The National Uniformity for Food Act of 2005, otherwise known as H.R. 4167, has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? Sadly, this bill now being considered in the U.S. House of Representatives is anything but nice to the safety and well-being of people concerned about safe food.

In fact, the bill should probably be called The Nullification of State Food Safety Laws. H.R. 4167 would nullify state-level protections against the many food safety threats the federal government has ignored.

States cannot water down federal laws and regulations, but our tradition of federal government has always upheld states’ rights to adopt more protective laws and create rules where no federal rules exist. But now, the factory farm and food industry lobbyists in Washington, D.C are on the verge of taking away our right to protect ourselves at the state level.

It is imperative that advocates for safe food (and for democracy) share these concerns with our federal legislators. We must urge Congress to oppose H.R. 4167, before it preempts vital state laws that protect consumers from toxins and other contaminants in our food supply. California’s Proposition 65 law, for example, would be undermined by H.R. 4167.

In California, Proposition 65 requires seafood markets to post mercury warning signs, helping to protect children, expecting mothers and unborn babies from the all-too-real threat of mercury in seafood. Some supermarket chains outside of California, like Safeway and Wild Oats, have even voluntarily started using the California warnings as models for posting fish advisories in all their stores nationwide. Proposition 65 is one of the nation’s strongest public health measures, and the food industry lobbyists are working to invalidate the law with this federal food preemption bill.

And it’s not just California that would be affected. The Congressional Budget Office says this food safety preemption legislation could nullify about 120 state and local food safety or labeling requirements nationwide. Given the factory farm industry and the Bush Administration’s ongoing assault on environmental and food safety protections, it’s likely that many if not all state level food safety rules would be lost if H.R. 4167 passes.

This bill has cropped up before. In 2004, the commercial food industry tried to push a similar bill through Congress. Fortunately, the bill was stopped with overwhelming opposition from both parties and from the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture. At a hearing in June 2004, the Association of Food and Drug Officials—which represents the officials who enforce state food safety laws—strongly opposed the bill because it would have undermined not just consumer awareness and general food safety, but also the nation’s biosurveillance capability. There is no reason to accept this renewed attempt to strike down state protections. An action letter appears below. Please take a moment to send it to your representative in Congress. Feel free to alter or expand upon the letter if you’d like. For more information on this issue, including a list of some major state laws that would be nullified if H.R. 4167 passes, click here or go to www.generationgreen.org/actionalertinfo/foodpreemption.htm.

SAMPLE LETTER: