It's a refreshing change to have a U.S. senator who has a first-hand understanding of North Country agriculture and makes it a priority to protect it.
While New York state has had its share of high-profile senators of great national stature, including Hillary Clinton and Daniel Patrick Moynihan, few have focused on the plight of North Country dairy farmers with the energy of current Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, herself an upstate native with a perspective on the region's rural economy.
Before being sworn in as senator in January 2009, she served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives representing New York's 20th Congressional District, which spans 10 counties here in upstate New York. This has given her far more insight into local agricultural problems than any legislator from a downstate urban area could have.
As the first New York senator to sit on the Agriculture Committee in nearly 40 years, Gillibrand has been working hard as dairy farmers have struggled with record-low milk prices and the devastating effects of the current economic crisis.
Most recently, Gillibrand has been pushing legislation to help New York dairy farmers and protect consumers by requiring country-of-origin labeling (knicknamed COOL) on all dairy products.
Just last month, the Chinese government recalled 170 tons of milk powder that had been tainted with the chemical melamine, a substance that in early 2007 caused hundreds of pet deaths here in the U.S. when it was found in pet food imported from that country.
And, in 2008 in China itself, milk tainted with melamine killed at least six infants and sickened more than 300,000.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, during the past five years U.S. dairy imports averaged around $2.7 billion annually. Gillibrand says she believes that if the United States cedes production of food to the lowest-cost producer, it leads more and more to consolidation and outsourcing to other countries.
She also maintains it's a national-security imperative that food production occur in every section of the U.S. market. It's hard to argue when she says that all consumers have the right to know whether the milk, yogurt and cheese that they buy are made in upstate New York or China.
Every year, an estimated 87 million Americans are sickened by contaminated food, 371,000 are hospitalized with food-borne illness and 5,700 die from food-related disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In addition, a total of 15 percent of America's overall food supply is imported from overseas, including $5.2 billion worth of food from China alone. This is cause for alarm.
Last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's COOL law went into effect requiring country-of-origin labeling for nuts, fruits, vegetables, meats and seafood. The Dairy COOL Act supported by Gillibrand would extend COOL requirements to include dairy products including milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream and butter.
Our newest senator should be supported in her efforts on this important issue and recognized for her focus on the problems of North Country agriculture.
Opinion
March 10, 2010
EDITORIAL: Senator focuses on farm issues
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In My Opinion: Behind the city lockbox program
