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it appears that we now have a realistic chance of stopping the TPP. King (I-ME) and co-sponsored by Senator Rand
Because of the opposition to this massive trade agreement, President Paul (R-KY). Even if you have called before,
Obama has predicted that he may have to wait until the post-election now is a good time to call and encourage your
lame duck session in order to get Congress’ approval of the TPP. While representative and senators to support states’
stopping Congress from acting during a lame duck session is difficult, rights and small farmers by signing on to these
since they no longer have to worry about an election in the near future, bills! You can find out more information about
it is not impossible. The simple fact that the President has admitted that the bill and how to take action, including sample
the opposition is so great is very telling. talking points for your call, at http://www.we-
While we wait for the TPP to be brought forward for a vote, we have stonaprice.org/get-involved/legislative-updates/
to continue to educate Congress about how the TPP favors foreign com- federal-policy-update/.
panies that raise food with lower standards, undercutting locally-raised
food and American farmers. Over one hundred sixty agricultural and GRASS-FED LABELING
rural organizations recently sent a letter to Congress pointing out that A few years ago, the USDA’s Agricultural
“the main beneficiaries of the TPP are the companies that buy, process Marketing Service (AMS) adopted a standard
and ship raw commodities, not the farmers who face real risks from rising for “grass-fed” labeling claims. The label was
import competition.” The TPP also undermines inspections of imported aimed at addressing the problem that some
foods, further disadvantaging American farmers and producers. Most companies were labeling beef as “grass-fed”
troubling, the TPP would empower thousands of foreign companies to even if they fed large amounts of grain in the
use the “investor suit” provisions to challenge federal, state or local laws final months of their lives, simply because the
that they claim interfere with their expected profits, bringing suit against cattle had eaten grass for the majority of their
our elected officials in accountable international tribunals. lifespan before that. While addressing this abuse
Please watch for action alerts from the Weston A. Price Foundation, was important, USDA’s standard was very prob-
and add your voice to the effort to protect our economy and our sover- lematic, and allowed animals to be confined in
eignty. dirt pens while being fed hay, as well as being
given hormones and antibiotics.
LOCAL MEAT PROCESSING Earlier this year, the AMS withdrew the
While bad legislation is stalled, there is still some movement on one standard. It wasn’t because the agency recog-
of the few pieces of good legislation for the food movement: the PRIME nized that consumers wanted a more robust
Act, HR 3187. This bill would allow farmers to take their livestock to standard, but because there was an interagency
“custom” slaughterhouses, which are not subject to the federal inspec- dispute over jurisdiction. As a result, right now,
tion requirements, and sell the meat (including individual cuts) directly there is no government standard for what “grass-
to consumers and retail outlets within their state. This bill returns power fed” means.
to the states, and has the potential to significantly reduce the burdens and There is still government involvement,
expense placed on small-scale livestock producers raising food for their however, since the Food Safety Inspection Ser-
local communities. vice (FSIS) approves labels on meat products
HR 3187 now has twenty co-sponsors from both parties, and has been and can deny any label claims that it finds are
joined by a companion bill in the Senate, S2651, filed by Senator Angus “misleading.”

CALIFORNIA SEED SHARING BILL

California is home to nearly fifty seed libraries and many more seed exchanges and seed swap events that are threat-
ened by unclear language in the state seed law, which could impose labeling, testing and permitting requirements on
them. The threat of enforcement actions has grown together with the increasing patenting of the seed supply and the
takeover of small seed companies by huge corporations like Monsanto.
AB 1810 exempts seeds that are shared through libraries and exchanges from testing or labeling requirements; it
also exempts those involved in seed sharing from having to pay to register with the state. As introduced, AB 1810 would
have also exempted “microenterprises,” those that sell less than five thousand dollars annually in seeds. Unfortunately,
the commercial seed industry and industry groups such as Farm Bureau opposed any further exemption, and the bill was
amended to exempt only noncommercial activities.
AB 1810 passed the California Assembly by a very strong vote in late April and was sent to the Senate. To stay informed
on its status and how you can get involved, visit The Sustainable Economies Law Center at www.theselc.org.
96 Wise Traditions SUMMER 2016 Wise Traditions