Our Food Supply in Jeopardy
Act now to stop harmful federal regulations on farmers.
A message from Joel Salatin, Polyface Farm, and Virginia Independent Consumers and Farmers Association, VICFA
Your help is needed at the Federal level. Deadline for commenting on proposed regulation is Friday, January 17, 2025.
Small and medium independent farmers and meat processors are in jeopardy.
Joel Salatin, the owner of Polyface Farm in Swoope, Virginia in the heart of the in the Shenandoah Valley is a farmer, lecturer, and author, has drawn our attention to proposed federal regulation. We understand this as government overreach designed to strangle people in policy and procedures that increase cost of production but fail to offer the protection they are purported to accomplish.
Meat from his farm is sold by direct marketing to consumers and restaurants. He and other small and medium independent farmers and processors across Virginia who produce food that is not laden with hormones and antibiotics are in jeopardy of having to jump through hoops secondary to new purposed regulations put forth by the USDA Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS). The regulation is titled: “Proposed Salmonella Framework on Raw Poultry.”
Polyface and all small and medium independent farmers and meat processors will be in jeopardy not because they are selling dangerous meat, but because of the overreach these regulations will impose upon their farms.
The foundation of this proposal is that FSIS wants the ability to condemn certain pastured poultry as unsellable based on testing for Salmonella. Salmonella is a bacteria that causes severe gastro-intestinal illness. Salmonella is killed via thorough cooking. It is always advised to not eat raw poultry and to cook it thoroughly.
There are approximately 1.3 million cases of Salmonella per year in the United States. https://www.regulations.gov/document/FSIS-2023-0028-0007 Attempts to decrease the number of cases over the last 20 years have not been successful. The goal is to reduce the number of cases by 25%. No one would state this is not a laudable goal, however, we must ask significant questions. Does the medicine, or this case testing, have unintended consequences? Thus, is there any data to support that this will reduce the number of cases or will in fact it reduce the amount of poultry sold and therefore, reduce the number of case. Will in fact this increase the cost of food for families and more people will be without a safe sources of food that is free from the toxins of large producers?
The proposed regulation authorizes government inspectors via “testing methods” to declare certain levels and/or serotypes (a method of grouping cells) of Salmonella detected on raw poultry as "adulterants". "Adulterated” poultry cannot be sold to consumers without first being turned into cooked products by the processors, even though thorough cooking by consumers renders the meat safe for consumption. Please as you ponder this, recall the odyssey surrounding PCR testing for Covid-19. If you tested positive for Covid, it meant you had Covid, even though you had no Covid symptoms. Isolation for you. Others, tested negative but were clearly sick and they were not treated because they did not have “Covid”. Thus, the government sets testing levels not based on evidence that it reduces risk of illness, but if the product is not available because of our testing methods force processors to cook all the meat, then FSIS looks good but the farmers and processors are now out of business because of the increased cost. Thus, these small farms will be taken over by conglomerates that inject animals with countless hormones, antibiotics and vaccines.
The plan is to amplify the dangers of Salmonella, and point to small and independent farmers are the source of danger. The proper response is to continue to tell consumers to cook poultry thoroughly.
Why am I sharing this proposed change in the code of Federal Regulations with YOU?
If enacted, this would grant government overreach in the name of "food safety" even though there are no public health benefits to their new rule. It does, however, create even greater hindrances to your access to small-scale pastured poultry from farmers you trust.
WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?
FSIS is very interested in consumer input and gives their concerns great weight, so we need YOU to let them know you are opposed to this proposal! Please act quickly. The deadline for commenting is Friday, January 17, 2025. Bottom line is we want consumers to be unhindered from buying directly from farms they have trusted for years.
Here's what to do:
First, go here to the government regulations page:
https://www.regulations.gov/docket/FSIS-2023-0028
On the left had side of the page click the blue "Open for Comments" button. This will open another page and there is a second “Comment” button in blue on left side of the page. Click second “Comment” button.
Leave your own comment or simply copy and paste this message to the FSIS:
“As a consumer of locally raised and slaughtered poultry, I am against the Proposed Salmonella Framework on Raw Poultry. This proposed solution is not effective in addressing the concerns of consumers for safe or clean poultry. Please go back and listen to the stakeholder, the farmers and processors, comments to draft a new solution that allows consumers to maintain private ownership of their poultry and ensures access to non-chemically-sterilized poultry if we so choose.”
Keep this in mind: • You are not required to submit your email address along with your comment and can submit comments anonymously if preferred. • If an email is provided, you can opt to receive an email confirmation of submission and a tracking number. However, if you choose to identify as anonymous, the option to receive an email confirmation will not be displayed. • Lastly, ensure that the CAPTCHA test below the identity selection section has been completed. Then, you may click “Submit Comment.”
Here are more reasons you should ACT TODAY:
Loss of Access of Local Poultry to Consumers.
Increased Production Costs and Liability Insurance will result in an estimated 40% of processing facilities closing.
If farmers don’t have access to an inspected processor, they'll likely have to discontinue their own poultry production for their customers as these facilities are few and far between.
Increased Pricing of Local Poultry.
Processors that do continue operations after this Rule is enacted will definitely have increased costs due to increased testing by FSIS, holding of product, and product potentially being condemned that doesn’t pass the rigorous testing. These costs will, of course, have to be passed on down to consumers.
Loss of Private Ownership of Food: This Proposal gives the USDA the ability to condemn “adulterated” birds that were destined even for a homesteader’s own consumption if the birds were slaughtered at a small fee-for-service USDA-inspected plant.
Reduced Access to Chemical-Free Poultry: In order to meet the requirements set forth in the Proposed Testing program, processors will need to add multiple chemical intervention steps to reduce and eliminate the natural biological bacteria load on the poultry carcasses.
Reduced National Food Security: Loss of both farms and processors will undoubtedly occur with the enactment of this Proposed Rule which is not to the benefit of our national security. Just 5 years ago, every American realized how vitally important every local farmer and processor was. Local farmers feed our nation every day, but especially in times of crisis.
Save Pastured Poultry! We believe having clean food you can trust from farmers you trust, is the right of every person, especially here in America.
In support of Joel Salatin, Polyface Farm and Virginia Independent Consumers and Farmers Association, VICFA.
Sheila M. Furey, MD
yes. This is the nature of administrative state. Death by a thousand cuts.
Salmonella Risk Assessment in Poultry Meat from Farm to Consumer in Korea
less then 1in a billion when cooked.