WHEREAS, Rapid conversion of California’s farm and ranch lands for nonfarm use has contributed to the state’s increased dependence upon imported food; and

WHEREAS, According to the National Agricultural Statistical Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, 3.7 million acres of farm land (more than 10 percent of total farm land) was lost between 1990 and 2003; and

WHEREAS, Increased dependence upon imported foods has created increased vulnerability to exotic pests and diseases, evidenced by 63,527 shipments of prohibited commodities intercepted and destroyed or shipped back out-of-state in 2002; and

WHEREAS, According to the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s (hereafter CDFA) January 2004 report Protecting California from Biological Pollution, interception of quarantined pests at point-of-entry is the state’s primary defense against the introduction and spread of biological pollution; and

WHEREAS, Every dollar spent on early intervention against exotic and invasive species, on average prevents seventeen dollars ($17) in later expenses, as seen by the following:

(a) CDFA Plant Health Pest Prevention Services spent two hundred fifty-eight million dollars ($258,000,000) to eradicate Mediterranean fruit fly infestations between 1980 and 1996. Just four million four hundred thousand dollars ($4,400,000) has been spent since the Medfly Exclusion Program was launched in 1996.

(b) CDFA Animal Health & Food Safety Services in 2002 reported that Exotic Newcastle Disease, the most fatal viral disease known to birds, required more than 3.4 million birds to be destroyed at a cost of more than three million six hundred thousand dollars ($3,600,000) to California and one hundred sixty-six million four hundred thousand dollars ($166,400,000) to the federal government.

WHEREAS, Pest and disease prevention and exclusion is critical to all states of this nation and to our populations, in order to protect the health and welfare of the public and the jobs within agriculture and its related industries; and

WHEREAS, The California Legislature recognizes the importance of the partnership between federal and state governments to protect California’s food and fiber from exotic pests and diseases, and the importance of promoting the role local agriculture has in supporting the daily living needs of all Californians and United States citizens; and

WHEREAS, The Legislature recognizes the farm worker’s importance to agriculture production and the dependence of rural economies on agriculture; and

WHEREAS, The California Legislature recognizes the role the United States Congress played in delivering the 64 million dollar grant from the United States Department of Agriculture in 2001, which was the basis for the Buy California Initiative promoting California Grown products; and

WHEREAS, The California Legislature recognizes the value of federal funds available to support important programming including the Western Institute for Food Safety managed by the University of California at Davis; the 5 A Day For Better Health Nutrition Education Campaign managed by the state Department of Health Services; and the Linking Education, Activity and Food (LEAF) Program managed by the state Department of Education; and

WHEREAS, The California Legislature believes that there is a need, but no state funding, to expand programs that integrate food nutrition and schools, including, but not limited to, local fresh fruits and vegetables in school lunch programs, and educating school officials about on the seasons of state grown specialty crops; and

WHEREAS, The United States Congress currently is considering HR 3242, the Specialty Crop Competitiveness Act of 2003; and

WHEREAS, HR 3242 would continue the essential federal funding that started in 2001 that helped to support California’s increasingly challenged food and fiber production infrastructure with the tools necessary to support food and fiber security, nutrition, and education; now, therefore, be it