Parshat Vayigash

On November 30, 2010, the US Senate passed the Food Safety Bill. Much information, true and false, has been published and disseminated about this bill. Some have claimed it to be the most important bill the Senate has passed in recent memory while others call it the most dangerous bill. Perhaps what is truly remarkable is that there was complete bi-partisan support in Congress for this bill, and there also appears to be bi-partisan fear or disappointment with the bill. If nothing else, this should remind us that the topic of agricultural production and the integrity of our food is now, after many years on the fringes, a mainstream issue.

One concern with the Food Safety Bill has to do with the power of the government to regulate seed production. Many critics of the bill have claimed that this legislation could further strengthen corporations such as Monsanto who genetically engineer and copyright sterilized seed, thereby forcing farmers to be reliant on their stock of seeds year in and year out.

It is very interesting that this week’s Torah portion, parashat Va’yigash, reminds us of the importance of food security and protecting our food sources.

It is written: “So Joseph bought of all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for every Egyptian sold his field because the famine was too much for them; thus the land passed over to Pharaoh...Then Joseph said to the people, ‘Behold I have, this day, bought you and your land for Pharaoh, here is seed for you to sow the land. And when harvest comes, you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh, and four-fifths shall be yours as seed for the fields and as food for you and those in your households, and as nourishment for your children.’" (Genesis 47:20-24)

In the name of the Pharaoh, Joseph enacted a food system by which the people were reliant on the government for their seed, thereby losing their freedom and choice in what to grow and where. Today, by political legislation and marketplace economics, the American public is also losing our freedom and choice in what we grow, what we can purchase and what we eat.

Surely the Food Safety Bill has positive aspects for our health and safety, and the full ramifications of the bill are yet to be seen. But let us be reminded that by supporting CSAs and organic agriculture we perform two important acts: 1) we make the statement that local, organic produce is demanded in the marketplace, and 2) that by supporting local farmers we assure our food security by have direct control over our seed supply. May we soon see the day when ‘food safety’ and ‘food security’ go hand-in-hand, rather than be in political opposition to each other.