No replies to this topic

[MachineGhostX]

As “must pass” legislation, the Farm Bill has attracted over eighty amendments. One of them, offered by Sen. Patrick Leahy, is a revival of Leahy’s disastrous anti-supplement bill that passed in the Senate but has so far been rejected by the House—the language of this amendment is exactly the same as that original bill.

 

The amendment would increase criminal penalties for “misbranding” or “adulterating” foods from a maximum of one year in jail to ten years’ imprisonment.

 

The dramatic increase in jail time and fines will make supplement production an even riskier proposition than it is today. To his credit, Sen. Leahy added some additional language to make the ten-year jail term apply to those who “knowingly and intentionally defraud or mislead” and do so “with conscious or reckless disregard of a risk of death or serious bodily injury.” But this language is subjective and vague. We shouldn’t send someone to jail for ten years because of how the FDA rates their intentions. Laws should be about actions. Would the FDA assert that a seller of raw milk is knowingly and intentionally disregarding risk of death? Of course they would. So the ten-year jail threat would apply.

 

Please contact your senators and express your strong opposition to Sen. Leahy’s anti-supplement amendment.

 

Edited by Machine_Ghost, 13 June 2012 - 12:31 AM.