Does anyone process and sell from the farm without getting harrassed by the government?

[PotterWatch]

A few years ago the British Columbia, Canada government passed some draconian laws which severely restricted small scale processing. This was likely due to influence from large scale, commercial processors since there is very little history here of problems with farm-gate sales. Note – these same processors refuse to do my birds unless I have a minimum of 1000. Because of this legislation, mobile processors virtually disappeared from the Province and the few remaining don’t return calls or e-mails because they’re so busy. The red tape I would be subject to in order to have the birds professionally processed on my property is mind boggling, so I built my own station and learned how to do it myself. (I do have a FoodSafe certificate)

While I believe the Government in general has good intentions and is trying to protect people, going overboard has a tendency to backfire. I firmly believe in inspected facilities, but the Inspectors will never be allowed on my property because I’m afraid their true mandate is to shut me down in favor of Big Business. This isn’t a problem this year because my excess cockerels are in my own freezer for my immediate family.

The solution for me totally defeats the tenor of the legislation. For my upcoming batch of chicks I will form a loose co-op and pre-sell the finished birds. Acquaintances are made word-of-mouth and we would all be owners. The bill of sale will include a mythical fee for me to raise the chickens for them. If all of us are somehow involved in the processing then it all seems above board, so when the other owners show up at my gate they will be required to help me bag their carcasses. The unfortunate part is they will have to trust my sanitary practices without any outside inspection. Kind of like how my Grandfather used to process animals for his neighbors. He must have been safe – he did it for decades.

I think that often, when talking about agricultural issues, the government passes laws to protect the large companies and make the lobby groups happy, not to protect the populace. Large producers don't want people to grow their own food or buy from small growers, so they get laws passed that restrict the ability of the small farmer to make a living, thereby either putting the small farmer out of business entirely, or absorbing them as a contract farm for the large corporation. Why else are we allowed to poison our bodies with all manner of things such as cigarettes, alcohol, and horrifically harmful foods; but raw milk is considered too risky?