Farming Outsourced

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Knowing where the products are coming from is very important to consumers and producers. U.S. legislation had a bill on the floor of the House in which food producers and importers would be required to label where there food came from (Mark). This would have been beneficial to consumers but big business owners with influence in government turned it down so there businesses wouldn’t be harmed by the bill. If the bill would have passed, consumers would have been able to tell the difference between products which would have helped domestic producers. Americans would generally choose to buy American products rather than foreign products even if it costs a little more.

With contaminated food and products coming from foreign countries it makes it hard to trace food-borne illnesses and contaminations. If there was a food that was contaminated and we had an outbreak in the U.S. it would be almost impossible to trace where all that food came from and how to stop it from continuing to come to America. Flynn says that as of 2000 that only two percent of food and beverages went under physical inspection before entering the U.S. This is a staggering number given the amount of food we import. The FDA has however increased inspection agencies to try and limit the amount of contaminated food that enters our country. Certain unique products coming from specific countries are hard to inspect and don’t know what to look for. When little-known imports such as Egyptian fenugreek seeds, pomegranate seeds from Turkey, or pepper from Vietnam are increasingly coming up as the causes of foodborne illnesses in the U.S. causing sickness and death, there is a concern that the FSMA reforms cannot occur fast enough (Flynn). One thing the FDA needs to due in order to stop this is educate agencies to specifically look at these unique imports so we can protect the general public.

Ultimately, the U.S. needs to stop importing so many products that can be produced domestically. America was made by farming and needs to continue farming and maintain their self-sufficiency. Importing all these goods is hurting Americas economy. Low world trading prices are hurting domestic prices and ultimately hurting American farmers. The general public is also taking a hit because the food coming in may not be as safe as it is supposed to be. Food produced in foreign countries has less strict guidelines than

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Flynn, Dan. "Imports and Exports: Americans Shop the World for Food Every Day of the Week

Food Safety News." Food Safety News. N.p., 4 Nov. 2013. Web. 19 Dec. 2014

Hunnicutt, Holly. "Food Saftey In Mexico." The Agriculturist. Texas Tech Department of

Agricultural Education & Communications, 2011. Web. 17 Dec. 2014.