The United States Department of Agriculture has good intentions:

It’s responsible for developing and implementing government policy on farming, agriculture and food. It aims to meet the needs of farmers and ranchers, promote agricultural trade and production, work to assure food safety, protect natural resources, foster rural communities and end hunger in the United States and abroad. (See source.)

The mission of the USDA is eloquent and lofty, idealistic and audacious. It’s a shame that the reality is both bleak and deeply disturbing. To make this point, let me share with you an article I recently read on the disastrous consequences of USDA policy.

On the blog, Politics of the Plate, Barry Estabrook recently posted, “USDA Red Tape Stands in Way of Humane Slaughter Techniques and Local Sustainable Meat Production.” Estabrook, a former contributing editor of Gourmet magazine, provides excellent blogging on the politics of food – be it environmental concerns, economic or public health. His latest entry examines the debilitating effects of certain USDA livestock policies.

A huge problem with USDA standards on livestock production is akin to the dark sides of the organic food movement. In short, when the government mandates standardized certifications for food production, those with less resources (i.e. money) are more likely to fail. Nowadays the story is commonplace:

Let’s say you decide to become a farmer. After much thought and market-research, you decide that organic produce is the way to go. Upon following this righteous path, you learn that to be certified organic there are many steps to take and rules to follow. On top of this, you must also pay a $500 yearly tax for the organic certification. Unless you have the resources (money, time, land, workers, etc) to meet all of the standard requirements for organic certification, you my friend, will not be officially recognized as an organic farmer.

This same story follows the fate of small, often family-operated, livestock operations. In the context of slaughtering animals (like growing organic produce), there are certain laws that farmers must follow. One of these rules, arguably a very important one, is the process by which an animal is slaughtered.

Estabrook begins with the fact that 84% of meat production in America is processed by four corporations – Tyson, Cargill, Swift and National Beef packing, and thus sets the stage for the underdog. Unlike CAFOs that send 5,000 cows a day to be slaughtered, what guidelines are provided for farmers raising 5 cows? Where are they to send their cows?

Technically and legally, these cows should be sent to a certified slaughtering house to be killed, chopped up and packaged. If you’re a farmer who does not live next-door to the slaughtering facility, you have to ship your animals there. Whether you live 1 hour away or 10 hours away, you have to rely on certified facilities to legally sell you meat.

The consequences of such negligent policy is seen across rural landscapes in our country. Beside the diminishing number of farmers, the hardships are felt deepest by localized economies.  And thus, the grand irony shines through:

The USDA aims “to meet the needs of farmers and ranchers, protect natural resources, foster rural communities…,” and such lofty intentions damage the infrastructure of farmers, ranchers, natural resources and rural communities. The market-driven mentality that promotes factory farming is completely destroying small, family farms and the local economy they inhabit.

In the end, I am reminded of the need for critical consumption, food literacy and localized food systems. If we want to eat animals raised on pasture by a farmer we know and trust, who may even slaughter the animals on the land they grazed all their lives…

we might just have to break the law.

(Or, if you want to abide the law and still support small, family livestock farms. Go here for more details.)

Related posts:

1. Local Food Movement Gains Serious Support
2. The Dark Side of the Organic Food Movement
3. The Grass-Fed Manifesto (part 2)
4. The Grass-Fed Manifesto (part 3)
5. The Grass-Fed Manifesto (Part I)

Tags: cow, Food Politics, Grass-Fed, local food movement, USDA