Hidden clause in HealthCare Act could cause food shortage

[Echo2]

Discussed this with a couple of people at lunch and here was the general consensus (and I've seen the video since my first post).

Farmers Markets:
Produce, Animal Products, Animal By-Products - No affect if they post the FDA standard serving nutritional values for the produce they are selling (Fruits and Veggies, Meat, Poultry, Eggs, Honey, etc.)
Baked, canned, pickled and preserved goods - This is where it could potentially hurt, both the buyer and the seller. I've come up with a couple of ways to minimize the cost to both sides though.
1) Create a bakery/canning/cooking/whatever co-op. Although a lot of the margins are slim in a lot of small businesses, some profit is better than none (unless you go underground entirely). Utilizing a co-operative system you can have access to an establishment that could get discounted "testing" done for caloric count, etc. Additionally, you could most likely get discounts for buying in bulk as well as use equipment that you may not have access to otherwise, potentially giving you tighter control over your end product.
2) Use calorie ranges. Realistic, tight ranges but ranges instead of specific values. There are already places that do this now (Panera Bread comes to mind) on their menus since even though some things come to them already made and they have a fairly tight recipe they work from, there will always be some variation and they simply cannot guarantee a bread bowl will be X calories every single time. If they are realistic and do it in good faith, using the FDA provided nutritional values for ALL of the ingredients in the product, they should be covered.

Let me know what you think...

DL

- - - Updated - - -

One thing I forgot to mention, and I don't want anyone to think I don't realize it's still a big deal...I totally understand that it's a headache and a cost for the sellers to have to both look up the nutritional information for their products and in some cases print out and make signs/laminate/weatherproof, etc. those signs for long term use. I totall get that. I was just trying to think of a way for them to stay in business at all.

--DL

A lot of these folks are on a shoe string anyway.....it could be the straw and the camels back thing.....

A lot of the older crowd in my AO set up in season and sell the surplus garden harvest.....that would go by the wayside.

[ladyhk13]

1) Create a bakery/canning/cooking/whatever co-op. Although a lot of the margins are slim in a lot of small businesses, some profit is better than none (unless you go underground entirely). Utilizing a co-operative system you can have access to an establishment that could get discounted "testing" done for caloric count, etc. Additionally, you could most likely get discounts for buying in bulk as well as use equipment that you may not have access to otherwise, potentially giving you tighter control over your end product.

Ok, that could be done but on the realistic side how many people - communities do you think will actually be able to do that? With the demand for testing do you think that labs are going to give discounts to these little co-ops? I think not. The cost of doing business still may not be enough for many of these smaller mom and pop places/co-ops to stay open or be created in order to make any kind of profit. Regulation would make it just not worth the small profit they could get.


2) Use calorie ranges. Realistic, tight ranges but ranges instead of specific values. There are already places that do this now (Panera Bread comes to mind) on their menus since even though some things come to them already made and they have a fairly tight recipe they work from, there will always be some variation and they simply cannot guarantee a bread bowl will be X calories every single time. If they are realistic and do it in good faith, using the FDA provided nutritional values for ALL of the ingredients in the product, they should be covered.

Using FDA provided nutritional values is not an option. Lab testing is required. After everything is tested the first time those costs will come down again but the initial cost could be too much for many small companies to absorb or they will have to raise their prices and pass it along to their customers where we as consumers would have to bear the brunt of it.

I don't know how this will affect farmers markets but I know the gov't tries to stop people from selling their milk to people who want it. Will eggs come next? I have no idea. I just wonder how this will affect our grocery stores especially the smaller ones and will we be able to still buy many of the items we are buying now. Will that change how we prep our food storage since the camel's nose is coming under the tent I am asking myself how long will it be before the rest of his body is in the tent? Personally I think I am going to beef up food storage some more while costs are still affordable...prices have gone up a lot since last year and I think with this they will do nothing but continue to rise where many people will not be able to buy what they can now.

[Sniper-T]

How are they going to police this? Are they going to create the "Caloric Enforcement Agency"? Will the CEA then travel around the country stopping in at grocery stores, and markets ticketing people who don't follow the rules?

What about the Farmers? are there going to be CEA agents watching them? The farmer who sells on the side of the road, is he going to have to have a Calorie sticker on each pumpkin cob of corn and strawberry? Will stores just stop accepting foods from farmers that do not have caloric information? will the onus switch to the farmer to provide the information prior to market?

What about the butcher? Maybe ranchers should just tattoo their animals with their calorie counts?

[Echo2]

How are they going to police this? Are they going to create the "Caloric Enforcement Agency"? Will the CEA then travel around the country stopping in at grocery stores, and markets ticketing people who don't follow the rules?

What about the Farmers? are there going to be CEA agents watching them? The farmer who sells on the side of the road, is he going to have to have a Calorie sticker on each pumpkin cob of corn and strawberry? Will stores just stop accepting foods from farmers that do not have caloric information? will the onus switch to the farmer to provide the information prior to market?

What about the butcher? Maybe ranchers should just tattoo their animals with their calorie counts?

If it becomes criminal.....jail time and confiscation of property will make it profitable to them.

The more farms the can confiscate.....the more control of food they will have....and with the stomach....the hearts and minds will follow.

[helomech]

Simple solution, label everything not for human consumption. It is illegal for me to sell eggs without a license, so I don't sell eggs, but I do sell egg cartons. It is also illegal to sell tilapia so I don't sell tilapia, get the picture yet? I have also started buying fish antibiotics for use in an emergency, it is labeled not for human use, but it is the exact same pill my pharmacy charges me 10X the price for.

[ladyhk13]

That's how people get raw milk here, it's labled not for human consumption. Eggs are still ok as far as I know. None of these things (milk, eggs, cheese, meat, chicken, etc.) can be sold to the local store without proper regulation. Some places are requiring people to have a license to panhandle so they can surely regulate farmers markets and roadside stands.
I think that many people will be looking at growing more of their own foods to offset the higher costs and the lowering of items available.

[DarkLight]

Again, one of the reasons we finally plopped down the (just shy of) 3k for a fence. Being able to let the pooch poop without taking him for a walk will be nice but being able to set up any number of raised beds without having to ask for permission and growing our own food will be worth it.

[Grumpy Old Man]

Well we had to pass it to see what's in it. (Sarcasm off now) I predict that an even bigger underground economy will soon emerge.

[bacpacker]

Well we had to pass it to see what's in it. (Sarcasm off now) I predict that an even bigger underground economy will soon emerge.

The sooner the better in my mind.

[Echo2]

The sooner the better in my mind.

Hear here!!!