Blog 3

Dear FDA,

   There is a problem occurring that has become an issue, which is the distribution of food around the world. Specially, the food being distributed around the world is unfair and unequal, as well as being unhealthy. Furthermore, the food being distributed around the world that is meant to feed the people are difficult to obtain due to high prices. Also, the food being imported from other countries can potentially be dangerous towards the public health due to lack of supervision or care into the foods condition and overall quality. Our food system is unjust because it does not provide healthy, affordable food to everyone. People in urban areas often have no access to any fresh food at all because there are no grocery stores. Likewise, rural residents in the heart of agricultural areas sometimes cannot afford to buy the very food they may help to harvest. According to a survey of farm workers in Fresno, county – conducted by The California Institute of Rural Studies – in 2007, 45 percent faced food insecurity. Also, children who are hungry at home are more likely to depend on school lunch programs for most of their nourishment. Also, the FDA is not authorized under the law to approve, certify, license, or otherwise sanction individual food importers, products, labels, or shipments. Importers can import foods into the United States without prior sanction by FDA, as long as the facilities that produce, store, or otherwise handle the products are registered with FDA, and prior notice of incoming shipments is provided to FDA.According to international and national NGO representatives, the government continues to hamper their access to the resettled areas. As a result, vulnerable persons, including former farm workers, are largely excluded from food aid provided by the international food program. Sources in the agricultural industry reported that the government restricts general distributions of international food in the resettled areas on the basis that such distributions would show that the land reform program has been a failure GMB distributions in the resettled areas have also been inadequate The government reportedly perceives farm workers as supporters of the Movement of Democratic Change (MDC). It also asserts that farm workers who receive food aid become food aid dependent and are unwilling to work. Sources familiar with the farm workers’ situation have found, however, that food aid enables farm workers to work their own plots of land rendering them more self-sufficient and financially better off. Without food aid, farm workers are often compelled to work for less than minimum wage as casual farm laborers in order to buy food.