Humpty Dumpty Has Taken a Great Fall!
I have wanted to comment on the egg situation the day after the half-billion recall. First, I wanted to say that these types of contaminated eggs are commonplace– the reason, in part, 1 in 4 Americans get a case of food-borne illness each year. It is similar to the leafy green problem–where the spinach and such are grown in concentrated human, industrial and hospital wastes–called biosolids out in the California Salad Bowl. It was frustrating holding back the article– I wanted to have the cute picture of Humpty Dumpty– and the title I had in mind for weeks. But it all came together a few minutes ago!
Two weeks ago Mark Kastel, director of the prestigious Cornucopia Institute, sent me photos of the USDA-certified organic egg operations– from factory farms or concentation camps– accounting for a good 80% of organic eggs sold at supermarkets. He encouraged me to publish something. Yesterday he posted a brilliant 4-minute video that says it all. Now, I need not write the article.– Augie
As he says and is plain to see, the egg cartel has taken over nearly all of the production, using their mass scale operations to drive the price down which forces more real egg producers out of the business. (It is the same economic disparity and health benefit comparison with grocery store milk and farm fresh, unprocessed, whole milk– or raw milk direct from the farm).
I know you will NOT buy organic eggs from the store– buy only eggs from farmers that have pastured hens fed natural feed. But your friends and coworkers, church folk and neighbors need to understand how this fraud and deception works–and how it affects your health and the health of the chickens and eggs– the so-called organic takeover by the USDA and its corporate partners. They should be fried hard and to a crisp. SHARE this story with them now using this link http://wp.me/phmll-1di in Facebook, twitter, lists and other social networks!
Get more info on the egg story at The Cornucopia Institute.
Living Food, our new paper bulletin at http://ishop.livingfood.us/.– is a way for you to support our work and we give a free sample before you are asked to give $10.
The much delayed iShop of the Journal will be up and running in October and offers you some of the best in eBooks for instant downloadable health and nutrition!
Journal of Natural Food and Health 
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But these small farmers also charge WAY more than we can afford! It’s so frustrating. I understand that they have to live, but I feel like they’ve started to take advantage of the “popularity” of trying to support small farmers. How do lower-middle income families support small farmers if we can’t afford the food? ~Michelle
So eat fewer eggs or look around for cheaper eggs. Seriously! The cost of one carton of local eggs vs. farmed eggs, an extra $2. Do without something else. This is very, very important!
Well, we actually raise chickens now. It’s cheaper than buying eggs. We tried the “drink less milk” so we could afford $7/gallon raw milk (for a long time I bartered a few loaves of homemade bread to bring the price down a little), but we had to give it up. We’re a family of 5 trying to get by on a $400/month grocery budget. We do without a lot, thank you. As a matter of fact, for this week, we have a gallon and a half of milk, an organic chicken in the freezer, a pound of ground beef, and a lot of eggs, thank goodness.
I appreciate your comment more than you can imagine. The way to provide affordable products is to have a system that honors everyones contribution. By this I mean that: 1. There are no parties involved in the supply line that are solely involved in the process to extract profit (interest based enterprises). 2. the implication of that statement is that everyone does exactly what their passion is.
The system must acknowledge that each person has his place. I am writing this because I am a part of a growing organization that is doing just that. We are connecting food service entrepreneurs with cooks with farmers, with day care professionals and helping them be the best in their particular field while teaching them to operate in a way that is mindful of other respective areas.
This is not a change in supply or demand, it is a change in being and in doing. We must individually find our purpose and pursue it.
Sounds good!
Pay the farmer or pay the hospital. You can get good eggs for as low as 2.50, (though $6 in some stores– or even $4 at the farm). Naturally raised food is a high value- health and nutrient wise.
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Scott Trautman– the Proud Wisconsin dairman, wrote this to me this morning:
Hey Augie –
Cornucopia Institute – now I don’t know for fact – but Organic Valley has been a big donor to Cornucopia in the past – something tells me they aren’t going to be quite so much in the future.
Cornucopia Institute is protecting organic like no others. OUR organic – the family one.
I’ve put a challenge out there – I donated $250 because God has been good to us and I can, and I choose to and it is right selfish of me: They are protecting my reputation.
All our Organic Raw Milk Farmers & Consumers – give what you can. Start showing it instead of just talking about it. Have you been blessed? Share the blessings, put them to work.
Anyone that gives to Cornucopia Institute this month is invited to our farm for Pie and a refreshing organic beverage of local origin of their choice, along with my gratitude. Our gratitude.
Stand tall, stand united! Keep up the great work, Augie–
Scott
Scott & Julie Trautman & Family
Trautman Family Farm 608-205-9798
2049 Skaalen Road family@trautmanfarm.com
Stoughton WI 53589 http://www.trautmanfarm.com
Grassfed Beef, Pastured Pork & Poultry, Awesome Eggs, Dairy +more…
Certified Organic Farm (MOSA)
Thanks for much for all of your research for and for posting such relevant material. I have only had to buy organic eggs from a supermarket a few times and it is amazing to me the difference in taste and appearance.
Every time someone complains about the cost of high quality food I point them to this, which is part of my email signature. Buy cheap food and you pay many times over in other costs!
THE HIGH COST OF CHEAP FOOD by John Ikerd
http://www.ssu.missouri.edu/faculty/jikerd/papers/SFTcheapfood.html
” “[E]ating is a moral act.”..… The food we choose has an impact upon the lives of other people,
upon the earth, and upon the future of humanity.
When all of the costs are counted, we simply cannot afford the high costs of cheap food. “
Lisa, I understand where you are coming from. I really really really do. We are small farmers and most of our customers are low income.
The solution to the whole “real food is too expensive” thing is pretty simple: BARTER. Trade. We do it all the time. And before you tell me that you don’t have anything to trade, stop and think. You have something. Are you an excellent knitter? Awesome! Make my kids hats and socks that I can give them at Christmas, and I’ll give you chickens, eggs and milk. Were you an office manager before you had children? Great! Come re-organize my office and get my books in order, and I’ll give you half a lamb. You can weed the winter garden, help put up fencing, or milk cows so that your farmer can have a weekend away with his wife. You can DO something, and most of the farmers that I know love to trade.
I have a sweet girlfriend who picks up produce and eggs from our farm for people in her food desert neighborhood. In exchange, we give her hefty discounts. Another friend comes over once a week and helps me catch up on laundry and housework, affording me more time to spend with my husband and children. I pay her in milk. It’s wonderful. We pay our naturopath in chickens and pork. One of our neighbors is a contractor. He just helped us add 600 square feet to our home, and we paid him in food.
When you sell stuff you make money, but when you barter you make friends. Our customers are not just customers…they are FAMILY. We take care of each other. Please try it out.
What a beautiful statement you have made, Stacie. If I were in your neck of the woods, I would come on out to the http://redhogfarm.com and trade you for some of my slow money I print http://ishop.livingfood.us I have traded them for eggs, meat, cheese– and could have had 5 laying hens in exchange for an ad!!!
I have done this before, and it IS wonderful. I used to barter homemade bread for milk (2 loaves of bread per gallon of milk) and brought down the overall price of the milk to comparable to store-bought. I eventually had to stop because they raised their prices and we moved over an hour away from the pick-up point.
I do knit and spin…. I’d much rather trade/barter than sell what I make. I give most of what I make as gifts, because probably similar to small farming, I could never get back what I put into the things I make.
I wish there was a way to match skills, items, and food for bartering. There’s probably a gold mine out there for someone who can figure it out! 🙂
Thank you for understanding… most people don’t.
~Michelle
Mommy– if you go to our affiliate http://realfoodmedia.com there is a lady that has a whole series on eating well on a very small budget like yours. Meals for less than 2 bucks a person
Sorry…that comment was meant for Micandme. 🙂
Aw, thanks Augie! Anytime you guys are in Oregon, please stop by. I make a mean pot of coffee. 😉
I just sent 300 Oregon ARMi officers out your way– to you FB page.
Dang, that’s a Lot of Chickens up there on that video! I only have 11. And they give us plenty of eggs. More than enough. We give out the a few dozen to people who stop by.
If a person has a small yard , you can invest in a dog house and a fence around it. That’s what I did when we lived in the suburbs. Instead of a dog we had 5 chickens. More than enough eggs for a family of 4.