California Department of Food and Agriculture

This article is about the California Department of Food and Agriculture. For the Community Development Finance Association, see Community Development Finance Association
Community Development Finance Association
The Community Development Finance Association is the trade association for Community Development Finance Institutions in the UK. CDFIs provide credit and financial services to markets that are underserved by the high street banking sector...

.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), is a cabinet

Cabinet (government)

A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...

-level agency in the government of California

Government of California

The government of California operates in the context of a democratic republic with three branches of government: the executive branch consisting of the Governor of California and the other elected constitutional officers; the legislative branch consisting of the California State Legislature which...

. Established in 1919 by the California State Legislature

California State Legislature

The California State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of California. It is a bicameral body consisting of the lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members, and the upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members...

and signed into law by Governor William Stephens

William Stephens

William Dennison Stephens was an American federal and state politician. A three-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1911 to 1916, Stephens was also the 24th Governor of California from 1917 to 1923....

, the Department of Food and Agriculture is responsible for ensuring the state's food safety, the protection of the state's agriculture from invasive species

Invasive species

"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....

, and promoting the California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

agricultural industry.

The Department of Food and Agriculture maintains district and field offices in 32 counties across the state, and two extraterritorial offices in Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

and Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

.

The current Secretary of Agriculture is Karen Ross

Karen Ross

Karen Ross, is the Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture. She was appointed to this position on January 12, 2011. She had previously served as Chief of Staff to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, a position she accepted in 2009. From 1996 to 2009, she was...

, and is a member of Governor Jerry Brown's

Jerry Brown

Edmund Gerald "Jerry" Brown, Jr. is an American politician. Brown served as the 34th Governor of California , and is currently serving as the 39th California Governor...

cabinet.

Divisions

The Department of Food and Agriculture is internally divided into seven administration divisions, carrying out state food safety and regulation policy:

The Animal Health and Food Safety Services (AHFSS) provides services to protect California's poultry and livestock, to ensure safety of food from animal origin, to protect public health, and to protect livestock owners against losses due to theft and of animals or straying.

The Division of Fairs & Expositions (F&E) provides fiscal and policy oversight of the network of California's 78 fairs and manages the use of available funding and other services.

The Inspection Services Division (IS) states their mission is to "provide professional services that support and contribute to a safe, abundant, quality food supply; environmentally sound agricultural practices; and an equitable marketplace for California agriculture," and states:

We fulfill this mission by providing the following services: Inspect fruits, vegetables and nuts to ensure maturity, grade, size, weight, packaging and labeling meet the consumers' quality expectations. Conduct chemical analysis in support of food and environmental safety. Perform verification audits to ensure good handling and agricultural practices are utilized to contribute to a safe food supply. Ensure fertilizer, animal feed, and livestock drugs are safe and effective, and meet the quality and quantity guaranteed by the manufacturer. This helps prevent toxins and contaminants from entering the food chain. Monitor the market place to provide California consumers with eggs that are wholesome, properly labeled, refrigerated, and of established quality while maintaining fair and equitable marketing standards in the California egg industry.

IS's California Organic Program is responsible for enforcing the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 and the California Organic Products Act of 2003; however, the California Department of Public Health

California Department of Public Health

The California Department of Public Health is the state department responsible for public health in California. It is a subdivision of the California Health and Human Services Agency...

enforces laws relating to products marketed as "organic

Organic product

An organic product is made from organic raw materials. It also requires Organic certification.-Food:*Fruit and vegetables*Meat, dairy, eggs*Nuts and seeds*Flour and Grains*Herbs- Processed foods :*Organic juice*Canned goods*Frozen vegetables...

". The California Organic Program is fully funded by industry registration fees.

The Division of Marketing Services (MKT) conducts research and information gathering, disburses marketing and economic information, assurs producers are paid for their products, assists the dairy industry in maintaining stable marketing conditions, and provides mediation to resolve problems amongst producers and handlers.

The Division of Measurement Standards (DMS) works with county sealers of weights and measures to verify the quantity of packaged and bulk commodities, to ensure the accuracy of commercial measuring and weighing devices, and to enforce the quality, labeling, and advertising standards for most petroleum

Petroleum

Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...

products.

The Division of Plant Health and Pest Prevention Services (PHPPS) conducts pest prevention and management programs that effectively protects California’s horticulture, agriculture, natural resources, and urban environments from invasive or dangerous plant pests.

Goals

The Department of Food and Agriculture's stated mission is "to help the Governor and Legislature ensure delivery of safe food and fiber through responsible environmental stewardship in a fair marketplace for all Californians." CDFA explains their goals are to "Ensure that only safe and quality food reaches the consumer. Protect against invasion of exotic pests and diseases. Promote California agriculture and food products both at home and abroad. Ensure an equitable and orderly marketplace for California's agricultural products. Build coalitions supporting the state's agricultural infrastructure to meet evolving industry needs."

Controversy

In late 2007 and early 2008, the CDFA became the center of a controversial eradication program

Light brown apple moth controversy

The Light brown apple moth is a leafroller moth belonging to the lepidopteran family Tortricidae. The insect is regarded as an herbivorous generalist, and the larvae consume numerous horticultural crops in Australia and New Zealand...

for the light brown apple moth involving aerial spraying of the pesticide Checkmate. After an initial spraying in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties, hundreds of reports of adverse health effects and plans to expand the spraying into the Bay Area resulted in negative media attention, several state legislative responses to close the loophole that allowed the spraying without an environmental impact report, rejection of the plan by numerous city and county councils, and an investigative report by the Associated Press

Associated Press

The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...

that led to the suspension of a nearly $500,000 public relations campaign undertaken by the CDFA to "counter the concerns raised by local environmentalists and residents, who complained of breathing problems and other ill health effects after the spraying." In March 2008, the Mayor of Albany California, Robert Lieber, called for the resignation of CDFA Secretary Kawamura.
On May 12, 2008 in response to a lawsuit brought on September 24, 2007 by Helping Our Peninsula's Environment a Monterey County Judge ordered a halt to the aerial spraying program until an Environmental Impact report is completed. This decision followed a similar decision by a Santa Cruz County Judge on April 24, 2008. It is not clear if either decision halts aerial spraying outside the counties where the decisions were made.

External links

California Department of Food and Agriculture official website

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Divisions

Goals

Controversy

See also

External links