Anonymous - Comment

I have several concerns regarding these regulation's, the primary one being the affect of these proposed regulations on small (and medium) farmers. It could be really damaging to the small farm world which is predominantly regulated by the local communities that they support. More regulations on small farmers who support their local economy and community could result in may of them not being able to maintain their current positions in their community depending on the monetary burden placed upon them by these proposed regulations. If they are unable to pass on the monetary burden to the end consumer they will not be able to continue operation. The monetary burden on big Agribusiness would be annoying but not unmanageable. The small farmer could loose their proverbial shirt. Similar to what happened to small farms as a result of the green revolution or butchers in the early 90's. This could create a snowball affect resulting in small communities either having to rely on big Agribusiness (the industry that does need some sort of monitoring because there is very little accountability between supplier, warehouse, transport, etc.) and more illness. The small farmer is accountable to their customer. They have to answer to everyone that knows them personally and knows exactly where their food (whatever food that is) comes from and how it's produced. Another thing to consider is more people die from car related deaths then do from food borne illness in a year. And no matter how much safety and regulation is placed on the car industry and on the licensed/insured/responsible driver, there are still deaths. As unfortunate as these deaths are, 3,000 is not a large number. Often these statistics are misused and don't let the public know that these deaths commonly occur in individuals with already compromised immune systems. They are used to inspire fear and make the public feel like this is the best option when theory and practice are two very different things.