Tomorrow is Ceasar Chavez Day in California. He is either hailed or hated by many people. Ceasar Chavez was against the mechanization of agriculture because it put many migrant workers out. It was an interesting time in history with tomatoe picking by machine at the forefront.
It is amazing to look how far we have come in many aspects of agriculture in just the last 50 years. In cattle production, carcass fat has decreased from 35% to 27% and beef production per head has increased 80%.
I don't know if it is for the better. We now have subdivisions, ranchettes, and labels. You can go to the grocery store and decide if you want free-range, organic, natural, or traditional eggs. The choices are immense but so is the impact.
A rural newspaper editor recently blogged about not being able to buy food stuffs such as milk, canned veggies and chunks of meat directly from local producers. My daughter, a farmers wife, works as a food safety inspector for the state department of ag. She tried to point out how the regs are for his protection. His answer - the consumer should be allowed to take some of the responsibility. I would agree but what do you think would happen when something goes wrong? Who do you think he would point his finger at then? And even if he didn't, someone else would.
ReplyDeleteI definitely believe the blame would come back directly on the farmer. Unfortunately, many of the foodborne pathogens and diseases can be avoided through proper cooking and washing of produce and meats. The other portion can be avoided by getting outside and eating dirt. :) Something that the young have been coddled away from with TV, video games, and other couch potatoe nonsense.
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