The crackdown by state and federal authorities on raw-milk dairies, and the generally inhospitable environment for sustainable agriculture, is assuming a new sense of irony as global shortages of food commodities take hold.
For all those who’ve been worrying about the time when our food system freezes up, and we come to depend on locally-produced products from small farms—well, we may be closer than most people imagine. Increasingly ominous forecasts have been appearing in various media about the possibility that basic commodities like wheat, corn, and rice, not to mention oil and copper, are in perilously short supply
The publication Milkweed, a dairy industry newspaper, is predicting that the world has six to eight weeks supply of wheat, and predicts: “Famine looms in the near future.” (Unfortunately, this publication is only available in paper form.) Earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal published a front-page article on “Malthusian Fears,” suggesting that the world is running short of key commodities, and reporting that various countries are hording wheat and rice, and experiencing food riots. Steve Bemis, a frequent source of information on this blog, reports that his wife learned on a recent trip to Africa that United Nations relief supplies of food are drying up.
Where will all this lead? Certainly higher prices for basic foods. But having a friendly farmer or two in the neighborhood may become as important as having a connection with a local gas station was during the 1970s gas shortage. (Thanks to Steve Bemis for alerting me
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Something I meant to point out a little while back, before latest upheaval on California raw milk…It takes a big man to apologize, but Nathanael Johnson, author of the Harper’s Magazine article on raw milk in the April issue, has done just that.
After Organic Pastures Dairy Co. owner Mark McAfee read the article he called Nate to request a retraction of the statement that “the tainted milk came from Organic Pastures…” Nate agreed he erred.
In an email to Mark, Nate stated: “I recognize that you are right about this – the state agencies made a connection based on the evidence at hand which was epidemiological – not direct evidence. There was no direct link ever made between the milk and the disease – that is – the state labs were not able to grow this particular genetic serotype of E. coli found in the children, from your milk. The people I talked to talked about strong linkages but never a direct linkage. Furthermore the state never announced that OP milk was the cause of the outbreak. They strongly suspected it was – hence the recall. I’m sorry for the mistake – after spending almost two years on this I lost that detail. In general I think we can agree that there was a presumption of guilt – but it was sloppy for me to fudge that into an actual announcement.”
As a journalist who has written extensively about raw milk, I can empathize with Nate. I’m sure many readers who have debated the issue back and forth on this blog since it came up in late 2006, following the Michigan confiscation of Richard Hebron’s raw milk and revelations it stemmed from a case of foodborne illness, can empathize as well. The debate about raw milk is complex enough, but overlay the issues of foodborne illness, genetics, and public health practices, and it can be overwhelming.
Then, if on top of all that, you overlay ideology and personal biases, you have a formula for confusion, and even animosity.
One of the things I have noticed in the telling and re-telling of the events surrounding the illnesses of the children in California is the belief that somewhere in some state office there is an accurate recounting of what happened. As in…isn’t there someone who has all the interviews and the forms that were filled out and the lab reports who can set us all straight?
Implicit in that question is a longing to want to believe in the public officials who are responsible for keeping tabs on such things, especially public health officials. The last thing we want to believe is that they would let their personal biases get in the way.
But as I’ve pointed previously in assessing the statement they put together on the illnesses, there is, at a minimum, a troubling amount of sloppiness in their accounts. And they won’t provide us with the backup data based on privacy considerations.
On top of that, you have the parties involved—the parents, the lawyers, OPDC—which all have their own interests.
But in making his apology, Nate has at least helped bring us back to a key point, which is that, despite linkages, there is nothing conclusive in these illnesses.
1 IN 10 OHIOANS – Food stamps double since ’01
But price of food means they don’t go as far now. Saturday, March 22, 2008 3:20 AM
BY CATHERINE CANDISKY
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
"The economy and loss of manufacturing jobs are at the root of what’s Nearly one in 10 Ohioans now receives food stamps, the highest number in the state’s history.
Caseloads have almost doubled just since 2001, with 1.1 million residents now collecting benefits, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
Low wages, unemployment and the rising cost of groceries, gasoline and other necessities are to blame for financial hardships facing many Ohio families.
Caseloads have been rising steadily in the past seven years, said Brian Harter, spokesman for the state agency which oversees the food-stamp program.
"Look at unemployment during this time," he said.
Ohio’s jobless rate is 5.3 percent, up from 4.4 percent in 2001.
But lately (it’s) the rising cost of transportation and food — people who were barely getting by, are not getting by," said Jack Frech, director of the Athens County Department of Job and Family Services.
"It has pressed folks to the edge to have to rely on food stamps."
Advocates estimate another 500,000 Ohioans are eligible but not enrolled in the food-stamp program.
Individuals in households with incomes up to 130 percent of the federal poverty level and with assets no greater than $2,000 in most cases are eligible for food stamps. That’s earnings of no more than $22,880 a year for a family of three.
Recipients receive $100 a month. The federal government pays for the benefits while the state covers administrative costs.
But as the price of milk, fruits and other groceries climb, advocates say, recipients can buy less and less with that $100.
"Food stamps provide only about $1 per person, per meal. Who in the world is buying groceries with that?" asked Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, executive director of the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Food Bank.
On average, food stamps are now providing less than two weeks of groceries.
"There’s the presumption that folks have the cash to make up the rest. Well, they don’t," Frech said.
Not surprisingly, food pantries and soup kitchens across the state have been reporting record demands. Like the families they serve, they, too, cannot keep pace.
In central Ohio, demand at the Mid-Ohio Food Bank in January was up 14 percent over the same period a year ago, with 120,000 requests for food.
The increased demand coupled with rising food costs and fewer donations have forced the food bank to reduce the five-day supply of food it had been giving out to a three-day supply.
"Milk is up 25 percent," said Mid-Ohio president Matt Habash. "Applesauce, a big staple at food banks, has gone from $9 to $15 a case."
In other areas of the state, pantries with their supplies depleted have been forced to temporarily close.
"The shortages," Hamler-Fugitt said, "are a double whammy for people who have been relying on food stamps and pantries."
Sharon, I am speechless. 1 in 10?
in 1944 many folks still knew how to garden. today it’s way too few…
I haven’t been to Italy since the early 80s. The guy on the right with the sore hand and arm, makes me cringe when I see him handling the cheese. I know it is jumping to conclusion that he has a "hands" on in the processing…
I’ve had numerous people at work asking lately about my dads garden, planting veggies, etc. I hadn’t thought about it till now. They also had been commenting about the increase in the costs of food at the stores. Since we grow a lot and I feel the farmers market is better priced than the stores, I hadn’t realized the extent of the increase in prices. (My thumb isn’t green).
Canadian Court Rules Against Raw Milk Exports to U.S. (p. 11):
Finally, the Canadian court has ruled in a case involving illegal shipments of farm milk from Ontario Province into New York State. This issue ought to be a complete embarrassment to the New York State Dept of Agriculture & Markets.
does anyone have any details about this? i couldn’t find anything via google.
Here is what you are looking for.
http://www.ohiodairyproducers.org/docs/imports.pdf