Here to support Oregonians who want to have the freedom of choice in what they eat!
WHAT IS FOOD FREEDOM?
Food Freedom is the rallying cry for those committed to free choice in the foods we eat and feed our families.
The general idea is to keep all food choices legal – whether healthy, unhealthy, local, global, fresh, frozen, or french fried. The goal is to limit government regulation that comes between your fork and your mouth.
Although the general idea is broad, supporters of Food Freedom tend to be particularly interested in certain issues, and these issues tend to focus on smaller producers and local markets. These issues include:
• RAW MILK: Each state regulates the sale and consumption of raw milk and raw milk products like cheese, yogurt, ice cream, etc.
In Oregon, it is only legal to purchase raw milk directly from a farm (a farm with three or fewer cows and/or seven or fewer goats). It is illegal to purchase raw milk from a grocery store, restaurant, farmers’ market, or other retail outlet.
Other states, such as California, allow the retail sale of raw milk and raw milk products.
• FARM-DIRECT MEAT: Many people want to purchase meat directly from the farmers who raised the animals. Many of these are concerned about the treatment of animals raised at “industrial” facilities and the ethics of certain slaughtering methods. Many believe “farm-to-table” or “farm-to-fork” meat has superior flavor and quality.
In Oregon, it is illegal to buy meat slaughtered by the farmer and not at a USDA slaughter house. But it is the treatment and feeding of animals at the USDA slaughter house that farm-direct fans want to avoid.
It is legal to slaughter your own animal for your own consumption. So consumers and farmers can get around these rules by colluding in the fiction that a consumer buys a percentage of a cow or a pig when it is alive and then, when the farmer slaughters it, the consumer is, in fact, eating his own animal.
• PASTURED POULTRY: The idea of “pastured poultry” appeals to people who do not like the chicken factories that produce – in pretty disgusting conditions – most of our poultry. Current regulations make raising pastured poultry difficult and expensive.
