Page 7 - Fall2012

Letters

sive grazing year-round on the rolling FOOD SAFETY the expenses of being in business. And it
hills surrounding our home here in I am a member of the Weston A. leaves the public at risk for contamina-
Alberta, Canada. Each year the pasture Price Foundation and while I agree tion of food.
grasses return with increased density that small business enterprises must be I thought I would give you a differ-
and nutrition. sustainable, I have been in the catering ent perspective from someone who has
It was commonly known in the and food manufacturing business for been in the business. We all want safe
past that the true taste of beef comes in over thirty years. There is a very good food. Get a group of people together and
around the fourth year. As small family reason food should be made in a licensed have a cooperative commercial kitchen.
farmers, we cannot afford to hold onto and inspected facility where those That would be legal and sustainable.
the animals that long; however, we can preparing the food have taken the food Pauli Halstead
verify that a consistent, delicious, sweet handlers’ safety course. Not everyone Nevada City, California
taste in the beef is possible at around the who has a home kitchen knows how to
third year. keep all the surfaces sterile nor are they Thank you for your thoughts on this sub-
We’ve eliminated the chemical and likely to wash their hands often and ject. Our view is that regulations should
hormonal loading by raising the animals clean their utensils and cutting boards be size-specific. It is not expensive for
organically and removed the acidic load- properly. Also, in food manufactur- the home pickler to take a food handling
ing by not including any grain in their ing and preparing, the law states that course, but extremely expensive to set
diet. The net result is an experience of manufacturers use good manufacturing up a commercial kitchen, something
the true taste of the meat. principles to make sure there is no cross- that is not necessary for a product as
The fat, the bone broth and the deli- contamination of allergens (these can be inherently safe as homemade pickles.
cious meat all contribute greatly to our airborne) which will infiltrate the food
family’s welfare and the welfare of the you are preparing. FOOD IN ROMANIA
beautiful families we serve. Also, it is important that food be My wife and I can certainly empa-
You may be interested to know that stored in proper containers and at least thize with Daniela Schmidt’s concerns
we organically grow pastured, soy-free six inches off the floor. over what has happened to the diet of
chicken and turkeys as well. I am proud Other pathogenic bacteria which the people of Romania (Winter, 2011)
of the fact that my husband persisted and may be floating around the kitchen or and the similar progression of events
insisted on soy-free, despite being told be on your kitchen counter surfaces in the U.S., as creeping totalitarianism
that it was impossible to raise soy-free may get into the prepared food. It is well seeks to deprive us even (one might say
poultry. He spent a great deal of time known that the home kitchen sink has especially) of our inferred right—nay,
consulting with poultry nutritionists to more bacteria than your bathroom toilet. ability—to feed ourselves and our fami-
come up with a formula that we’re happy When I was in the catering business lies as we see fit.
with. In addition, our friends are using in Napa I had a twelve-hundred-square- We were in Bulgaria (neighbor to
the soy-free formula, and we have the foot commercial kitchen. I rented half of Romania) about eight years ago to visit
great advantage of gorgeous eggs from it out to another caterer and a taco truck. friends and family. Everywhere we went
their pastured, organic, soy-free hens! Taco trucks now have to prepare their the food was excellent. I had one of the
Thank you and all of those associ- food in an inspected kitchen for good best tripe soups (and I’ve had many) of
ated with the Foundation for the critical reason. Yes, all this does cost money. my life in a dingy little cafeteria, (now
contributions you are making toward the People in the food industry have to pay gone) near the Women’s Market in Sofia.
restoration of healthy families. for licensing, rent and liability insur- Traditional Bulgarian cuisine puts a very
Maighread Axe, Chapter Leader ance. All this is expensive. I do not feel high value on organ meats and they were
Terra Caritatis Patris Farm it is fair for people to be able to prepare available in their many forms in every
Clandonald, Alberta, Canada their product at home just to circumvent restaurant in which we ate.
Wise Traditions FALL 2012 FALL 2012 Wise Traditions 7

101665_text.indd 7 9/14/12 1:33 AM