I was sitting here this morning thinking about the garden and it hit me – all these folks (farmers, ranchers and other small vegetable producers) have pissed and moaned about the government wanting to implement various tracking systems for livestock and foods on “their dime” and saying things like “it’s unnecessary”, are also part of the people who are all up in arms about the latest breakout of salmonella.

Had a tracking system been in place for our food stocks, which was turned down by corporate interests and our current government, we could’ve tracked the outbreak back to it’s source.

There is an AP report that confirms this, at least in part, to be accurate. While I believe their rejection was due to the “interference” of the government in their business, their business becomes our business when it’s an item to be consumed by the general populous.

I often hear folks bitching about how much food costs and that measures like this would increase those costs. Bottom line is they’re calling for simple record keeping (not much beyond what farmers already do). Note that I’m not talking about the much contested NAIS. But the principle is the same – if it’s grown for mass consumption or resale it should be documented for purposes of tracking illness and disease – period.

How do you get around this? Grow your own food! You then know exactly what’s in it, who grew it, what the conditions were and you have the pride of having stocked your own table.

We are still guilty of consumption of market foods, but as time goes on we will be reducing our consumption of these foods as we grow and raise more and more of our own food.

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