Monday, March 19, 2012

the FDA shuts down another safe, small farm

Recently my farm, Rainbow Valley was forced to shut down due to the fact that they lost their battle with the FDA. This was deeply upsetting to me on so many levels. My first thought was: what are they going to do now? Rainbow Valley is not a giant farm, they're a small, family-operated farm, and that farm was their livelihood. They were shut down not because they were unsafe, unsanitary or any of the reasons a farm should be shut down. They were shut down because they were a small, grass-fed farm that provided customers with raw milk. These farms jeopardize factory farms, the more there are of them, the more money the corporate farms lose, and therefore the more money the FDA loses.

It is no secret that the FDA is supported by big agriculture as well as big pharmaceutical companies. This is how they are allowed to pump our food system full of meat from animals that are abused, and meat that is treated with ammonia. This is how pharmaceutical companies are allowed to put dangerous drugs on the market. Vioxx was attributed to more than 100,000 deaths. ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND. And my farmer gets shut down for never having had even one incident of contamination? The FDA allows pink slime, a meat byproduct treated with ammonia to be served in cafeterias and put into grocery store meat without being labeled, but I can't drink nutrient dense raw milk? And even if raw milk was an unhealthy and dangerous food, shouldn't I have that option? I have the option to get wasted and potentially kill myself with alcohol, but not to drink milk.

There are factory farms that routinely produce contaminated meat, eggs and pasteurized milk due to their unsanitary and unnatural conditions. But because they have the money to pay off the FDA, they remain untouched. Ever heard of Kevin's Law? A little boy died from eating contaminated meat. The meat was a product of a subsidiary of one of America's largest agribusinesses. This company had routinely failed safety standards, and yet they were still not shut down. They were able to kill a little boy, and get away with it. The truth is that the FDA, USDA and CDC inflate, exaggerate and fabricate food borne illnesses from raw milk. I agree, raw milk would not be healthy if consumed from grain-fed cows on feed lots. This is now how cows are supposed to be raised. Cows are meant to be grass-fed, and grass-fed cows offer little in the way of money, they also offer little in the way of food borne illness.

Every time you buy food, you are voting. You can either support giant corporations that abuse their animals, workers and the environment, or you can support your local farmers. You can buy ingredients that are healthy for you and your family, ingredients that can be trusted, or you can buy products that will kill you. Because even if you're fortunate enough to not contract E. Coli, eating these inferior foods will chip away at your health slowly. It may cost more money, but you're protecting yourself and your family. In the long run, you will spend less because you won't need frequent trips to the doctor, you won't get sick as often, you will spend less on your health care. I assure you, this is a small step that won't only better yourself and your family, it will better our environment and it will make our world a better place.

This post is a part of Monday Mania.

6 comments:

  1. Awesome post, Dani! Love you!

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    1. Thank you!! Love you! PS so stoked for your move!!

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  2. Its unfair that small farms are closed down for made-up claim about food "contamination" when factory farms are allowed to dump hormones, antibiotics, and who knows what else in the meat.

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    1. I agree! It's nuts, just gotta keep buyin' grass-fed and local!

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  3. They pick on small farms because they don't have big legal budgets to protect themselves. Makes me really upset and frankly kind of sick to my stomach.

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    1. Exactly! But I'm still confident that those of us who care enough about the issue will make a difference :)

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