A42-Lancaater Farming, Saturday, November 4, 2000
Pennsylvania Grangers Set
Policies At State Convention
CARLISLE (Cumberland
Co.) About 325 Pennsylvania
State Grange members set new
policy on important issues, in
cluding prescription and generic
drug programs, Food Handler
Certification, the importation of
dairy cattle from foreign coun
tries, anti-trust and dairy price
support programs during the
128th annual convention here.
“As a grass-roots organiza
tion, the policies determined
here will influence our legisla
tive efforts on Capitol Hill as we
work on legislation that will
affect agriculture and rural
Pennsylvania,” Brenda Sham
baugh, legislative director, said.
“These issues are of greatest
concern to our membership, and
the Pennsylvania State
Grange will see that
these policies are ad
dressed at the state
and federal level.”
Summaries of the
key issues approved by
the delegates include:
• Prescription drug
programs. The Penn
sylvania State Grange
supports the recently
passed Act 68, which
deals with HMOs. Im
portant components of
the Act, as adopted by
the Grange, include
the requirement that a
HMO must provide
the prescriptions
deemed “medically
necessary” by the
doctor and the right of
the doctor to order
continued hospitaliza
tion without retribu
tion by the hospital or
provider.
“Provisions have
also been put in place
for formally address
ing medical care
and/or coverage con
cerns for self or a
family member in a
prompt, expeditious
manner,” Shambaugh
said. “Many rural
Pennsylvanians
depend on HMOs for
their medical cover
age, but in recent
months, have been
dropped by their car
rier. We encourage all
Pennsylvanians to
become familiar with
insurance law and
programs.”
• Food handler cer
tification. With legis
lation set to take effect
July 2001 requiring all
nonprofit organiza
tions selling food to
the public to have
someone certified in
proper food handling
techniques, the
Grange passed a reso
lution that seeks to
exempt nonprofit
groups from paying
the cost of training
volunteers. “Food
safety is an issue of
paramount impor
tance to our mem
bers,’’ Shambaugh
said. “But groups like
the Grange, which
provide many hours of
community service to
the public, shouldn’t
have the added finan
cial burden required
by the law to require
food handling certifi-
cation. We believe the training
program should be provided free
to nonprofits so they can con
tinue to provide the type of ser
vice they offer to communities
across the commonwealth.”
• Importation of dairy cattle
from foreign countries. The
Pennsylvania State Grange is
gravely concerned about the im
portation of cattle from Uru
guay and the effect it may have
on domestic herds in Pennsylva
nia.
“It is our concern that all im
ported livestock, such as the one
proposed from Uruguay, may
not meet the USDA and Penn
sylvania health standards,”
Shambaugh said. “We believe
the Pennsylvania Animal Health
WHITEW
ADVANTAG
Commission and the Pennsylva
nia Secretary of Agriculture
should be involved so farmers
can be assured that these cattle
are certified to meet USD A and
the Pennsylvania Department of
Agriculture health regulations
before they are imported.”
• Anti-trust. Another issue of
utmost importance to the mem
bership is anti-trust since farm
ers have not had the right to
bring anti-trust activities against
retailers since 1977. Some 23
years later, four meat packers in
the U.S. control 81 percent of
beef slaughter, 73 percent of
sheep, and 57 percent of pork
processing, while four major
processors control nearly two
thirds of flour milling. More
over, dairy mergers are
occurring like wildfire and dair
ies and other well-known brands
are now owned by foreign
owned firms.
“In the interest of protecting
consumer and farmer interests
from the concentration of power
that has taken place in the food
industry,” Shambaugh said,
“The Pennsylvania State
Grange adopted policy requiring
the State and National Granges
to work for the repeal of the
—I MJY. aU.THADt OB MHT THROUGH THt I—^^
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court decision that took the anti
trust option away from farm-
ers.”
• Dairy price support pro
gram. With farm prices at
record lows and milk prices at
20-year lows, the Grange modi
fied its policy concerning the
dairy price support program
which is set to expire on Dec. 31,
2000, Shambaugh said.
“We modified our policy to
reflect that of the National
Grange,” Shambaugh said. “We
now support the National
Grange’s position that seeks a
permanent extension of the
dairy price support program.”