eatkamloops.org

Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick

A community that can feed itself is free. A community that cannot feed itself is not. It’s that simple.
Joel Salatin

Some people wonder why we go to such trouble to find local producers for our food. I have had people be surprised that we now want to grow our own food. Over the last few years, I have realized that it is getting harder and harder to get quality, unadulterated food. Part of the reason is our population is aging and farmers are retiring. Their children are not taking up farming and the farms and ranches are being sold as ranchettes to the rich. In the farming community this is called “the final harvest”.

Farm land is also being bought up and consolidated into the hands of a small number of food conglomerates. Here is a chart by Dr Philip Howard on the Organic Processing Industrial Structure, just in case you thought your favourite organic brand was safe from this restructuring. Probably the root of why it is getting difficult to get local food is increasing government regulation. Many farmers actually recommend to their sons and daughters not to farm because these rules are becoming so onerous.

As I have been researching this issue, I have found the rules and regulations regarding food production, processing and distribution are, in fact, very onerous and not always sensible. For example, we have the same rules for industrial chicken producers that are slaughtering 10,000 chickens a day as for your neighbour who is killing one chicken in her kitchen and wants to sell it to you. She can sell it to you but she becomes a criminal for doing so. Superficially this appears fair. One set of rules for everyone, regardless of scale. But many of the safety concerns that have made these regulations necessary have been caused by the Industrial Food System itself.

Another example is raw milk in BC. According to the judgment by The Honourable Madam Justice Gropper between Fraser Health Authority v. Jongerden, “there is no provision in British Columbia’s Public Health Act which creates a rebuttable presumption like that contained in s.25 of the Ontario Milk Act… Raw milk is deemed to be a health hazard by regulation… The Transitional Regulation, on the other hand, is quite clear that milk for human consumption which has not been pasteurized at a licensed dairy plant in accordance with the Milk Industry Act, is a health hazard.”

A health hazard. It is written in our laws that raw milk is a health hazard. No proof is required. It is assumed. This is bad news for anyone in BC who feeds raw milk to their children. This case should be appealed to the British Columbia Court of Appeal to get a ruling about whether the Fraser Health Authority has jurisdiction over a private, contractual agreement. If they do, Heaven help us. The arms of government are indeed long.

There has been talk at The Weston A Price Foundation about drafting a Family Farm Bill of Rights. This legislation would allow farmers and their families to grow and consume their own food and sell their products to their community without onerous government interference.

In some areas, this is known as farm gate sales. Here is an example of Legislation in BC called Food Safety Amendment (Farm Gate Sales) Act 2009 which appears to have died during the first reading. Legislation like this might save the family farm from extinction and ensure a healthy local food supply for our children. Unfortunately, history teaches us that the ruling class rarely give up their power without a fight.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
The Declaration of Independence

2. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:
(a) freedom of conscience and religion;
(b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication;
(c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and
(d) freedom of association.
24. (1) Anyone whose rights or freedoms, as guaranteed by this Charter, have been infringed or denied may apply to a court of competent jurisdiction to obtain such remedy as the court considers appropriate and just in the circumstances.
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

BC Supreme Court Gives Injunction Against Raw Milk

Fraser Health Authority has won a permanent injunction from the BC Supreme Court against Home On The Range and contracted milker, Alice Jongerden, in Chilliwack, BC. The Abbotford News said:

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Miriam Gropper ruled farm operator Alice Jongerden is “willingly causing a health hazard” and must stop packaging or distributing raw milk or related products for human consumption.

Home On The Range argued an Ontario court ruling upholding a similar raw milk co-op there set a precedent exempting operations where members don’t pay directly. Members hoped a victory would effectively legalize raw milk in BC and allow more cow-shares to form. Nor, she said, did it matter that the co-op provides milk to members rather than via direct sale to the public. “The remedy for the respondents is to convince the government to change the legislation,” she found.

Gordon Watson is an active owner and member of the herd share co-operative. He stated that the raw milk with continue to flow. “We’re going to keep on dairying within the letter of the law” said herd share member Gordon Watson. “The threshold is in the milking room… That’s where she’s not allowed to handle milk for sale.”

The dairy herd is jointly owned by the shareholders. The dairy herd must be milked and cared for regardless of the ruling. There are many shareholders willing to come in and care for the diary cows which they all jointly own. Gordon Watson is one of about 400 shareholders of Home on the Range. He said: “The milking is continuing and people are getting the raw milk today. I will be taking responsibility for the packaging and distribution.”

I guess the next step for the government is to get injunctions against all 400 herd share members! I hope you are feeling really safe and protected with our government restricting your rights to co-own a herd of animals and enjoy the products from those animals. Just remember it’s for your own good. You are too ignorant to develop a safe food production and processing system on your own. That’s why they are called Fraser Health “Authority”, because they know what’s best for you. Your personal freedoms are secondary to their “good works”.

For other postings on this issue please read: Canadian Government Appeals Michael Schmidt’s Acquittal, Michael Schmidt, Raw Milk Activist, Acquitted!, and Raw Milk Contamination?.

Here are some links for more information:
The Bovine
Abbotsford News
National Post

As I have been following the raw milk story in the media, I have been surprised at how much misinformation is out there. There are so many factual errors in reporting it is hard to maintain respect and trust for media coverage. I have received an education about how issues are reported and twisted in the media. I have learned that only deeper research on a given topic will allow a person to understand complicated issues such as raw milk.

Updated April 4, 2010: Here is a link to read the judgment by Her Honourable Madam Justice Gropper by the “Petitioner”, Fraser Health Authority and the “Respondent”, Alice Jongerden DBA Home on the Range. Remember, granting an injunction is to restore the status quo ante which is to “make whole again someone whose rights have been violated”. In this case, it is the Fraser Health Authority “whose rights have been violated” and restored.

Kamloops Garden Box Project

About a week ago Joel Dyck contacted me about his project to build box planters in Kamloops for FREE. If you are interested in having someone give you a box planter for your deck or patio please read the following outline for the Kamloops Garden Box Project. If you are interested in participating in this project, Joel’s contact information is below:

This project will be called Kamloops Garden Boxes. The purpose of this project is to get more people interested in small-scale urban gardening.

PHASE 1 Building the Garden Boxes The core of the project will be building garden boxes and giving them to a diverse group of people. I will start with a group of 11 families/participants and possibly have additional groups of eleven. To begin with I will need to build four different demonstration boxes and have at least eleven extras to get the first group started. I will aim to build the boxes out of recycled and reusable materials. I will learn to use an Alaskan Mill to make lumber out of waste wood primarily from trees killed by the Mountain Pine Beetle and the Tussock Moth. I have some designs drawn out already and hope to build boxes that will look somewhat natural out of mainly pine and fir. I will also weave a trellis of smaller boughs from wood that is recycled as yard waste when people prune their trees in the spring. I will ask for community support for wood, dirt, and compost. Kamloops has an excellent composting facility and a plethora of available compost.

PHASE 2 Gathering the Garden Box Community As previously mentioned, I will gather an initial group of eleven families/individuals. The idea is that they will be diverse in age, gardening experience, and in their homes. I specifically want to include people who are renters and live in small dwellings to promote gardening in smaller urban spaces. I will start by picking people I know and then ask them to refer other people who might be interested. I already have an extensive list of people who are interested in learning how to garden and others with a lifetime of experience, who want to learn new things. I want to set up this community with a wide range of experience so that they can help each other and work together. My job will be to set people up for gardening success in a community minded environment. I will be responsible for the following aspects of the project:
1. I will build the garden box and deliver it to the person/family.
2. I will provide guidance for setting up a small and realistic garden in their location with personal and email support.
3. I will give each participant a package that will include some basic advice as well as an overview of the project.
4. I will set up a feedback blog and monitor it until I can find a community member to follow through with this. The blog will be a place for all participants to communicate their successes.
5. I will provide some technical support for participants who might have some issues with using a blog and posting photos on the Internet.
6. I will share a positive spirit of kindness and have an open mind to whatever unique situations might arise. I want to provide the same kind of leadership that I would appreciate receiving.

PHASE 4 Education The fourth and final part of this project would be to document it and turn it in to a collective of lesson plans and presentation material. There will be opportunities to share it before, during and after the BCSEA Energy Fair. I will present the design and construction aspect to home school students prior to the Kamloops BCSEA Energy Fair. I hope to bring the project into the public school system as well. If I can get enough students interested it would be great to have a community of teenage gardeners bring the project to completion. Watching students combine building, gardening, and technology would be an excellent learning opportunity for me. Having this material and presenting it will give me invaluable teaching practice prior to my career as a shop teacher.

Project Director: Joel Dyck
Email: joelfish(a)hotmail.com
Sponsored by Garfield Weston Award and the Kamloops Chapter of BC Sustainable Energy Association

Updated July 8, 2010: I received an email update from Joel Dyck. The Kamloops (& Kelowna) Garden Boxes is now on Facebook.

Boxing Day: You Are What You Buy (Believe)

Boxing Day has a long history but is now primarily known as a shopping holiday in North America. I haven’t participated in Boxing Day “celebrations” for decades. But at this time of year, I can’t help but think about what we “buy into”, will make the world we live in.

I dream about a world where my needs can be met without those needs costing someone else dearly. I dream about food that will nourish the body and community that will nourish the spirit. I dream about producing food for our families in a way that won’t cost “the world”. I dream about a world where our children are surrounded by a caring loving community that thinks about our shared future.

How do we become more enlightened about our behaviors so we can live our dreams? How can we change our thinking so our actions will follow? Maybe we need to just “buy into” a new vision. Of course, this vision isn’t new but very old. Maybe we need to learn how to tame our technology and harness our brilliance. All the answers are out there, we just have to apply them.

While I was at the Weston A Price Foundation 2008 Conference in California, I had the opportunity to see some new ideas being worked out in the real world. I visited the Three Stone Hearth in Berkeley, CA. They are running a Community Supported Kitchen (CSK). Jessica Prentice is one of the co-founders of Three Stone Hearth and author of Full Moon Feast: Food and the Hunger for Connection. I hope you enjoy an interview with Jessica Prentice Part I and Part II. If you would like to see inside the Community Supported Kitchen run by Three Stone Hearth please watch Business With Passion.

People who feel themselves in chains, with no hope of ever getting them off, want to put chains on everyone else.
John Holt

Joel Salatin’s Vision of a Local Food System

This last weekend I had the great pleasure of meeting Joel Salatin of Polyface Farm. He was speaking to a sold-out crowd hosted by the Cowichan Agricultural Society in Duncan, BC. Joel Salatin speaks passionately about family run, grass-based farming. In his own words, he is “in the redemption business: healing the land, healing the food, healing the economy, and healing the culture.” The guiding principles behind “Polyface are:
TRANSPARENCY: Anyone is welcome to visit the farm anytime. No trade secrets, no locked doors, every corner is camera-accessible.
GRASS-BASED: Pastured livestock and poultry, moved frequently to new “salad bars,” offer landscape healing and nutritional superiority.
INDIVIDUALITY: Plants and animals should be provided a habitat that allows them to express their physiological distinctiveness. Respecting and honoring the pigness of the pig is a foundation for societal health. 
COMMUNITY: We do not ship food. We should all seek food closer to home, in our foodshed, our own bioregion. This means enjoying seasonality and reacquainting ourselves with our home kitchens.
NATURE’S TEMPLATE: Mimicking natural patterns on a commercial domestic scale insures moral and ethical boundaries to human cleverness. Cows are herbivores, not omnivores; that is why we’ve never fed them dead cows like the United States Department of Agriculture encouraged (the alleged cause of mad cows).
EARTHWORMS: We’re really in the earthworm enhancement business. Stimulating soil biota is our first priority. Soil health creates healthy food.”

My husband Shaen has read most of Joel Salatin’s books, so much of the information in the lecture wasn’t new to him. Near the end of the lecture, Shaen asked Joel Salatin if there was any big differences in his thinking now compared to when he wrote his books. Joel Salatin answered that in the past he believed thousands of farmers would communicate directly with customers. But most farmers find marketing and distribution very difficult and don’t like the work. Now he sees “clusters of farms” working with “local streams of marketing and distribution”. Joel talked about a six part system for a successful local food supply: producer, processor, accountant, marketer, distributor and customer. My husband and I looked at each other and wondered if there is a place for GO BOX Storage and eatkamloops.org in this new vision.

We realized we could become a local food distribution center for Kamloops. We could form a buyer’s group for Kamloops. We could increase the size of our orders and get better prices for everyone. We could run pocket markets or personal deliveries for a cost. If you do not know about pocket markets please read: Pocket Market Toolkit.

It was exciting thinking that we could become part of a successful local food system which helps all of us get the best in local food at a reasonable price. If we could develop a successful local food system, Joel Salatin believes “we could give the big-box stores a run for their money.”

Update November 25, 2009: I contacted Sally Fallon and asked if she knew of anyone who could mentor me to start a buyer’s group for Kamloops. She suggested John Moody who started a buyer’s club called Whole Life Buying Club. Before a new member can join the Whole Life Buying Club, they recommend the new member watch The Story of Stuff. The Whole Life Buying Club follows a Food Philosophy which defines the type of products the buying club will bring in for members. John Moody has written an essay for the journal Wise Traditions called Building a Local Food Buying Club.

Update December 1, 2009: Here is a link to Martha Stewart’s interview with Robert Kenner producer of the movie Food Inc. and Joel Salatin. I hope you enjoy the hypocrisy of the commercial, marinated in the content, more than I did. This is a link to the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund about Buyers Club Victories.

Updated December 23, 2009: I have just learned from Sandra Burkholder that Joel Salatin will be coming to Quesnel, BC on March 27, 2010. Joel Salatin will be speaking at the 2nd Annual Poultry and Rabbit Forum being put on by the Cariboo Central Interior Poultry Producers Association. Sandra Burkholder and her husband Chris Newton are building a earthship house in Darfield, BC. An earthship house is made from recycled materials and is designed to be completely self-sufficient housing system requiring no outside support. The earthship is the brain child of Mike Reynolds of Earthship Biotecture.

Updated February 28, 2010: I found a series about Polyface Farm on Watch.MeetTheFarmer.TV. You will get a personal tour of Polyface Farm with Joel Salatin. There is an incredible amount of information in this video series about his pasturing systems for the watchful viewer. He will go into the types of grasses and herbage plus the effect of mass group grazing and resting of the pasture. He goes in to some theory but most of the videos are very practice. If you are interested in the theory behind his practices please read his books for more information. Here is Part I, Part II and Part III.

[The road to] hell is paved with good intentions.
English Proverbs