy greens would then have far less nutritional value undercutting the ability for the leafy greens to support vibrant human life.
*** Leafy green vegetables are extremely important to my diet. In fact, fresh organic leafy green vegetables are saving my life! I am NOT in favor of packers, processors, shippers, and marketers (collectively referred to as handlers) using pasteurization, irradiation and other forms of unnatural processing to maintain the quality of their products and reduce the risk of pathogenic contamination during the production and handling of leafy greens. I want the agri-business corporations to take responsibility and use more hygienic handling practices and more prudent shipping methods, even if it costs them a little more, rather than passing the burden on to me in the form of toxic, devitalized food devoid of most of its nutritional value.
*** I can't believe how paranoid you guys are getting!!!!! Pasteurizing leafy greens????? What on earth is going on????!!!!! Leave my leafy greens alone!!! I want them FRESH, not tampered with and KILLED before I get them on my plate!!!! First almonds, now leafy greens, this is getting way OUT OF HAND. I have my right to choose what I eat and how I eat it. I prefer RAW UNADULTERATED UNPASTEURIZED FRESH FROM THE FIELD GREENS WITH ALL ITS NUTRIENTS IN TACT !!!! So PLEASE Get rid of this stupid proposed regulation, NOW !!! AMS-FV-07-0090 IRRADIATION IS TOXIC. !! Stop tampering with my ability to get healthy foods! Then again, Let's poison all Americans, why don't we, will save on the amount of wars we have to fight to defend them..... Geez, you guys in Govt, WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LEAVE MY LEAFY GREENS FRESH AND HEALTHY !!!!
*** Re: AMS-FV-07-0090 As a Ph.D. biochemist and ardent cook, I oppose irradiation or "pasteurization" of all greens because it decreased the availability of nutrients in our food. I passionately believe in supporting small local organic farms and farmers markets; irradiation requirements would put them out of business. Sincerely, Linda Jean Shepherd, Ph.D.
***I, as a tax paying American citizen, have the right to food in its natural state. "pasteurized" greens are NOT acceptable. The fact that you plan on including Organic is even more unacceptable. This whole concept is totally ridiculous and so unnecessary. Do you wonder why this country has such a health problem? It is because of the way so many people stuff themselves with crap food - food that has been chemicalized, "pasteurized" (your word for irradiation) - and processed to the point where it becomes poison rather than nutrition. You are insulting those of us who know better, and have chosen to eat food in its raw and NATURAL state. You are insulting those of us who choose to be healthy. I demand that you do not move forward in poisoning the food supply. DO NOT ENACT THIS BILL Docket ID AMS-FV-07-0090 Docket Title Food Safety Regulations for Leafy Greens Under the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937 (AMAA) Document ID AMS-FV-07-0090-0001 Document Title Handling Regulations for Leafy Greens Under the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937
***As a longtime consumer of locally grown organic leafy greens, I feel that regulation should be handled on a local basis. The program's handling regulations should specifically address companies that are distributing greens nationally since any contamination of their greens has the potential to affect a much larger population. Large growing and processing operations that are located within watershed areas that include stockyards, meat processing plants and other sources of chemical and bacterial toxins is a practice that should raise a red flag at the USDA, and those companies should merit close scrutiny. Regulation should take place at the beginning of the production cycle, starting with where the farms and packing plants are located, rather than the final packing stage. It just makes better sense. Ultimately, food supply issues such as the recent e.coli contamination cannot be controlled solely by additional rules and regulation. There must be a common- sense approach to production practices that is realistically enforceable, and the most important way for the USDA to protect the consumer is by requiring truth in labeling. If the consumer knows the conditions under which food is produced, if the label "ORGANICALLY GROWN" could be trusted to ensure a safe growing practices, it would enable consumers to make good decisions to protect themselves. Without truthful labels and adequate information, consumers will continue to be at risk. I protect my family by buying locally grown produce directly from the farmers at the farmer's market as much as I can. These farmers need the support of the USDA, not regulations that would require irradiation and chemical treatment, practices which are in conflict with healthy and sustainable farming practices. Thank you.
*** As a longtime consumer of locally grown organic leafy greens, I feel that regulation should be handled on a local basis. The program's handling regulations should specifically address companies that are distributing greens nationally since any contamination of their greens has the potential to affect a much larger population. Large growing and processing operations that are located within watershed areas that include stockyards, meat processing plants and other sources of chemical and bacterial toxins is a practice that should raise a red flag at the USDA, and those companies should merit close scrutiny. Regulation should take place at the beginning of the production cycle, starting with where the farms and packing plants are located, rather than the final packing stage. It just makes better sense. Ultimately, food supply issues such as the recent e.coli contamination cannot be controlled by additional rules and regulation. There must be a common-sense approach to production practices that is realistically enforceable, and the most important way for the USDA to protect the consumer is by requiring truth in labeling. If the consumer knows the conditions under which food is produced, if the label "ORGANICALLY GROWN" could be trusted to ensure a safe growing practices, it would enable consumers to make good decisions to protect themselves. Without truthful labels and adequate information, consumers will continue to be at risk. I protect my family by buying locally grown produce directly from the farmers at the farmer's market as much as I can. These farmers need the support of the USDA, not regulations that would require irradiation of chemical treatment, practices which are in conflict with healthy and sustainable farming practices. Thank you. Sarah Allen
*** Please vote NO on the irradiation of leafy vegetables as that will destroy any nutrients that may be left in them! It makes a lot more sense to have the agri-business corporations take responsibility and use more hygienic handling practices and more prudent shipping methods, even if it costs them a little more, rather than passing the burden on to Americans in the form of toxic, devitalized food devoid of most of its nutritional value. It would be nice to see our govn't working for the people for a change instead of the agri-business corporations. Thanks so much for your time & consideration!
***Docket ID AMS-FV-07-0090 Docket Title Food Safety Regulations for Leafy Greens Under the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937 (AMAA) Document ID AMS-FV-07-0090-0001 Document Title Handling Regulations for Leafy Greens Under the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937 Date: December 01, 2007 I vehemently oppose using irradiation or any method or process that will kill the enzymes and nutrients in my food. This is once again the case where the corporate dollar is more important than citizen nutrition. FORCE the corporations, farms and dairies to be responsible by cleaning up their growing, processing, plants and facilities. Don't take away my nutrition for corporate irresponsibility and laziness. I am, and twelve members of my family are, furious with the proposal to irradiate, and we vow to fight irradiation of our food, along with CODEX, every step of the way.Sincerely, The Turner Family
***As a consumer of leafy greens I would like to see the growers being responsible for the cleanliness of their product. They need to use more hygienic handling practices to ensure safety for the consumer even if it costs them more and raises the price at the store. Please do not require the irradiation or pasteurization of leafy greens! It will leave the buyer with food that is devoid of most of its nutritional value. Consumers also need to be given a choice. Irradiated and/or pasteurized foods need to be labeled clearly!
*** I very much object to using pasteurization and/or irradiation to treat leafy greens because this will significantly reduce the vitality/health benefits of such foods. Raw live foods are very helpful in reversing a number of chronic systemic ailments in our society that have reached epidemic proportions. I believe that pateurization and/or irradiation of these living foods will do more harm than good. AMS-FV-07-0090-0001
*** Re: Docket ID AMS-FV-07-0090 Federal Register pages 56678-56680, vol. 72, no. 192, October 4, 2007 Dear USDA Agriculture Marketing Service, Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for a Marketing Agreement for Leafy Greens. I am concerned with the proposed rulemaking for several reasons. First, I believe that neither a Marketing Agreement nor a Marketing Order are appropriate models when seeking to protect food safety on a national scale. Both models would allow a small board of processors and handlers to set the rules for all farms in the nation who wish to sell their vegetables to processors. It puts disproportionate power in the hands of large operations and corporations, who would most likely be represented on these boards. This board would be given the government-sanctioned authority to dictate the growing practices for all other farms?large or small?in the nation, which I believe to be an inappropriate model and level of authority. I am also concerned that appropriate guidelines, suitable for small as well as large farms, have not yet been developed. I encourage the USDA to delay the implementation of federal standards until scientifically proven methods for reducing E. coli 0157 contamination have been demonstrated. The California Leafy Green Marketing Agreement (LGMA) guidelines have already been implicated in two recalls, showing that more research is needed before a set of uniform standards can be required throughout the nation. Furthermore, federal regulations would discriminate against many farmers who employ organic farming practices and farmers who promote biodiversity on farms, as has been the experience with the California guidelines. The adoption of such rules on a national level would harm the environment, and more environmentally friendly guidelines must be developed if they are to be mandated nationally. I would also like to note that the risk of E. coli 0157 contamination comes predominantly from ?fresh cut? lettuce and spinach?the pre-washed, pre-cut bags of greens that have recently become so popular. Therefore, even if the USDA were to require standardized growing practices, it should apply only to large-scale suppliers of ?fresh-cut? bags of leafy greens, and exclude whole leafy greens that have never been implicated in an E. coli 0157 outbreak, such as kale, arugula, and chard. A one-size-fits-all approach is totally inappropriate in addressing this important health and environmental rulemaking proposal. If federal guidelines were to be enacted, there should be an exemption based on scale?small-scale farmers should not have to follow the same rules as large-scale operations that have been responsible for past widespread contamination. Moreover, exemptions should exist for traditional farmers selling locally and for farmers with organic certification. Although no fresh food production is risk free, the smaller operations, with hands-on management, pose an infinitely smaller risk to the nation?s citizenry. Additionally, I oppose the proposed Marketing Agreement because it would likely be costly and overly burdensome to small- and medium-scale growers and could potentially drive these farmers out of business. As a consumer of leafy greens and a supporter of environmentally sustainable, local food systems, I urge the USDA to not support one-size-fits-all requirements that would dictate to farmers how to grow their vegetables, especially when such guidelines are not evidence based and are written by and for large-scale operations?farms, that based on past experience, might very well need additional regulatory oversight. Finally, I oppose the notion that pasteurizing or dousing edible plants with chemicals or irradiation is somehow SAFER than the occasional outbreak of something like E. coli. It just absolutely boggles my mind that someone would think that chemicals/irradiation = safety. There is plenty of research to demonstrate that irradiation/chemicals cause great harm to a human (or animal) body. A better solution would be to work with factory or large scale farms to help them utilize more humane and more ecologically sound farming/husbandry practices. Factory farming was responsible for the E.coli on the spinach outbreak. Therefore, instead of killing the plants that people may eat, work at eliminating the source of the "safety" problem by looking at factory farms. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, Willow Aureala, Ph.D.