Interdependence vs. Dependence

This may be getting into something that is far too deep to be covered in a blog, but I find it a valid topic for thought. These blogs are meant to be informative, thought provoking, encouraging, and challenging. My thought is that this post will cover all the above. I have recently seen articles from the CDC monitoring H5N1 (Bird Flu) and articles where the USDA is asking states to work harder to protect the public from the risks of raw milk as a bird flu outbreak continues to spread among dairy cows. Outbreak is a pretty strong word that creates fear in most of us. Fear encourages panic, panic encourages making decisions based on fear, not information.

The USDA and CDC are public agencies. One could assume that these agencies are in fact agencies that serve the public's best interest. Agencies created to be interdependent on each other and public support. Interdependent by using tax payers money for services and tax payers receiving valid information that enable them to make informed decisions. This relationship works as long as both parties hold up their responsibilities.

A lot of us can identify the barrage of misinformation that the pandemic spotlighted. There is still fallout occurring from that 4 years later and some would argue that this will continue for many years. One thing the pandemic produced in me was the "sense" test. Thankfully I never experienced the symptoms of losing my sense of taste or smell. What I had lost, was my sense of what made sense. What I mean is that I had unconsciously fell into trusting certain publicly funded government agencies without regard. I bought into thinking that something needed to be stamped with USDA to be safe for consumption. Identifying the misinformation produced by these government agencies during the pandemic, I began trying to bring information to a simple test. "Does this make sense"? Regardless of what I'm being told, does it make sense? We're not idiots that have to be led everywhere we go, but if we're running scared, we can appear this way. Is this what governmental agencies

want? That is a decision that should be left to each individual to decide.

On the CDC.gov site, it says "CDC increases the health security of our nation. As the nation's health protection agency, CDC saves lives and protects people from health threats. To accomplish our mission, CDC conducts critical science and provides health information that protects our nation against expensive and dangerous health threats and responds when these arise".

The USDA.gov site says "We provide leadership on food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, nutrition, and related issues based on public policy, the best available science, and effective management". The USDA is made up of 29 agencies with nearly 100,000 employees at more than 4,500 locations.

To meet the criteria for "Science" two things must be present. Something has to be observable and something has to be repeatable. This provides the ability to see that

"This = That", every time or within an acceptable margin variance. That passes the "sense" test right? Something isn't true just because someone says it is. In their own mission statement, the CDC binds themselves to observable and repeatable data.

If these two agencies, that proclaim in their bold mission statements, "health security", "health protection", "saving lives and protects people from health threats", "provide leadership in food, agriculture, and related issues" are true to their own statements, why are Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO's) a thing? Why are state and local officials being urged stop the sale of raw milk where some dairy herds have tested positive? Why are flocks of 40,000 birds being exterminated due to a handful of birds testing positive? Does any of this pass the sense test? I guess it makes the same sense to have more than 4,500 locations to employ nearly 100,000 people which equates to about 22 people per location. With all these locations, one can only imagine the policing that could be done on the CAFO food system. However that would produce a tax funded threat to the huge poultry industry. According to the USDA the total poultry sector sales in 2022 were $76.9 billion, an increase of 67 percent from 2021. Broiler sales increased 60 percent, turkey sales increased 21 percent, and egg sales increased 122 percent. These numbers and taxes delegated to running these agencies and their locations provides plenty of motive to protect this industry and it's most profitable practices, not the health and welfare of the people. https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/animal-products/poultry-eggs/sector-at-a-glance/

Joel Salatin of Polyface Farm is a pioneer and long time practitioner of regenerative farming. He reports that he has never known of a single outbreak of H5N1 in a pastured poultry setup. The grass provides detoxifying benefits. Chickens are not confined to the indoors, robbing them of sunlight, God's natural disinfectant. In the CAFO system, birds are de-beaked, live in fecal soup covered floors until moved to be processed where they are gassed, "soaped", or electrocuted. Then mechanically processed and cleaned with up to 13 chlorine (bleach) baths where tests have shown still have higher levels of bacteria than that of clean on farm processed pastured poultry. Does that USDA regulated model make sense? No it makes cents, and a lot of them.

These hypocrisies are one of the reasons Embrace Farm is doing what we can, where we can. We don't want to contribute to this dysfunctional model. When the USDA forbids me to sell meet to my neighbor, it doesn't make sense because they aren't seeing any cents in it. Every time we make a purchase, we are voting with our dollars. We strive to make our purchases make sense before they make cents. We continue to strive to make a more secure nutrient dense option available to ourselves and our members.

Farm News

We will be processing the first batch of regeneratively produced, pasture raised Freedom Ranger this weekend. We will begin providing chicken cuts along with broilers (whole birds). We feel like this will add convenience and value to our products. I will send out an email when these additional items are available.

As always I appreciate each of you and the support and encouragement you have shown us whether by word, prayer, or by voting for pastured poultry with your dollar.

Your local farmer,

Gordon