Food Bill Issues List

Food Bill & Codex Alimentarius will make fundamental changes to New Zealand’s food supply and food sovereignty. 42,000 kiwis have already signed the petition to oppose it. The primary intention behind Food Bill 160-2 is to enhance international trade rather than improve NZ food safety, and that is based upon a flawed theory that harmonisation of the domestic food regulatory regime with that of our trading partners will result in improved exports. Not only will this harmonisation destroy our ‘clean green’ image, it will lead to a long term reduction in export profitability as NZ forfeits its unique competitive advantage as a producer of clean/safe/natural food, to become ‘just like America and everyone else’. Food Bill also paves the way for multinational food corporations to control NZ’s local food market and allow bulk entry of inferior food products into NZ.

Updated analysis of the Food Bill issues list after the supplementary order paper was released 17/07/13 1.1 Government motive for Food Bill 160-2 is trade rather than food safety
 * Submissions due 16/Aug/2013
 * Remains True

1.2 The Powers of the Food Safety Minister are too wide
 * Remains True

1.3 Food Bill 160-2 is more about trade with North America than it is about domestic food safety
 * True but not just North America - Global Trade

1.4 Seed sharing, and food-plant sharing would become illegal
 * No longer true

1.5 Restrictions on seed sharing will lead to reduced bio-diversity
 * No longer true (see 1.4)

1.6 Food Bill will erode New Zealand Civil Liberties
 * Remains True

1.7 Food Bill will be used to introduce additional Genetically Modified organisms into New Zealand’s domestic food supply
 * Remains True - Still possible under the Minister's broad ranging power  to declare anything to be food for the purpose of the bill

1.8 Domestic food regulations will be subject to International market forces because local regulations must match export regulations
 * Remains True – this is a key issue!

1.9 Compliance Costs for small food producers
 * Still true but to a lesser extent than was previously the case

1.10 Excessive bureaucracy for small food producers
 * Vastly reduced but still arguably excessive

1.11 National Sovereignty and Food Sovereignty will be diminished by the Food Bill
 * Remains True – This is a key issue.  Still possible under the automatic inclusion of acceptable standards by reference. Change of language required so that such content can be accepted (ratified as appropriate to New Zealand conditions) only after formal approval by Parliament.

1.12 Food Safety Officers would be granted rights which contradict basic human rights afforded by NZ Bill of Rights Act
 * Possible but powers of food safety officers now governed by Part 4 of the Search and Surveillance Act 2012 (other than subparts 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8 and sections 118 and 119) applies.

1.13 Food Safety Officers permitted to perform searches without a search warrant (2) An officer’ s power to enter without a search warrant is described in section 275. (1) A food safety officer may enter a place described in subsection (2) without a search warrant and may use any force that is reasonable for the purposes of entry and search. (2) The places are— (a) a place where a food business operates: (b) a place where a person intends to operate a food business: (c) the specific place in a dwellinghouse or marae where a food business operates: (d) the places necessary to get to the specific place in the dwellinghouse or marae where a food business operates: (e) a place, except a dwellinghouse or marae, where the officer reasonably believes documents relating to trading in food will be found: (f) a place, except a dwellinghouse or marae, adjoining or near to a food business where the officer reasonably believes activities are being carried out that adversely affect the food business: (g) a place, except a dwellinghouse or marae, adjoining or near to a food business whose conditions the officer reasonably believes are adversely affecting the food that the food business is trading in: (h) an international port: (i) an authorised place: (j) any other place, except a dwellinghouse or marae, where the officer reasonably believes that— (i) imported food is held; or (ii) food is being traded in; or (iii) a food-related accessory is being traded in.
 * Remains True . Now reads:

1.14 Food Safety Officers may use any force that is reasonable for the purposes of entry and search (1)	A food safety officer may enter a place described in subsection (2) without a search warrant and may use any force that is reasonable for the purposes of entry and search.
 * Remains True . Now reads:

1.15 Food Safety Officers raiding a property can use any equipment they deem necessary •	Probably still true but some restraints are envisioned (1) This section applies to a constable or food safety officer who is authorised by a search warrant to exercise powers at a place. (2) Any exercise of the powers at a marae or a building associated with a marae must take account of the kawa of the marae so far as practicable in the circumstances. (8) Section 110 of the Search and Surveillance Act 2012 applies 295 Carrying out search powers (1) Sections 106, 111 to 114, 115(1)(b) and (3), 116 to 130, 131(1) to (5), and 132 to 135 of the Search and Surveillance Act 2012 apply. (2) However, sections 118 and 119 of that Act apply only to search warrants issued to constables.

1.16 Food safety officers would have immunity from civil and criminal liability
 * Remains True, now reads

322 Protection from civil and criminal liability (1) This section applies to the following persons: (a) the chief executive: (b) an employee or agent of the Ministry: (c) a member, an employee, or an agent of a territorial au thority: (d) a recognised agency: (e) an employee or agent of a recognised agency: (f)    a recognised person employed or engaged by a recog nised agency: (g) an employee or agent of a recognised person: (h) a food safety officer: (i)    a person appointed to carry out a review undersection 325.

1.17 Food safety officers do not need to be NZ State employees 243 Appoint food safety officers (1) The chief executive may appoint a person as a food safety officer for the purposes of this Act, whether or not the person   is employed in the State sector.
 * Remains True

1.18 Food Safety Officer may exclude a particular person from all or part of a place 272 Other powers (3) An officer may exclud ea particular person from all or part of a place.
 * Remains True

1.19 Global Warming may significantly diminish NZ food sovereignty
 * Still true but applies without prejudice to the food bill

1.20 Food Bill would serve as a vehicle for introducing further Codex Alimentarius regulations into New Zealand, possibly by stealth
 * Remains True

1.21 Distributing water would be subject to restrictions and control
 * No longer unless water is declared to be food by minister

1.22 Imprisonment of individuals for up to 5 years for food offenses 192 Offence involving knowingly or recklessly endangering or harming b) for an individual, to— (i)    imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years;  and (ii)  a fine not exceeding $100,000.
 * Remains True

1.23 Fines of up to $100,000 for food offenses
 * Remains True

1.24 Complexity of the Food Bill will create work for lawyers and excessive legal costs for consumers and small domestic food producers
 * Remains True

1.25 Codex Alimentarius standards are commercially biased through lobbying
 * Remains True

1.26 WWOOFing will significantly reduce due to compliance costs
 * Unknown

1.27 Food sickness costs were grossly exaggerated to justify the Food Bill
 * Remains True

Newly identified issues – post July 2013:

1.28 National Sovereignty and Food Sovereignty will be further diminished by the Food Bill

The original Food Bill Issues List from March 2012

Food sickness costs were grossly exaggerated to justify the Food Bill
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Flyer claims
Specific claims we made on our flyer

Other Claims and Issues
The list above is for issues that have clear references and a clear chain-of-logic, whereas the following list is for those claims which have been made (in online blogs etc) but are as yet unsubstantiated.

Current Status of the Bill

 * Submissions are open till 16th Aug 2013
 * No date has yet been set for the Second Reading



Food Manifesto
The growing push toward industrialisation and globalisation of the world’s agriculture and food supply imperils the future of humanity and the natural world. Successful forms of community-based local agriculture have fed much of the world for thousands of years, while conserving ecological integrity. This continues to be so in many parts of the world. However, such systems are being rapidly replaced by corporate controlled, technology-based, mono-cultural export oriented systems. These systems of absentee-ownership are negatively impacting public health, food quality and nourishment, traditional livelihoods (both agricultural and artisan) of indigenous and local cultures, while accelerating indebtedness among farmers, and their separation from lands that have traditionally fed communities. The intent of Food Bill 160-2 is to facilitate the transfer of our family-farm agricultural eco-systems into a structure controlled by multinational corporate interests mediated by a set of regulations known as "Codex Alimentaris" This transition is already increasing hunger, land-lessness, homelessness, despair and suicides among farmers. Meanwhile, it degrades the planet’s life support systems, and ensures increasing planet-wide alienation of peoples from nature. This will fracture the historic, cultural and natural connection of farmers and all other people to sustenance derived from clean food. Finally, it continues to destroy the economic and cultural foundations of societies, as security and peace are undermined creating social disintegration. The end result will be that our largely independent clean and green agricultural system will be forced through the mesh of a global-control mechanism governed by the restrictions and liberal pseudo-standards imposed by the World Trade Organization. As a direct result of this our currently perceived trading-edge will become eroded as we sink into the morass of corporate economic necessity supplying pap to an ever growing global population.

Further insight into the nature of this looming threat to our national security is presented in this document Manifesto on the Future of Food.

Contact Details
Email: buzzybee [at] foodbill [dot] org [dot] nz.