Thread: Tips from the 'Food, Inc.' activist on S510 Food Safety Bill

Tips from the 'Food, Inc.' activist

Kowalcyk has waited nine years for the Senate to pass a food safety bill.

By Ambreen Ali

The food safety bill being debated in Congress has ignited passions on both sides, but for Barbara Kowalcyk, it's personal.

You may remember Kowalcyk as the mom-turn-activist in "Food, Inc.," a documentary on the food industry. Shortly after her son Kevin died of a food-borne illness, the Midwesterner flew to D.C. to lobby for stronger food safety laws.

Kowalcyk's years-long quest to access government data and find out why her son got sick tranformed her career. She has since co-founded an advocacy group, advised federal regulators, contributed to scientific reports, and traveled the world to study food safety models.

"I never went up to the Hill or did any of these things before my son got sick," she told Congress.org. "Certainly his illness opened my eyes."

In less than a decade, Kowalcyk has seen food safety transform from a fringe concern to the topic of key legislation (S. 510) near passage.

The activist shares five lessons she learned along the way:

1. Activism takes many forms. Because Kowalcyk had a background in public health and statistics, she approached the food safety debate with a scientific eye.

"There are lot of different ways that you can influence change through advocacy, and, as a scientist, I like to bring science into my advocacy work," she said.

Kowalcyk quickly realized that there was a gap between research and policy that she could help bridge. She and her mother started the Center for Foodborne Illness Research and Prevention to provide data that could guide public policy.

Earlier this year, Kowalcyk helped write a National Academy of Sciences report on the Food and Drug Administration that informed much of the food safety bill.

"It's not the end all be all, but it's a good step in the right direction," she said.

2. Identify what's missing. Not every activism fight takes place on Capitol Hill. Sometimes the battle is mainly over raising awareness.

"Quite frankly, we all eat. It's not a partisan issue," Kowalcyk said. The challenge with food safety a decade ago was that few people were aware there was a problem. Many of the laws dealing with the issue dated back to 1906.

Kowalcyk set about in changing that by lecturing on the issue, meeting with lawmakers to share her personal story, and appearing in "Food, Inc."

"[The film] did a very good job of getting the discussion going," she said.

3. Back emotions with reason. The loss of her son has clearly made Kowalcyk a passionate champion for this cause. But she credited her objectivity for opening doors at leading think tanks and regulatory agencies.

"I try very hard to stick to the facts and present my views in a thoughtful and reasoned manner. That's why I think I have been effective," she said.

Kowalcyk admits that wasn't always easy to do.

"At the time that my son died, I was probably more angry, more quick to express my views," she said. "If I present my views in a thoughtful, reasonable manner, people will accept the ideas and listen."

4. Embrace compromise. The food safety bill passed by the Senate this week enjoyed support from large agriculture companies, business lobbyists, food safety advocates, and grassroots groups.

That sort of buy-in doesn't come without concessions, and Kowalcyk said she believes that is exactly how it should be.

"Compromise is a necessary part of any democracy," she said. "The best solutions overall do come out of the middle."

Kowalcyk is not happy with every aspect of the bill, but she is excited that the legislation would give the F.D.A. mandatory recall authority. Up until now, companies have voluntarily recalled products when there is a problem.

5. Persist and be patient. It's a frustrating reality for Kowalcyk that, in the time since her son's death, the laws have not changed enough to ensure that another family will not suffer in the way hers did.

"I've been working on this for nine years, and we still haven't seen significant reform despite the number of recalls and the number of problems that we have," she said.

But that has only made her more determined, not less so.

"To me it is frustrating that the ball has moved so slowly. That said, I'm happy that it is moving," she said. "I fully expect to spend the rest of my career working on food safety."

To stay motivated, Kowalcyk said she turns almost daily to the Margaret Mead quote that inspired her to begin this activism journey: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committee citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

Ambreen Ali writes for Congress.org.

http://www.congress.org/news/2010/12/06 ... c_activist

We have been lead to believe that the Food Safety Bill S-510 was some plot by Obama

and now we find out that average citizens have been pushing this bill for over 9 years.