Political Quotes

“this amendment would require Country of Origin labeling of perishable agricultural commodities imported into the United States. I offer this amendment to ensure that Americans know the origin of every orange, banana, tomato, cucumber, and green pepper on display in the grocery store, and to improve the safety of food consumed by all Americans. In March of 1996, shoppers throughout California and nineteen other states discovered that the produce they had brought home from the grocery store was accompanied by an uninvited and unwelcome guest-- cyclospora, a harmful parasite that invades the small intestine and causes extreme diarrhea, vomiting, weight loss, and severe muscle aches. Immediately, the federal government's Center for Disease Control (CDC) sprang into action. The agency traced the illness to contaminated Guatemalan raspberries and directed consumers to avoid buying fruit from the Central American nation until the outbreak could be investigated, contained, and eradicated. Americans take this kind of urgent health directive seriously. But millions of shoppers found that their hands were tied against following the CDC's instructions. In 49 states, consumers discovered that grocery stores were not required to post where their fresh fruits and vegetables had been grown. The information required to prevent other Americans from getting sick simply wasn't available.”