Trying to make a few dollars

In the previous post, we discussed Joel Salatin's view and experience on sustainable agriculture and government involvement. I thought it would be good to illustrate an example so you can figure out how the expanding government is hurting want-to-be small farmers.

To better understand what it means to be a small-scale, sustainable farmer in today's America, I think every American should try to make and then sell a jar of homemade salsa at a farmer's market. Start with preparing the soil and planting the seeds and watch your veggies grow. While you weed and water your crops you'll also need to worry about putting up the money to rent or build your own commercial kitchen in order to meet one of the requirements for selling low-acid canned goods, such as salsa. Then, fill out the packet of bureaucratic paperwork required to be able to sell your goods in a retail situation, which includes everything from a farmers' market, to Whole Foods, to your local grocery store chain. Don't forget to keep records of each batch made. That way, you'll be ready when the various health departments that you are required to appease show up to scrutinize your procedure and recipe, the same recipe that your great grandmother has been using for 100 years. After doing all of that work and jumping through the hoops necessary to sell about 75 jars at $5 each, we can then see if you still want more expansion of government, the same expansion that caused the numerous superfluous issues with which you are currently faced. I have a feeling that these same liberal readers who don't know the extent of government control in agriculture are also some of the main proponents of ethanol and hybrid cars. Hopefully, these well-intentioned readers educate themselves and realize how wasteful ethanol is, not to mention how bad of an idea it is to grow food and not use it to fill people's bellies. But that's another story...