Guest Post: Jackie @ Auburn Meadow Farm - Baaa-add... Very Bad Indeed

We like to think of ourselves as well informed, sophisticated citizens of the global economy, but are we really? Within the confines of our ten second attention spans, what do we really know about the state of our food supply?  

And have you ever wondered who decides what we should know and why?

Since I’ve chosen to explore the anti-establishment farming route and plunder the treasures Big Food and Farming has tossed aside,  my ears really perk up when I hear stories like the one of Canadian Montana Jones and her rare herd of heritage breed sheep.

You say you haven’t heard of Montana Jones and her sheep? I wish I could say I was surprised, but I’m learning there are lots of critically important events going on that never make the mainstream news. And when they do, they get about ten seconds of reassuring “official bulletin” then it’s on to more about the TomKat divorce or the Twihard cheating scandal.

Montana Jones is a woman whose herd of rare sheep was first quarantined by the Canadian government due to suspicion an incident of the sheep disease scrapie may have originated from her herd. She complied - for two years of great financial hardship to her business.  

Next the government issued orders to exterminate the herd even though during the two year quarantine they produced no definitive evidence the herd had the disease.  Amazingly, the sheep were then stolen and hidden by a group of Farmers calling themselves The Farmer’s Peace Corps, leaving just this handwritten note.

Mind you, this was a herd of very pregnant sheep.  The tale ends sadly; the sheep were found and slaughtered anyway after which test results prove that the sheep were scrapies-free. Montana Jones is not likely to ever be reimbursed for the value of the herd and faces possible jail time and ongoing legal battles. That’s the really quick version - you really need to read the events for yourself.

Most heritage breeds of livestock have gone out of fashion because they are the exact opposite of commercial breeds. They are scrappy, self-sufficient and individuals vary greatly. They are smart, quick and don’t thrive in confinement settings.

They also tend to not be the biggest producer of anything – they are small to medium in size so while their meat is excellent in quality, it’s not the payload yielded by the huge commercial breeds adapted to a life of engorged confinement.  

Where the bounty comes in with heritage breeds is that while they produce less quantity, they produce incomparable quality, all on the thrifty, natural diet readily available in their indigenous location.

As farmers scramble to adapt to weather change, reduce reliance on fossil fuels, synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, the value of these forgotten low-maintenance animals is really starting to be appreciated once again.

And on the plate? Since we’re now a generation or four removed from ever having tasted anything other than confinement meat, the taste of the meat from these forgotten breeds raised on pasture has captured our fancy. It really is true – what’s better for the animals and the environment is better for us too. And it tastes so amazingly good.

Big Pork, Big Beef and Big Chicken are  watching intently as consumers begin to ask questions and express preference for these less common products raised by small farmers on pasture.  Commodity meat’s profit margin is slim and their continued success depends on pushing more, more and more.

So, as small farms are increasingly exploring kinder healthier ways to get meat on the table, it is inevitable we can expect some pushback from industry. As much as I hate sounding like the crazy conspiracy theory lady, how else can I explain the reason for the government’s heavy handed extermination of Montana Jones’ sheep?

Following the money is the only way any of this makes sense. The government and industry trade groups are concerned with international trade policy and are anxious to appear to be taking assertive and effective action in maintaining control of any risk of disease potentially affecting their commercial livestock.

Some of the corporate  push-back  is the usual marketing spin where commodity products are designed to look homey and small.  Another form of push-back involves legal battles and lobbying to manipulate labeling so it becomes illegal to differentiate products by using labels calling out what the product  DOESN’T contain: think  the battle to label milk as rBHT Free.

Corporations also spend millions on lawsuits and lobbyists who enable them to invent new names for processes they know we don’t like - think corn sugar for high fructose corn syrup and cold pasteurization for irradiation, and why corporations don’t have to list things like pink slime on their labels.

Let’s also not forget about the current push for states to pass Ag-Gag bills making it a felony for anyone to take and share behind-the-scenes pictures of farms and the anti-disparagement laws that enabled Big Beef to sue Oprah for a casual comment she made on her show about hamburger.

Call me trusting and naive, but what I would have never believed is that the government would go so far as exterminate entire herds of heritage breed livestock without conclusive evidence or transparency.  But that’s exactly what seems to have happened to Montana Jones’ rare sheep.

My purpose here is not to write the authoritative blow by blow account; Montana does a very good job of that herself on her blog – you really should check it out. And in fairness, while Montana has earned much sympathy and support from farmers, I would be remiss to leave out that she is also not without critics for her actions from others within the farming community.

Here’s what I need to know: have you heard anything about this event at all?  And, if so, what exactly have you heard?  Prior to raising livestock myself, I would have listened to the government issued press releases about the extermination of this herd and think briefly it sounded like responsible action while also thinking what a sucky job it would be to have to collect and exterminate those sheep.

After all, as sad as it is for Montana Jones, we have an entire country of animals to protect from the scary disease these sheep are infected with, right?

Except that these sheep didn’t have any disease. And the government rushed and jockeyed and covered up misinformation to kill the flock quickly without proper due diligence, honesty, consideration, documentation or transparency.

Where are the responsible journalists to cover these stories? FYI, pink slime was well documented  for at least 10 years before ABC covered it on the evening news. That one story attracted so much outrage from the public - but are we not outraged that it took them 10 years to tell us?

Think the fate of this Canadian farmer is an isolated incident? I hate to tell you, but it’s not.

The Canadian Shropshire sheep debacle is eerily similar to the sad tale of the Mad River Valley herd of rare Beltex sheep in Vermont, USA. Every lover of real food and justice should read Linda Faillace’s chilling page turner, Mad Sheep.  I guarantee you will not soon forget it. And, because Linda is so matter-of-fact in her research and her telling of the tale, it’s all the more revealing and frightening. Read the timeline of the Faillace’s sheep debacle here.

This past April in the US we have seen another unique and unprecedented mutation of legal process implemented against heritage breed pigs in Michigan. Michigan has enforced what they call an Invasive Species Order to eliminate all hogs that have certain physical characteristics. The purpose of this law is supposedly to address the problem of feral pigs in the state.

A plan for eliminating destructive, disease carrying wild pigs sounds like the right thing to do doesn’t it?  But the unprecedented legal method devised to enforce this goal is pure terror for small farmers reliant on heritage breed pigs for their livelihood. And, for what it’s worth, there have been no reported instances of disease being transmitted by feral pigs.  Learn more about the Invasive Species Order here.  

The Invasive Species order approaches the problem of feral pigs in an unusual manner - first the agency assigned the duty of inspecting farms is not the Department of Agriculture, but the agency responsible for wildlife - the DNR. The order has determined a list of 9 physical characteristics that are unacceptable in Michigan pigs, number 9 being this ass-covering, we-can-add-anything-we-feel-like-in-the-future-without-due-process phrase:  "characteristics not currently known”.  Wait, whoa, what??

The characteristics include things like underbelly fur, tail structure, ear structure, and skeletal appearance and have nothing to do with genetics or DNA. Using these characteristics, any pig in the state - except the genetically identical commercial ones prefered by confinement farms - could be prohibited under the ISO.  

Ridiculously, the characteristics have nothing to do with whether the pig is in fact feral. Did you know that any pig, even the cutest, pinkest Wilbur and Arnold will revert to a feral state if released?

And creepiest of all is the barely disguised pulling of the governmental strings by Big Ag lobbies in Michigan, leading to the quick and dirty roundabout and unusual closed-door means of implementing this order against the objections of a significant number of legislators.  

This order gives Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources the unprecedented authority to regulate animals confined on farms, and charge farmers harboring pigs deemed unacceptable with a felony punishable with hefty fines and jail.  

You don’t know me, but let me assure you I am a girl who is often overwhelmed by too many shades of gray. I am not militant, anti-establishment or hostile towards Big Ag.

The standard issue explanation for each of these extreme actions has been the need for taking a proactive stance to protect the health of the confinement livestock industry. The government has  broader issues to consider such as protecting import/export markets and acting to prevent spread of disease from wildlife and livestock to humans.

Okay, fair enough, but in each of these cases, while the concern raised certainly warranted expanded research, the action was more witch-hunt than scientific, democratic action. And there was an obvious backlash towards the farmers who fought back and questioned the orders. Government officials do not welcome being challenged and forget about transparency.

My question? If confinement livestock are so delicate that they can’t be exposed to nature or the outdoors, we’re clearly betting on the wrong horse. Sheep are not the only animals posing risk to other sheep - what’s the government’s plan for eliminating all the deer out there with chronic wasting disease - the deer version of scrapie?


If confined, controlled, genetically identical livestock are so fragile, aren’t we smarter to fight to save the animals who are hardier, thrive outside and help restore damaged soil instead of pollute it? And what happens to all those vital, original genes future animals may need to help them adapt to changing conditions?

We need animals who thrive in simple, natural settings doing their part to help us conserve water, break our reliance on pesticides and synthetic fertilizers and feed us well - not ones that consume way too many natural resources and pollute their communities with the manure and drug residue of a small city.   

Are we blinded to the obvious? Lost the forest for the trees?

In the US, it’s an election year. We’re inundated with ads and snarkiness about this policy and that injustice. But while there’s lots of excitement about things like health care, who’s paying for birth control,  the endless faceoff about abortion and same sex marriage, nobody seems one bit worried about food.

Look around - we are heavily reliant upon subsidized crops like corn, soy and wheat that are suffering greatly from our current weather conditions. And there’s no program being proposed to broaden our base of food sources.

There are so many things for us to be concerned about, and we’re not used to food being one of them. But news flash: our North American food security is fragile.  The good news is that it’s fragile in ways we can fix before it’s too late.

I’ve not heard mention of food or farming once in this American presidential campaign. We seem incapable of looking at farming through anything other than the lens of the commodity market, and believe me, the market does not care about things like nature, logic and whether or not you can afford to feed your family.

As a breeder of rare cattle, these tales make my blood run cold. There are many good government people working hard to do the right thing in difficult times. And there are many good farmers betting all they’ve got to pave the way to a better food supply for future generations. It’s not always easy to know who the good guys are, but odds are, it’s not the talking head reassuring you there’s nothing to concern yourself about.

Here are some things you can do:

• Pay attention to stories about food and farming on the news
• See if there’s more to the story by searching alternative news sources
• Stop buying food from companies who are obscuring your right to know what’s in your food
• Ask why
• Broaden your sources for news
• Talk to people outside your sphere of experience
• Consider the actions, not the words
• Plant a garden and learn to cook with real ingredients

Being informed makes us better, more productive citizens.  Caring about food and provisioning doesn’t mean you’re some conspiracy theory whack-job; how much more proof do you need to realize that the copywriters who create infomercials and advertorials aren’t getting paid to make you healthier or more knowledgeable?  They get paid to push you to buy stuff you don’t need that isn’t good for you.

How about buying this?  Without a reliable food supply, nothing else matters. Not even Brangelina.

Jackie Cleary is a cook and writer living on a small farm in Western Pennsylvania. Ever fascinated with local, hand crafted food and the artisans who make it, Jackie’s own adventures in food and farming are a constant lesson in sustainability and humility. And deliciousness. You can visit Jackie and her herd of old-fashioned Milking Devon cattle at AuburnMeadowFarm.com.


Update: Montana Jones is hosting a fundraiser as a call to all farms. If you live in the Hastings, Ontario area, you may want to stop by for some food, music, and words. Click here for more info.