goddessfarmer: (Default)
goddessfarmer ([personal profile] goddessfarmer) wrote2006-10-28 10:04 am
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Headlines from the Eco-Farming Rag

I'm browsing through my on-paper November issue of Acresusa (www.acresusa.com) and figured I'd share some of the news that is noteworthy to the general population.

Probably the most interesting is the backstory on the Spinach Debacle - The culprit was CONVENTIONAL spinach being processed in a facility that also processes Organic spinach. As it turn out, the Organic spinach was not affected at ALL. In the same vien and location, some milk had been reported to be infected with E. Coli, and fingers were pointed to an Organic producer. That producer, who rigoursly tests his milk, also did a test where he added E. Coli to a sample and reported that it "refused to grow".

On the NAIS (National Animal Identification System) front, "The USDA's plan if Foot-and-Mouth diesease occurs in the United States is to draw 10-kilometer kill zones around infected animals and kill every susceptible animal within those zones." Elsewhere in this story "the USDA continues to propagate the myth that proper nutrition and low-stress livestock management make no difference to the incidence of disease."

Something is terribly, terribly wrong in this country....

[personal profile] tb 2006-10-28 05:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Sadly, I'm not surprised that Industrial Agriculture and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Federal Food Policy, are doing their best to obfuscate the issue and sling mud at organics. Food is an inelastic market, and the competition for the limited shares is quite ruthless.

This is rather ironic, since Big Organic nowadays is also more about profit and lies than philosophy; given corporate structure, it has to be. That's why I'm more interested in buying local than in officially-labeled "organic" stuff that's been flown in from far away and is thus drenched in petroleum.

Speaking of which, we're going to get a chest-freezer soon, and maybe I'll be able to get in on the action for your next critter. I was out-of-town when you announced Sir Loin, but given the interest, it looks like that wouldn't have made a difference.

Do not be fooled

(Anonymous) 2006-10-29 01:31 am (UTC)(link)
Is it a coincidence that just 2 weeks before the initial e-coli outbreak, the FDA approved the use of a virus spray on lunchmeats, chicken and produce (spinach among other things). The virus spray consumes e-coli and other food borne bacteria. So don't believe anything the media is saying. The FDA, like the USDA, are merely marketing arms for mega-agribusiness.

On the NAIS front, have you been to nonais.org? You will find indepth information there. The USDA means to tag every animal in this country. Really what they want is for small farmers, etc. to just go away.

You are so right...there IS something terribly, terribly wrong with this country. But, take heart! 2010 is just around the corner when the North American Union will be going into effect. The borders between Canada, the US and Mexico will be erased and we'll be one big happy citizenry.

It just gets worse.

Henwhisperer