HR 875: Food Safety Modernization Act

A bill called HR 875 was introduced recently to address food safety issues in our food supply chains.  The last link in those chains is our grocery stores.  Given the increasing trend toward growing our own food, there has been some misconceptions about how the bill applies to folks who have a small backyard garden, or container gardens.

Just the facts, ma’am

The always wonderful Eat.Drink.Better. blog has a great article by Derek Markham which debunks 5 myths surrounding the HR 875 bill, & clarifies its main purpose. From the article:

Myth: H.R. 875 “makes it illegal to grow your own garden” and would result in the “criminalization of the backyard gardener.”

Fact: There is no language in the bill that would regulate, penalize, or shut down backyard gardens.  This bill is focused on ensuring the safety of foods sold in supermarkets.

Speaking of myths: “We’re not an agrarian society anymore!”

That’s what I overheard an elitist designer say last year at a cocktail party. I disagree, and I think the separation of our lives from where our food comes from has been a significant detriment to our quality of life, our health, and the health of the planet.

We *should* re-embrace gardening & farming – in an adapted smaller scale way. Like small gardens sprinkled everywhere. So the big bad HR 875 bill won’t impede that practice – keep on rolling with those gardening plans, be they community, container, or backyard.