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Tell Congress Not to Douse Our Meat in Chemicals and Radiation
  1. Signatures
    818 out of 1,000
    Petitioning
    1. The U.S. Senate
  2. Created By
    Kristen Ridley
    Pasadena, CA
About this Petition Petition Letter
Why This Is Important

The Senate is currently considering a bill that would require meat handlers to either subject our food to chemical baths and radiation or to pay for pathogen testing that is expensive and unreliable.

The Processed Food Safety Act of 2009 (S.2819), introduced November 30 by Senator Dianne Feinstein, is a well-intended effort to protect consumers, but it will have disasterous conequences if passed.  Industrial producers will use potentially dangerous chlorine and radiation as a crutch to cover for unsanitary practices.  Those unwilling to subject their food to such treatments will have to pay out of pocket for pathogen testing, something that most small, ethical producers cannot afford.  Furthermore, even the best testing can't detect low levels of contamination, providing a false sense of security while failing to protect public safety.

Write your Senators now and tell them that food safety deserves real reform, not chemical band-aids.

Photo: Totoro! via Flickr

Recent Signatures

Say No to the Processed Food Safety Act

Greetings,

I am writing to ask you to oppose the proposed Processed Food Safety Act (S.2819) currently in committee. This bill would require meat and poultry handlers to either douse our food in chemical baths and radiation or would require expensive, yet unreliable pathogen testing.

Food safety is a very important issue that needs to be addressed urgently, but the Processed Food Safety Act makes the situation far worse, not better. Industrial producers will use potentially dangerous chlorine and radiation as a crutch to cover for unsanitary practices. Those unwilling to subject their food to such treatments will have to pay out of pocket for pathogen testing, something that most small, ethical producers cannot afford. Furthermore, even the best testing can't detect low levels of contamination, providing a false sense of security while failing to protect public safety.

Thank you for taking the time to carefully consider this life-or-death issue. I hope that you reject this band-aid solution to our food safety problems and instead consider policies that focus of preventing disease problems, not covering them up after the fact.

[Your name]