Farmers’ Market:
Food Sovereignty II
Much of the information provided in the last Farmers Market column may seem like ancient history to current consumers, in spite of the truism that “failing to learn from history is to be doomed to repeat it.” However, everything old may be new again.
At present day town meetings and in the current legislature here in Maine, consumer protections under discussion include questions about what can and cannot be sold, under what conditions, and with what labels attached. Some small dairy farmers, for example, wish to be able to pour clean, raw (unpasteurized) milk through a filter into clean bottles, store them in clean refrigerators, and sell it to customers who desire their product “as is” — enzymes and proteins intact.
Some communities have passed local ordinances that allow these farmers to sell their products locally without government intervention. Government agencies have disagreed with the idea that towns’ regulations can override state regulations; the hierarchy of our judicial system has stepped in to decide the question. On one side are the small farmers who point out that they and their families, who consume the milk and milk products themselves, are the best argument that the food is pure and wholesome. They argue that maintaining a separate facility with regulations directing everything from stainless steel plumbing to placement of light fixtures is too onerous for a farm with just a few cows.
Another set of small farmers who have toed the line with respect to the regulations, whose product is measured and tested and cultured and monitored every step of the way as required by law, have expressed their concerns. They believe allowing some producers to avoid some sections of Maine’s “Jug Laws” will discourage consumers from purchasing dairy products at all. This is the BST argument all over again, only on a state level … if Joe Grocery Shopper believes that milk products are unsafe, he will drink Gatorade and include slices of “Imitation Cheese Food” on his lunchtime sandwich. Yech!
This particular argument focuses on dairy, but it could apply to any other food produced in the state. What is in those sausages? How were those greens grown? What process makes those pickles and preserves safe to eat months after they were harvested? Do those strawberries contain polysyllabic toxic chemicals to make them look red?
Direct contact with the individuals responsible for production makes it ever so much easier to reassure yourself about the safety of your food purchases. Members of the Presque Isle Farmers Market can be found with their wares every Saturday between 8:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. in the Aroostook Centre Mall parking lot, happy to answer your questions and more than happy to fill your boxes or bags with fresh, wholesome, locally grown food.
This column is written by members of the Presque Isle Farmers’ Market. For more information, visit their website at https://sites.google.com/site/presqueislefarmersmarket/home.
