I would highly encourage each of you to get a copy of this book to read. Check your library and encourage them to get a copy, or find someone to borrow it from. I just received article about another small family farm that is being harrassed for selling raw milk. Think of all the recalls recently by the beef industry, the salad industry and other foods for e-coli break outs with some that even resulted in deaths. Peanuts are a known problem for many people and can cause severe reactions as well as death in some people. Yet, the different companies just have to let you know on their product that there is a chance that peanuts or their residue can be in the product. This is a "Buyer Beware" warning. That is good. It gives people who want to buy it the ability to buy it, and the people that have problems with it to not buy it. Cigarettes are known to cause cancer and death in people, yet again, they are still sold with a buyer beware label. Why then is raw milk such an issue? Why can't it be labeled as raw and sold? The bottom line is money and power. The dairy industry has a huge lobby as does the cigarette industry. He who has the money makes the rules.
In the book above Joel Salatin talks about all the different times the government has hassled him about what he does. He explains what happens and how they dealt with it. You will clearly see that the rules made about our food and how it is processed or handled is not about food safety. We need to be informed of what is going on in order to bring about changes. Take charge of what you eat and where it came from. Please, please read this book!!!!
3 comments:
I've not read this book yet, but I'm sure it comes down to money and power...as usual. We're been buying raw milk for a few years now from two different local farms with nary a problem. Some stores in NH actually carry it, if you can believe that, so we've never had to go "underground" with our purchases. Thanks be to God for that, but I fear that our liberties are at stake here as well. It's only a matter of time.
We're free to sell it around here as long as we don't advertise and people have to come get it at our farm with their own jugs. Still, it would be nice to have it not labled as a "Dangerous food"! I went to the hospital one time really, really sick and the doctor figured it must be because we drink raw milk - he was wrong and I couldn't believe they assumed that was the problem when they found out we were dairy farmers. But they have put fear in us that someone, sometime will get sick because of the milk so we are very careful who we sell to. I'll try to get my hand on the book. Enjoy your blog so much and the nice photos you always post.
We've read the book as a family read-a-loud ... it was a memorable read! We still joke about selling the dog with its supply of "food" as a way to market meat (and the customers just let the dog out and the end of the drive - he runs back home of course, so you can "sell" him again along with his supply of food ... and again, and again.) LOL! Too funny! Sadly, also too true!
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