From the Los Angeles Times by way of the Seattle Times comes word of a new Amerikan czar. Interestingly, though, instead of the usual assurances that the new top-level poodocrat position will help, the headline asks the simple question, Can new food safety czar mend “broken” system?.
I must say, it’s hugely amusing to see the adjective “broken” in quotation marks in the headline – as if melamine in the food supply isn’t cause for concern. All the same, the answer to the question is given in the first few paragraphs of the article [emphasis mine]:
Bowing to growing nationwide concern, the Food and Drug Administration named a food safety "czar" Tuesday and pledged to develop "a visionary strategy for food safety and defense" that takes into account increasing U.S. dependence on food imports.
The move came as the agency said its investigation of contaminated pet-food ingredients from China has expanded to include feed given to millions of chickens in the U.S. that likely already have been consumed. Officials say they do not believe the chickens pose any risk for the people who ate them.
The food-safety czar -- officially, assistant commissioner for food protection -- is Dr. David Acheson, chief medical officer of the FDA's food division, who oversaw last year's investigation into tainted spinach from California.
The promise of a new food-safety strategy recalls an earlier FDA effort after the Sept. 11 attacks to improve protection of food imports. The initiative ultimately was abandoned because of tight federal budgets and a lack of official will.
The feddie budget ain’t getting any smaller, so I have a hard time seeing this as anything but more puppet theater. What will another bureaucrat actually do, besides skim more taxbux from productive individuals? Oh, yeah – he’ll come up with more ways to restrict our freedoms and increase pood prices, that’s what.
I’m trying hard not to overreact to this ongoing story, but it’s damned difficult. I take my responsibilities as chief cook very seriously, and can’t help but wonder about those chicken breasts in the freezer ... I’ll confess that I have even considered going vegan, which seems extreme but ought to ensure that any melamine fed to animals doesn’t wind up on our table.
What I will do first is be on the lookout for local sources of meats. But that’s really only a good sidestep if one trusts the source. It looks more and more to me like opting out of the mass-production market is the healthier choice, but who has the time and resources to provide a family’s food needs themselves? Pro-freedom entrepreneurs, here’s a ripe market for you!
meat production
Hi Sunni - There are a few caveats to meat production - the first being the USDA inspection system, which requires a producer to pay an inspector to watch the butcher process and give it a healthy stamp of approval. The regs include stainless steel surfaces and wash down floors. If you raise rabbits, and have maybe a dozen per month excess, you cannot afford the process - the cost of the inspection takes the cost of producing the meat from under a dollar to over three per pound - assuming that you even have a market. Otherwise - you are breaking the law and get a spanking from the new food czar.
Okay, i made up the spanking part - but if i serve the meat on my table, why must i have it officially inspected before i sell it to you. Now, the USDA wants to chip every animal on every farm ... oh, oh. Time to do something major league different, and i don't mean becoming vegan.