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Hope them tyrants stay away from my neck of the woods since I do a good bit of buying and trading at farmers markets/auctions. At times we have too many eggs and it is nice to take them to the auction/market to unload. That is what is so nice about it you can take what ever you have in surplus and exchange for crop/eggs that you have shortage. Ah, the real free market and maybe that is what they are attacking them dam Amish/small farmers do not have lobbyist seeking advantage.
Be careful. USDA inspectors are showing up at farmer markets with their thermometers to make sure eggs are kept at 40 degrees.
We now have only one guy selling eggs at a local farmer's market and that's because he rigged up his pickup bed with a gennie and a small fridge.
I didn't read about that part. Then yes, he is breaking the law by selling to out of state "cow owners".
They're not cow-owners. They were originally clients, and he was fined once for it and told to stop. He tried to circumvent the law by making them share-holders, and the judge called him out on it. Hence the potential prison time.
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Originally Posted by HappyTexan
Are there any recent statistics on illnesses or deaths from the sale of raw milk by small dairy farmers ?
FDA cites 800 illnesses since 1997. Katiana apparently has more.
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With the increased crackdown and sting operations you would have to think there is a "health" reason and not political or financial.
It's against the law and there is a health reason associated--but this particular farmer was already cited, fined, and warned. He continue to do so anyway.
They're not cow-owners. They were originally clients, and he was fined once for it and told to stop. He tried to circumvent the law by making them share-holders, and the judge called him out on it. Hence the potential prison time.
FDA cites 800 illnesses since 1997. Katiana apparently has more.
It's against the law and there is a health reason associated--but this particular farmer was already cited, fined, and warned. He continue to do so anyway.
So 800 over 15 years.
We have more illnesses reported in one year from BigAg food taint and mass recalls now in the hundreds of tons of food.
I find myself between a rock and a hard place here. I am all for the "little guy" and even have a little "live off the grid" mentality myself (although we don't remotely do that in our home). I'm not interested in defending the FDA particularly. I do, however, have concerns about food safety. I've spent a career in health care, much of it in public health. People think it won't happen to them if they drink unpastuerized milk, eat eggs that have been left out of the proper temp for too long, etc, but it does happen!
My local farmer's market is a summer activity, and booths are out in the direct sun. Those eggs can get pretty hot and spoiled quickly. I remember back when I was working for a health dept, we had a company picnic and a whole bunch of people got food poisoning from something someone had brought! You can guess what the next inservice was-food safety!
I quite agree with that seeing that BigAg has CAFO operations and those chickens never see the light of day and are laying eggs in their own poop.
The risk of illness is much higher from CAFO food if you have seen the conditions under which they live.
But those are not the conditions for small farms.
I gather my eggs every day, clean the shells and refrigerate them. The chickens lay in nest boxes, not where they sleep and poop like CAFO's where they live in a small cage.
I USED TO put them in a cooler with ice packs and sell the surplus at Farmer Markets.
Within 2-3 hours they were all sold.
When the USDA inspector showed up several of us had to stop selling. I shrugged and figured it was the consumer's loss, not mine.
I now just sell direct to friends and family.
I just don't understand how people think it's safer to eat food from these CAFO's and mega-farms.
Below is one farm with 7 million chickens. You think they tend to their chickens properly and take care of them the way a small farmer would ?
Have you ever seen a battery hen ?
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/...n6792736.shtml
The recall has put the spotlight on egg production, especially large-scale factory-like facilities like Wright County Egg, where the outbreak allegedly began. The huge plant houses 7 million chickens producing 5.5 million eggs a day. Researchers say even with tougher new FDA regulations, government oversight is too weak with too few regulators to monitor today's mega-facilities, reports CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker.
Last edited by HappyTexan; 02-25-2012 at 12:16 PM..
I quite agree with that seeing that BigAg has CAFO operations and those chickens never see the light of day and are laying eggs in their own poop.
The risk of illness is much higher from CAFO food if you have seen the conditions under which they live.
But those are not the conditions for small farms.
You still can't avoid some contamination. Routine safety precautions are not the "gestapo state".
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