Congress has passed another one-week extension on the Farm Bill, and negotiations continue. Members of the House and Senate are hopeful that a deal can be reached by May 2. There’s still time to contact your senators and representative and tell them to keep our food safe. 

Authorization for the Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank, a critical first step in establishing long-term funding for this important program, is included in the Farm Bill. This crucial resource is utilized by veterinarians to ensure the food derived from animals is safe to eat, and this is one more reason why you need to take action today to ask Congress to keep this provision in the Farm Bill.

According to DVM News, the Farm Bill includes: the authorization of “$2.5 million per year through 2012 for the financially strapped Food Animal Residue Avoidance Database (FARAD). The program was established in 1982 to provide veterinarians information on how to rid livestock of drugs and contaminants.”

Another critical issue affecting food safety – a provision to increase the number of veterinarians who inspect and treat the cows, pigs, chickens, turkey, fish and other food animals we eat – is also at risk of being cut from the bill. The Veterinary Workforce Grant Program would establish a competitive grant program to increase the number of veterinarians trained in agricultural biosecurity. This essential funding would be used by our nation's veterinary schools to increase capacity by building more classrooms and labs. Tell Congress to also keep this essential program in the Farm Bill.

The “Farm Bill” is an omnibus, multiyear authorizing law that contains major farm and nutrition programs. The most recent omnibus farm bill, the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-171), expired in September 2007. While the heart of every omnibus farm bill is farm income and commodity price support, the farm bill typically encompasses a wide variety of issues and programs including agriculture trade and foreign food aid, conservation and environment, forestry, domestic food assistance (primarily food stamps), agricultural credit, rural development, agricultural research and education programs. In addition, the farm bill often contains farm marketing, energy, food safety, and animal health and welfare provisions.

Take action today on FARAD and the Veterinary Workforce Grant Program to keep our food safe.

Welcome to KeepOurFoodSafe.org. Visit the site often for news, alerts and updates on critical issues affecting the safety of the food we eat.

Whether you came here by way of our ad in the April 18, 2008 National Journal or stopped by to learn about food safety, take a look around to learn more about FARAD and about how you can take action to preserve this crucial resource.  You’ll also find information about other critical issues facing food safety in the “Food Safety Issues” section of the site.

If you have any questions or feedback about anything you see on this site, feel free to email.

From the National Journal ad:

Since 1982, the Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank (FARAD) has been the only credible and complete guide for food animal producers and veterinarians on avoiding residues of medications and contaminants in food animals.

Since 2000, after the USDA discontinued the grant that funded FARAD, the program has been dependent on earmark funding for its survival.

In 2007, that earmark funding was dropped, forcing FARAD to begin shutting down. Without FARAD food animal producers and food supply veterinarians will have nowhere to turn. There will be no searchable, computerized databank with information on approved drugs for food animals, drug tolerances, pharmacokinetic data, bibliographic citations or rapid residue screening tests.

After FARAD is gone, you might want to think twice before you drink a glass of milk or cut into a big, juicy steak.

America’s veterinarians strongly urge you to support a Farm Bill provision authorizing appropriations of $2.5M/year for FARAD, and to keep in mind that continued funding of FARAD is critical to ensuring that our country has a safe, healthy food supply.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Dear Colleagues,

A critical legislative provision in the Farm Bill is at risk of being rejected by a U.S. Congress conference committee, and we need your help.

The U.S. House and the Senate passed their own versions of the Farm Bill reauthorization. The Veterinary Workforce Grant Program, which is included in the Senate version, would establish a competitive grant program to increase the number of veterinarians trained in agricultural biosecurity. This essential funding would be used by our nation's veterinary schools to increase capacity by building more classrooms and labs. The Veterinary Workforce Grant Program is now in danger of being removed from the final House and Senate approved Farm Bill.

With your active support and advocacy, we can insure that this important provision will remain in the final version of the Farm Bill.

Please stop what you are doing and take a few minutes to join us in the fight for this program. We expect the Farm Bill to come up for vote within the next two to three weeks, and it is urgent that you act now.

Taking action is easy. Just take the following steps:

1. Call Congress at 1-800-828-0498.
2. Ask to speak to the office of the Representative from your home district or to a Senator from your home state. (If you do not know the names of your Members of Congress click here.) It is essential that you call your Representative and your state's two Senators.
3. Once connected to your Member's office, ask to speak to the staff member who deals with agricultural issues.
4. Ask the staffer for their Member's support for the Veterinary Workforce Grant Program in the Farm Bill and ask them to contact the conference committee to insure that the Veterinary Workforce Grant Program remains in the final version of the bill.

Thank you for taking action with us.

If you would like more information on the Veterinary Workforce Expansion Program, you can find it by clicking here. If you have specific questions or want to tell us that you called Congress, please contact Dr. Mark Lutschaunig, Director, AVMA Governmental Relations Division, Email or Call 1-800-321-1473.

Sincerely,

Gregory S. Hammer, DVM
President