I spent some time over the weekend trying to catch up on my magazine reading, and one of the publications I read through was Acres U.S.A., which I know a lot of people here read regularly. It bills itself as “The Voice of Eco-Agriculture.” It’s kind of a down-home publication—it doesn’t even publish its articles on the Internet. Suffice it to say, it contains loads of information you won’t find in the mainstream media about food and farming.
Among the things I learned from two recent issues:
–Last year, meatpackers recalled a record 33.4 million pounds of beef for possible E.coli contamination. The USDA thinks that distillers’ grains may be one of the culprits. With growing amounts being produced by ethanol plants, well, it’s just another source of cheap food to give feedlot cattle. (Wasn’t it distillers’ grains that during the 1800s caused problems with raw milk, setting off the spiral of fear that continues today?)
–Sea lice parasites from farm-raised salmon are depopulating wild salmon in huge numbers.
–A British survey showed that that nearly a quarter of farms with caged hens tested positive for salmonella, compared to 4.4 per cent in organic flocks and 6.5 per cent in free-range flocks. About three-fourths of the United Kingdom’s eggs come from fewer than 300 chicken farms, where four or five birds share a tiny cage.
There were other articles about soil depletion, and how it deprives us of trace nutrients that may be essential in preventing cancer and chronic disease.
Then this morning I saw a front-page article in the New York Times about the fact that the fastest growing organic baby formula is also the sweetest.
It’s really a disgusting story, about how a large corporation thinks nothing of bulking up its sales hijacking the “organic” term for the most cynical marketing purposes—addicting infants to sweets. It’s also a further reminder of the hidden agenda behind the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) and the campaign against raw milk—eliminate the small producers, and limit consumer choice to the agribusiness products designed to keep us, and our children, malnourished, and susceptible to pathogens.
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You never know what to expect sometimes. I went with a friend to tonight’s Boston Red Sox game, expecting a pretty boring affair, since they were playing one of the lousier teams, the Kansas City Royals. To make matters worse, it was cold and windy. The Red Sox were winning 7-0 by the seventh inning, and just as I was about to suggest leaving to avoid the traffic, I looked at the scoreboard and noticed that Kansas City didn’t have a hit. The last two innings were electric.
I’ve attended dozens and dozens of games over the years—major league and minor league—and never witnessed a no-hitter…until tonight. The fact that Jon Lester, a cancer survivor, pitched the game made it that much more special. As I said, you never know when you’ll be surprised.
Similac, a product of Abbot Labs, i.e big pharma, has an ORGANIC Similac? Uh huh…and I have a bridge in NYC for sale…
I think I just might wander down to the baby food aisle at the local Krogers today and buy some of that Organic Similac…and take a close look at the ingredients. I’llbet it is no more "organic" than Prego’s Organic Spaghetti Sauce.
Organic means nothing anymore, other than that some corporation has filled out the right paperwork and paid the right fees to the government to gain permission to use the "organic" term.
Disgusting.
Bob Hayles
Our second son is eleven months old and I’ve been making his formula since the day he came home from the hospital following Sally Fallon’s recipe. I use only the highest quality ingredients including raw milk and cream from my herdshare, and his development, health and disposition has just been excellent. We technically could have switched him to straight milk a few months ago but he’s been doing so well on the formula that I’ve been reluctant to stop making it. It takes about twenty-five minutes out of my evening to prepare the formula, which is negligible compared to the benefit of setting him up for a lifetime of good health.
There is a lesson to be learned from this, and attention must be paid, so something similar doesnt happen with raw milk. Years ago people were doing organics for the right reason, small farmers, farming with principle. This is where the raw milk movement is currently. With the value that fresh milk is demanding on the market, it will be no short amount of time before the big players want a piece of the action. If you understand raw milk, you know this is a recipe for failure. Keeping it small and personal is the best guarantee that the quality of raw milk will stay high (and even this might appease the likes of C2 and her governmental worry worts)
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Yes David, reading ACRES can be pretty scary. Sometimes it just better to read the articles rather than the news updatesit can get depressing seeing which way big corporations are taking the human race.
Don the DFA is one of the more socialistic bodies allowed to flourish in America. Its a crime what theyve (and the other large co-ops) been able to get away with. These guys (many of which have never been on a farm) are running a scam, and profiting nicely at the expense of hard working farmers. This is what makes their governmental protection, and persecution of the small raw milk guy, even more distasteful. Honest people, doing the right thing get the hassle, and the evil-doers, the profit hungry scammers, get protection from the authorities. Changing this, even just a bit, is the only honorable thing to do.
Its also a further reminder of the hidden agenda behind the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) and the campaign against raw milkeliminate the small producers, and limit consumer choice to the agribusiness products designed to keep us, and our children, malnourished, and susceptible to pathogens.
The notion that there is a hidden agenda is the most scary part. It is possible that factors could have led up to our current situation without some masterminds pulling the marionette strings this way or that. Profit has a way of dictating direction on its own. The idea that someone is actually TRYING to create this system of malnourishment is evil. We can only hope that the dark side will not prevail
Its apparent that corporations have heads, but are severely lacking in heart and soul.
Besides just keeping it small and personal, also look for dairy farmers who are producing 100% grassfed milk. It is a lot harder to do and a lot more work. Meaning those just in it for the money are a lot less likely to do that.
Do they not see what is wrong with that? Do they consume special cattle not in the same catagory?
The formula industry is no longer permitted to legally state that formula is just as good as breast milk. They have to say that breast milk is best. Furthermore, the WHO recommends breastfeeding exclusively for at least 6 months, and continuing in addition to other foods for at least 2 years. Both statements involve the words, "at least."
Breastfeeding coalitions have become very organized, and they aren’t finished yet. They might be a good prototype for going after big business, for the raw milk industry to pay attention to.
Gwen
You can listen to the radio report. It had very balanced information about raw vs pasteurized milk.
There is no proof yet that the raw milk was contaminated with E.coli 0157:H7, only that this woman consumed raw milk.