This is why we don't trade outside of our personally known group!!!

[elmo]

Quote:
True, but I don't see that this changes my point in any way.

 

[sparkles2307]

It just kills me that DH trusts the government so much! I brought this topic up to him on the way to work this AM and he immediately berated me for "following along with that crap" I asked him how he can blindly follow along with the government's crap! He said that the raid conducted sounded like they had valid reason, and that I need to stop believing all the conspiracy theories... which kills me because he is a small time farmer, he trades goods with our neighbors all the time, he loves the fact that our garden and animals are 99% organic (if there is such a thing as "mostly" organic) so why oh why does he think that the main goal of the government and big food is to take care of us!?!

 

[jodief100]

I don’t think anyone here, myself (a diehard libertarian) included has any issues with common sense laws that protect the food supply and the producer. The issue is with restrictive, knee-jerk reactionary laws that do little or nothing to protect the food supply and impose a hardship on all of us. The “downer” animal law I cited earlier is one.

There are also limits on what we as producers and citizens should be required to sacrifice in the name of “security”. I should not have to waive my rights and allow government officials to inspect my property any time for whatever reason they wish just because I have chickens. I understand if my birds get sick everyone’s could be at risk but what is that security worth? Require me to report any disease outbreaks or a mystery death, that’s fine. Require me to waive my constitutionally protected rights? No Way! If your kids get sick they could potentially infect every kid at school so should we require everyone with children to allow government officials in their home to check their children’s health? That may sound farfetched, but once you yield one step where does it stop? Governments in the Middle East slaughtered pigs by the thousands last summer because of Swine Flu with no compensation to the owners. Is that what we want our government to do?

The Constitution does not spell out what the government can do, it very deliberately says what the government CANNOT do. Your rights are not given to you by the Constitution. The Constitution says the government cannot take your rights away.

Life has risks. Life is not fair and anyone who told you differently is selling something or running for office.

They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety- Benjamin Franklin

 

[Buster52]

All this really isn't about parties. No matter who is in there, there are going to be regulations, and they are going to protect the big guys because they are the ones who write the laws with their big lobby checks.

Best we can do is approach our individual representatives and educate them. When you realize that the federal exemption for poultry processing is 20,000 birds, and very few states allow up to that exemption, then you know it is more than the federal government. Even a anti-regulation state like Oklahoma only allows 1,000 annually.

But then guess who has chicken houses all over the eastern side of the state? Tyson.

Miracle we can sell any home grown birds at all.

More people are becoming aware, and more people are demanding the right to make their own food choices. Through that, we may never get things exactly where they need to be, but at least we can move them a bit.

Don't just complain on here. Contact the people who represent you so that the Cargils and the Tysons aren't the only ones they are hearing from.

The USDA has a program called Know Your Food, Know Your Farmer. It is all about the small to medium size producer hooking up with consumers. I just went to an all day workshop put on by them, and it was excellent. This program came about because of people demanding more local food options. They do listen if they hear from enough people.

Don't just vote, either. That isn't enough. Get organized and get involved.

 

[uhuh555]

The problem with the NPIP testing here in Michigan is that it all depends on the honesty of the tester. If the Tester is the owner of the flock will they report positive (Bad)results?? Some will--some won’t. Many join in on NPIP testing to use it as a selling gimmick to increase profits. I for one believe that certification should be done by highly trained individuals with no connection to the flock being certified.

 

[Bossroo]

Change that we can believe in ... careful what you ask for, you just may get it !

 

[Rafter 7 Paint Horses]

Quote:
I agree!!!

There are some packing plants that won't even let the truck and trailer pull onto the property if they have an animal down in the trailer...no exceptions!!
They have to go to a different facility and unload & get the downed animal off the trailer, load everything back up and then go to the packing plant, hopefully no one pulls out in front of the truck hauling the animals, so the driver has to swerve or hit the brakes and another animal gets knocked down and can't get up because the trailer is moving and it is getting stepped on or over by the other ones.



NAIS is mandatory in WI, but it is not in full force, either. If it was, then every animal would have to be micro-chipped and the owners would have to have the electronic equipment to scan the chips, report within 24 hours every movement of every animal. They would be inspected.
We did lots of calling and talking to our representatives on this subject, as did lots of other people. That was the only way to get it thrown to the back burner. Believe me, it is not dead...it is still a law, I believe they are just trying to figure out how to implement it without us seeing it coming. It will be under a new name and it will sound like it will help us. Of course we won't know about it until it is in effect. Then we will have to fight all over again.

Jean

 

[nonseq]

Quote:
Soylent green is people!

I was gonna say that!

 

[Buster52]

Quote:
I would say a USDA that works toward more food choices and works harder to connect farmers and consumers is a change in a positive direction.

 

[cracked_egg]

Honestly, please don't throw eggs, and I only read a few pages.... But I want to know that the people I'm buying from have either a cottage license or commercial kitchen (when buying food).... While it is all fine and dandy to say "God made dirt and dirt don't hurt" I don't want to eat other people's dirt!... While the average home baker can have pets, if you have a cottage license (in my state) you can not have a pet in the house. They do not allow you to sell anything that must be refrigerated... To me this is worth it (an honest commercial kitchen can sell foods that need chilled, but they have to prove they're keeping them at the correct temps)

Bottom line, for me, is that I don't know what your home environment is when I meet you for two seconds at a farmers market (and I don't buy anything baked for that very reason)... You could look perfectly normal yet have mold growing in pots and pans at home, thirty cats and may or may not wash your hands before cooking... No thanks.

I decorate cakes, and feel the same way. Yes it restricts me, and I do a gorgeous job, people tell me I should go into biz, but the cost of it keeps me from doing it... So while the laws cramp my style, I'm still grateful for them....