By guest writer Valiant Vetter

Did you know that you can bake a chocolate chip cookie in your home kitchen, stick it in a bag with your name and the ingredients and sell it from your home or the local Farmers' Market - but - if you want to bake and sell a dog biscuit, you have to send it to a lab to have a nutritional analysis done and pay a fee.

Isn't that Crazy?

Did you know that a farmer can plant a seed that is coated with poison that kill honeybees in soil that is polluted with industrial chemicals, chemical pesticide residue, and fertilized with just about anything - then spray the plants with known cancer-causing weed killers and sell the produce with no interference - but - if you want to put the word "Organic" on your vegetables, you have to buy expensive, specially-grown chemical-free seeds, abide by 50 pages of government rules, deal with bugs and diseases with very few natural sprays to combat them, and pay an inspector to come out and look at your property twice a year.

 Isn't that Crazy?

Did you know that in Texas, "Raw" (unpasteurized) milk can ONLY be sold at the licensed dairy where it is produced, and that the farmer has to jump through all sorts of hoops, extra testing, and more scrutiny - but - milk from cows that may be sick, on antibiotics, and may even have dirt, pus, or manure in it - can be sold at every grocery and convenience store in the state after it is pasteurized?

Isn't that Crazy?

Did you know that in Asia, shrimp and other seafood are raised using pig manure as feed - and then - those shrimp are packed in ice made from water that even the Vietnamese health agency says isn't safe to drink - and that those shrimp are shipped to the U.S.A. and the government is now saying that it doesn't have to be labeled with the country of origin.

 Isn't THAT CRAZY!?

 Yes, it's crazy. Our food laws are insane.

Of course, when food is being grown, raised, and shipped from around the world, SOME laws are necessary to protect the health of the consumer from potentially dangerous foods. However, it seems that considering the case with seafood from Asia and the "Country Of Origin" labeling, the laws are the most lax when it comes to the food that should concern us the most. Why is that?

As Texans, we're all familiar with the case of Blue Bell ice cream. We've been sad to miss out on one of our favorite summer treats, but we also understand that for companies that feed millions of people and ship their product thousands of miles, a little problem can become huge very quickly. It seems though, that many food laws seem to concentrate on the small family producer even though they have only a few customers and they're all in a small geographic area. Why is that?

The simple answer is that the folks who make food laws really know very little about food. They're elected officials who may be lawyers or bureaucrats who may mean well, but depend upon others to tell them what laws to pass. The bigger problem is that the folks who tell them what laws to pass (often even writing the laws for them) are employees and lobbyists from the very large international food producers. Of course, these folks will write the laws so that their companies can get away with as much as possible and maximize their profits. Another problem with these laws is that big companies have legal staffs and hoards of employees to deal with laws. Your small family farmer only has himself and their spouse to comply with all the laws.

Luckily, there are a growing number of organizations that can help the small family farmer deal with crazy food laws and overly-aggressive enforcement of these laws. These organizations not only help the farmers with legal advice and representation, they are also advocates for the consumer who wants to be able to buy raw milk and locally-produced foods. I would urge anybody interested in producing or purchasing good, clean, healthy, local food to look into these resources and consider associating with one or more of them.

Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance (http://farmandranchfreedom.org/ )

"FARFA is a national organization that supports independent family farmers and protects a healthy and productive food supply for American consumers.  FARFA promotes common sense policies for local, diversified agricultural systems."

Farm To Consumer Legal Defense Fund (www.FarmToConsumer.Org )

"The FTCLDF protects the rights of farmers and consumers to engage in direct commerce; it protects the rights of farmers to sell the products of the farm and the rights of consumers to access the foods of their choice from the source of their choice."

Weston A. Price Foundation (www.WestonAPrice.org )

"The Foundation is dedicated to restoring nutrient-dense foods to the human diet through education, research and activism. Specific goals include establishment of universal access to clean, certified raw milk and a ban on the use of soy formula for infants."

We hope the information you find on these and other web sites will encourage you to join the crusade to promote sensible food safety laws and become a part of the lawmaking process by letting your elected officials know that you are watching what they do and expect them to make laws that allow you the freedom to buy the kind of foods you want from the producers you choose. It's only through involvement that we can turn the tide on crazy food laws!

Visit the Winnsboro Farmers’ Market to support local farmers – every Saturday from 8 am until Noon on Market Street downtown Winnsboro, Texas.