By
Although this book is based on Joel Salatin's experiences
of being a small farmer in the U.S most of it is equally relevant to farming to
produce real food in the EU. For anyone who is interested in eating food that's
fresh, has taste and texture and wonders why this food is not available in
supermarkets this book explains very well the reasons why, 'The Food
Police'.
The Food Police are the inspectors that enforce the laws made by people (FSA) who represent big food corporations. These people seem to have no understanding that farming should be a soil based occupation, or that food produced by farming should be healthy. The food that most people buy has travelled hundreds if not thousand of miles, has changed hands many times leaving it wide open for contamination of various types before reaching the supermarket shelves. This type of food is deemed safe, yet the local farmer who sells to local people is deemed a criminal who's sole intention in life is to poison his customers.
The sad fact is that most meat whether it's produced in the US or the EU is fed an entirely un-natural diet, produced by animals who seldom if ever see the light of day and are kept in entirely unnatural and cramped conditions. Poultry and pigs are omnivores, which means like humans they are designed to eat meat as well as vegetation, however the powers that control food production have decreed that these animals can be fed no meat products. Bovines are ruminants, they eat grass yet they are fed grains, mainly maize and are fed silage ( fermented grass) this is not a normal diet, for bovines. For animals who are kept and fed in this way there is good reason to have FSA regulations, after all they are being massed produced in what is essentially a factory. However to inflict the same 'one size fits all' regulations on the farmer who rears his animals in a natural way, has them slaughtered in a local abattoir and deny him access to the local markets is absurd.
Highly process fast food is deemed safe, yet most people know it's bad for them, factory made cakes and bread which contain so many additives many of which the average consumer cant even pronounce let alone know what they are deemed safe, however the neighbour who makes excellent bread, cakes, jams or pickles with just a few basic ingredients is not allowed to sell these products unless they have jumped through every hoop the Food Police can dream up .
If you choose to smoke or drink to excess that is your choice even though you know it is bad for you, all responsibility for acquiring real food should be your choice yet is largely outlawed by the Food Authorities.
This book gives the real reasons why such bodies such as the FSA and the USDA exist, and it has nothing to do with making sure, you, the consumer is kept from harm.
The Food Police are the inspectors that enforce the laws made by people (FSA) who represent big food corporations. These people seem to have no understanding that farming should be a soil based occupation, or that food produced by farming should be healthy. The food that most people buy has travelled hundreds if not thousand of miles, has changed hands many times leaving it wide open for contamination of various types before reaching the supermarket shelves. This type of food is deemed safe, yet the local farmer who sells to local people is deemed a criminal who's sole intention in life is to poison his customers.
The sad fact is that most meat whether it's produced in the US or the EU is fed an entirely un-natural diet, produced by animals who seldom if ever see the light of day and are kept in entirely unnatural and cramped conditions. Poultry and pigs are omnivores, which means like humans they are designed to eat meat as well as vegetation, however the powers that control food production have decreed that these animals can be fed no meat products. Bovines are ruminants, they eat grass yet they are fed grains, mainly maize and are fed silage ( fermented grass) this is not a normal diet, for bovines. For animals who are kept and fed in this way there is good reason to have FSA regulations, after all they are being massed produced in what is essentially a factory. However to inflict the same 'one size fits all' regulations on the farmer who rears his animals in a natural way, has them slaughtered in a local abattoir and deny him access to the local markets is absurd.
Highly process fast food is deemed safe, yet most people know it's bad for them, factory made cakes and bread which contain so many additives many of which the average consumer cant even pronounce let alone know what they are deemed safe, however the neighbour who makes excellent bread, cakes, jams or pickles with just a few basic ingredients is not allowed to sell these products unless they have jumped through every hoop the Food Police can dream up .
If you choose to smoke or drink to excess that is your choice even though you know it is bad for you, all responsibility for acquiring real food should be your choice yet is largely outlawed by the Food Authorities.
This book gives the real reasons why such bodies such as the FSA and the USDA exist, and it has nothing to do with making sure, you, the consumer is kept from harm.
Hmm ive watched a You Tube presentation of Joel promoting this book and my goodness, it is such a crazy world we live in. Better we should all go back to bartering under the table for what we need and leave the big boys out of it.
ReplyDeleteI agree Lynda bartering can work well if people have things that other people want, we have a person who supplies us with green milk from her jersey cows in exchange for eggs, we have plenty to barter with but our needs are small, the only other thing that anyone could offer us would be burning wood and everyone we know also needs wood! Our only other needs would be butter and flour.
DeleteBravo! And here here! Anne.
ReplyDeleteIt is possible to do a lot of bartering between neighbours and friends. Not just with produce, (eggs for cabbages, chutney for marmalade, pork for mutton) but also with skills and time. Bartering has become the road less traveled.
There have been various LETs schemes in Ireland but most have failed to thrive for various reasons but mainly for the distances people live from each other. and the skills offered were being offered by many. I suppose being a WWOFER and Helpx host counts as both bartering and LETS . We have a friend who would like to set up an 'Eggs for Apples' system such as has been set up in the UK but as we talked about it we realised that everyone that we both knew all produced the same things so with the excepting of burning wood have nothing to exchange. It probably is easier to set up this type of thing in towns than in a rural setting where people have to learn how to do things for themselves.
DeleteNice Job, Anne! Well said.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a really interesting book Anne, I will be putting that on my list. Thanks for the review
ReplyDeleteIt's well worth reading Chickpea, there are also some great you tube videos of Joel. Have you seen the film Food.inc that is also available on line for free well worth seeing and will confirm your decision to be a vegetarian.
ReplyDelete