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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] Market-farming Digest, Vol 46, Issue 1

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  • From: road's end farm <organic101 AT linkny.com>
  • To: avalonfarmshomegrown AT earthlink.net, Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Market-farming Digest, Vol 46, Issue 1
  • Date: Thu, 2 Nov 2006 22:54:28 -0500


On Nov 2, 2006, at 9:59 AM, Brigette Leach wrote:

These blanket statements about
contamination always being the fault of big operations simply isn't
true.

If that's for me: I didn't mean that contamination was always the fault of big operations. Small operations can also certainly have problems; it depends a lot on the operation. What I meant was three things: one, that when large operations have a problem, the current food distribution system spreads that problem all over the country, while a problem caused by a small operation selling locally will be a smaller problem; two, that government regulations that claim to be trying to protect the food supply have in at least some cases been enforced against small operations even when those operations are producing clean food, but the government has in at least some cases not created or enforced regulations that would protect the food supply when doing so would require shutting down or causing major modifications in large enterprises; and three, that raising large numbers of animals in close confinement can encourage the spread of disease within those operations.

The outbreak of bovine tuberculosis in Michigan, caused by free
ranging white tail deer having contact with pastured dairy cows and
their food sources, has cost producers of all bovine considerably, as
well as tax payers [. . .]
while bovine TB isn't easily transmitted to humans, it is most
likely to be contracted when a hunter handles a contaminated deer,
becoming exposed via of lungs and blood.

How would you feel if someone in the northern part of your state had an
outbreak of some disease, but you knew your animals were clean, still
until USDA or your department of ag can get a handle on the area
impacted, a moratorium is placed on all sales.

I do believe that traceback procedures can be useful. I don't think that NAIS is necessary for them. Organic producers have been providing traceback audit trail records for years, on both crops and livestock, without any need for the NAIS program.

And I don't see how NAIS is going to prevent hunters being infected by deer; or how it would guarantee that cattle in the southern part of a state had not been infected by deer, if cattle in the northern part had been (especially how it would guarantee this any better than traceback procedures such as are currently used by organic growers); or how either of those instances is going to be affected by tracing carriage horses with GPS implants.

I think I will now shut up and go to bed.

-- Rivka; Finger Lakes NY, Zone 5 mostly
Fresh-market organic produce, small scale



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