Freedom to Choose Your Food

There are many barriers to farmers and consumers who would like to buy food outside of the mainstream food industry. This is a fact that we come up against in our work on a regular basis, so we are happy to draw attention to a new organization working for more food freedom in our country: Food of Choice.

From the Food of Choice website:

Food of Choice is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization working to protect the fundamental right of individuals and communities to grow, raise, produce, prepare, and share the foods they choose.

We believe everyone — from independent farmers and ranchers to small artisan food businesses to families searching for healthy food — should be free to fully participate in their local food system without burdensome or discriminatory regulations.

Food of Choice is a sister organization to the Farm-To-Consumer Legal Defense Fund. The FTCLDF has been around since 2007 helping farms like ours create a viable business that succeeds in staying within the agriculture rules of their region.

In the past Deck Family Farm has benefited from FTCLDF resources to navigate Oregon laws around raw dairy and around chicken processing and packaging.

For instance, the State of Oregon does not allow the commercial sale of unpasteurized (raw) milk except where the customers are members of a herdshare. In our CSA we charge the herdshare members an extra fee which creates an "ownership" or "stewardship" relationship to our herd allowing us to distribute milk and other products. We have gotten advice from FTCLDF on how to remain within the law around advertising and distribution issues.

"They have a team of lawyers on retainer so if you have any questions about the legality of what you are doing, as long as you pay your $100 per month dues they are there to support it," said Christine Deck, co-owner of the farm.

She recalled an instance where a USDA inspector decided that Deck Family Farm had broken the law by storing 2,000 pounds of chicken incorrectly at a local cold storage business. The inspector told the farm they would need to destroy all that meat.

"I called the Legal Defense Fund and they were there to coach us through every step of the way," she said. "And even though they did end up citing us for having chickens "in commerce" because of the off-site storage, the damage was a lot less. They made us destroy just a minimal amount of product."

Christine said she is excited by the goals of Food of Choice. "It's great to have organizations that will continue to defend our right to choose the food we eat which is usually unadulterated whole foods as opposed to what is supported through government subsidy in the commodity market."

Both organizations, Food of Choice and Farm-To-Consumer Legal Defense Fund, are looking for volunteers. Attorneys are especially needed to add to their network of resources. Visit their Work with Us page to learn more about how you can get involved.

If you aren't interested in advocacy, they still consider you an important part of the community. For consumers they provide educational resources that are designed to help you navigate the laws that affect how food is grown, raised, and shared.

For more information about our Creamy Cow Dairy and about raw milk, please enjoy this blog post: https://www.deckfamilyfarm.com/post/how-to-do-raw-dairy-well-1