Nosestretcher alert: small farms produce safest food?

Posted: March 9th, 2010 - 4:03am by Doug Powell

Are small farms incompatible with food safety rules?

Deborah Stockton, executive director of the National Independent Consumers and Farmers Association (NICFA), said today,

"Small farms produce the safest food available, without regulation. … Just like family farms brought us out of the Great Depression, they can bring us out of the food safety problem and this recession, if they are allowed to thrive.”

Sounds like someone is compensating for inadequacy issues and responding with exaggeration, like a 50-year-old in a Miata rag-top.

The idea that food grown and consumed locally is somehow safer than other food, either because it contacts fewer hands or any outbreaks would be contained, is the product of wishful thinking.


Maybe the majority of foodborne outbreaks come from large farms because the vast majority of food and meals is consumed from food produced on large farms. To accurately compare local and other food, a database would have to somehow be constructed so that a comparison of illnesses on a per capita meal or even ingredient basis could be made.

NICFA is gonna lobby Washington, D.C. types and then hold a local foods feast for Congress tomorrow night. I hope no one gets sick – faith-based food safety is a lousy approach.

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Categories: Food Safety Culture
Tags: farm, food safety, Local, Outbreaks, Small

Comments

Anonymous says:

This is quite a harsh comment. In my opinion, short food chain production strategies, where food is produced, processed and eaten very quickly, without too many processing, marketing and storage steps before consumption, is likely to be at least as safe as large scale commercially produced foods. Also, if small volumes of food are produced, with care and attention to basic hygiene principles, there is a good chance that they will be at least as safe as commercially produced foods. This is the rationale behind bringing back small family farms. But I would not say that family farms are the answer to the food safety crisis for two reasons: 1. WHAT food safety crisis? Food in the USA and EU is safer today than it ever was in the past because the ways of diagnosing and tracing food associated diseases are so much better and more accurate. Ten or 20 years ago the patients would just have visited the local gp and either died or survived unrecorded. 2. There is sadly no chance that small farms could supply enough food for the hungry millions on earth today. However it is a good idea to reinstate them for food security and some economic benefits in rural and peri-urban communities hard hit by the economic downturn.

Posted on March 10th, 2010 - 11:39am

Mark Seitz says:

I have been on a lot of farms, large and small, in my career and small farms are not immune to the risk off food borne illness. I have been on farms - large and small - where dogs, cats, cattle and goats run free with no apparent concern on the part of the farm owner regarding food safety. I wouldn't spend $0.10 cents on food from some of them. I have been on farms - large and small - that were maintained in immaculate condition. While this doesn't guarantee 100% microbe free food, it sure makes me a lot more willing to buy produce from them. The size of the farm isn't the issue.

Posted on March 11th, 2010 - 3:57pm

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