On July 30, 2009 H.R. 2749 passed with a few amendments.   Read the text of the bill and ammendments. It seems that the last minute amendments

It’s official. The new Ohio Dept. of Ag Cottage food rules were released. The rules now allows for a variety of new foods to be home produced, without the need for an inspected commerical kitchen.  This opens up opportunities for small food producers to expand into new areas with little overhead cost.  It also expands [...]

On Wednesday, May 27, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Henry Waxman (CA-30) released a discussion draft  of his food safety bill, the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009. The bill is largely based on provisions in H.R. 259, the Food and Drug Administration Globalization Act of 2009, introduced by Representative Dingell earlier this [...]

The following is an excerpt from a post in The Ethicurean.
H.R. 875 is not likely to make it out of committee. The article points out a couple of other bills that are likely to get more traction and have scarier ramifications for small farmers and producers. Make sure you read the excellent position statement and [...]

On Wednesday, May 13th the ODA  held the public hearing on expanding the list of “Cottage” foods (see that article). A number of  farmer’s market managers and vendors spoke in support of the rule change. No one spoke in opposition. Several witnesses spoke of the economic benefits of new small businesses that can now start [...]

Urban Chickens are gaining in popularity as more locavores seek alternatives to industrially grown food. Municipalities are seeing more pressure from residents who want to keep backyard chickens, bees or even a mini-goat.
“Whether from tighter food budgets or local-eating ideals, more and more people are petitioning their cities to allow small animal husbandry.
City dwellers are [...]

Cottage foods are those that are allowed to be produced in a home without need of a commercial kitchen it allows food entrepreneurs to sell their goods without significant start-up capital.
There will be a public hearing on Wednesday May 13th at 8:30 am at ODA to review a proposal to expand the list of foods [...]

Snopes sheds some light on HR 875
http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/organic.asp

The analysis below clarifies what the bill will and will not do.  Mentioned is HR.759 which can cause some issues for small farmers including recordkeeping requirements for farms and safety standards for fresh produce.
Link to HR.759 PDF

Link to HR.875 PDF

Food & Water Watch’ s Statement on H.R. 875 and the Food Safety Bills
The dilemma [...]

Web Video of the Week: What is the National Animal Identification System & Why It Should Be Rejected.
Part 1:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wu9oKmqQpD4&hl=en&fs=1&border=1]
Make sure you view Part 2 here