Egg recall highlights industrial vs local food options

[Robin Garr]

Locavore food choices aren't just liberal hippie stuff. It makes good sense for multiple reasons: Health, flavor, humaneness, supporting your local farmer. What's not to like? The recent egg recall makes me mighty glad we switched over to local free-range eggs years ago.

But there's a dilemma to locavore choices: Our food dollars go directly to the farmer without distributors and other midlevel institutions taking their cut, but local food costs more, sometimes significantly more. To some extent, the healthy and flavorful choice is denied to poorer people who could benefit from it.

Here's a link to a story outlining the disgusting conditions at the DeCoster family's Iowa mega-farms:

Egg recall, food safety: Filthy conditions found at mega farms - chicagotribune.com

What's your take on all this? Is locavore quality, health and humaneness worth a premium price for you?

What's your take on all this? Is locavore quality, health and humaneness worth a premium price for you?

Of course it is...and I have been buying locally, as much as possible for over 25 years. If anyone has any doubt about the benefits, look for and read:
Animal Vegetable Miracle - Barbara Kingsolver
Kitchen Confidential - Anthony Bourdain
Omnivore's Dilemma - Michael Pollan
Fast Food Nation - Eric Schlosser

After reading these books, one wonders about even going to restaurants, or buying any commercially grown foods....even eating meat!

[Robin Garr]

If anyone has any doubt about the benefits, look for and read:
Animal Vegetable Miracle - Barbara Kingsolver
Kitchen Confidential - Anthony Bourdain
Omnivore's Dilemma - Michael Pollan
Fast Food Nation - Eric Schlosser

Why ... I've read them all! I have to dine in restaurants professionally (tough job, but someone has to do it), but a remarkable number of Louisville's best restaurants are now deeply into local sourcing, which is a plus. Some of the ethnic spots, too. We just got back from a new Iraqi restaurant where all the meats are halal, purchased from Muslim butchers. The chicken was really good. A lamb shank was "gamey," but that didn't really bother us.

While I agree that it's better to go with small, local producers, I think it's important to note that not all large producers are as careless as the DeCosters nor is going with a small producer any guarantee that you won't encounter salmonella in your eggs.

I think the DeCosters have done a huge favor for small producers everywhere, though. Reading about the conditions in their farms is absolutely disgusting. Like you, Karen, we'll keep buying from the local guys.

[Robin Garr]

While I agree that it's better to go with small, local producers, I think it's important to note that not all large producers are as careless as the DeCosters nor is going with a small producer any guarantee that you won't encounter salmonella in your eggs.

Speaking with scientific rigor, Mike, you're right. But I'm pretty much convinced that battery chickens living in their own feces are a lot more likely to have salmonella in their system than small-farm free-range hens.

If anyone has any doubt about the benefits, look for and read:
Animal Vegetable Miracle - Barbara Kingsolver
Kitchen Confidential - Anthony Bourdain
Omnivore's Dilemma - Michael Pollan
Fast Food Nation - Eric Schlosser

Why ... I've read them all! I have to dine in restaurants professionally (tough job, but someone has to do it), but a remarkable number of Louisville's best restaurants are now deeply into local sourcing, which is a plus. Some of the ethnic spots, too. We just got back from a new Iraqi restaurant where all the meats are halal, purchased from Muslim butchers. The chicken was really good. A lamb shank was "gamey," but that didn't really bother us.

Tough job, eh? I'd love to do what you do..on my terms, and when I wanted to do it. Since you have read some of my favorite reads...any others you suggest that I read?

[David M. Bueker]

Nobody is going to convince me to switch from Pete & Gerry's eggs unless there is some wild revelation.

The only time I ever got sick from an egg it was a fresh & local one - as far as I knew...

[Robin Garr]

Nobody is going to convince me to switch from Pete & Gerry's eggs unless there is some wild revelation.

The only time I ever got sick from an egg it was a fresh & local one - as far as I knew...

Peteandgerrys.com sounds mighty local to me! I'd accept "regional" without any qualms, assuming it's not an industrial-style processing factory like the DeCosters', which I gather Pete and Gerry's is not.

Pete and Gerry's is a small family farm in Monroe NH Our NH-certified organic eggs are sold throughout New England and are produced using organically grown ...

Locavore food choices aren't just liberal hippie stuff. It makes good sense for multiple reasons: Health, flavor, humaneness, supporting your local farmer. What's not to like? The recent egg recall makes me mighty glad we switched over to local free-range eggs years ago.

But there's a dilemma to locavore choices: Our food dollars go directly to the farmer without distributors and other midlevel institutions taking their cut, but local food costs more, sometimes significantly more. To some extent, the healthy and flavorful choice is denied to poorer people who could benefit from it.

Here's a link to a story outlining the disgusting conditions at the DeCoster family's Iowa mega-farms:

Egg recall, food safety: Filthy conditions found at mega farms - chicagotribune.com

What's your take on all this? Is locavore quality, health and humaneness worth a premium price for you?

To quote Hemingway.."Isn't it pretty to think so?' The small operations are never inspected! What are their procedures to cleaning the manure on the outside shells of the eggs? What sort of solution are they using? What are their procedures for milking? Do they have a sanitized milking barn? Are the containers in which the milk is placed properly sanitized? As an old "homesteader" I always preferred to raise my own "stuff" but I know that my goat milking procedures would never have passed inspection. Even though for a couple of years the chickens were fed mixed grains that I had inspected and graded myself the kitchen in which their carcasses were processed was not NSF! Each chicken also was not dipped in a sanitized bucket with its own new hot water (not even sanitized solution) when they were plucked.

I will say that I found those that kept fairly clean homes and wore clean clothing seemed to follow better practices than many of the other folk. I think personal standards carried through to their food health practices.

[David M. Bueker]

Robin,

Isn't "local" loosely (or not so loosely) defined by the locovore community as within 100 miles?

[Robin Garr]

Robin,

Isn't "local" loosely (or not so loosely) defined by the locovore community as within 100 miles?

I don't know what the locavore community calls it, David, but I guess my preferred distinction is more like "artisanal" and "sufficiently wired into the local food distribution chain that they're within two degrees of separation," so issues such as George arises aren't serious concerns because someone I know knows the farmer and has seen his or her operation. An arbitrary distance isn't as important as having some degree of connection resulting in the knowledge that the operator is neither a DeCoster-style agribusiness nor, frankly, the Joads.