By Vernon Robison
Moapa Valley Progress
The owners of the Quail Hollow Farm in Overton testified before the Nevada Legislative Committee on Health Care at a special interim hearing held Tuesday, January 17 in Las Vegas.
Farm owners Laura and Monte Bledsoe appeared before the committee to relate the experience of a recent entanglement they had with local regulatory agencies and to discuss the possibility of enacting legislation that could loosen restrictions on small food producers in the state.
In October Quail Hollow Farm, a Community Supported Agricultural (CSA) enterprise ran afoul of the Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD) at a Farm to Fork Dinner that the Bledsoes had organized. The idea was to invite farm shareholders out to the country to enjoy a wholly farm fresh meal under the stars.
“I’m a bit of a romantic,” Laura Bledsoe told the committee. “I had this idea of: Wouldn’t it be great to have a celebration of our community at this wonderful time of year. In October the weather is beautiful, the farm is bursting with produce before the winter frosts come in. And we just thought it would be a great thing to offer to the community and to our shareholders: a celebration of the harvest.”
But SNHD officials who came to inspect on the day of the event, found several problems with the food preparations. Chief among these was that the source of meats being served could not be verified as USDA approved. As a result, the inspectors required the Bledsoes to destroy the meat and other food items by pouring bleach over them.
Assemblyman Cresent Hardy, who sits on the committee, asked SNHD officials in attendance what had brought the health district, and all its accompanying regulation, into this small event which was being held on private property. For contrast, Hardy cited past instances where he had advertised for a family reunion for a crowd of 200-300 people and served locally grown meat that had similar processing origins as the Quail Hollow event.
“The same thing was happening with that but there is no regulation there,” Hardy said.
“Where the line in the sand is drawn for us is: after the beef has been slaughtered, then it is placed back into the market and is being sold to the public,” said SNHD Environmental Health Director, Glenn Savage. “Then we are very much involved. What we are interested in is the source; the beef coming from an approved source a licensed facility. The meat has to be stamped for public consumption, not for private use.”
Susan LaBay who was the supervising inspector on the evening of the Quail Hollow incident testified that there had been no verification of an approved source for the meat.
“When we asked for verification of where their meats had been processed or stored, no one could provide it,” LaBay said. “The issue was where had it been stored, where had it been butchered, and then it had been brought across state lines.”
Savage stated that there were strict federal regulations governing animals shipped across state lines, slaughtered and then sold to the public.
Assemblywoman April Mastroluca, the committee chairperson, asked if there are any approved meat processing facilities in the state of Nevada where the Bledsoes could have taken their animals.
LaBay stated that there are only a couple of USDA inspected facilities in the state.
“Unfortunately, they will not take this meat for fear of losing their USDA registration,” she said.
LaBay explained that, before meat can come into the food supply, testing is required both while the animal is still alive and after it is slaughtered.
“Most of the facilities, at least the one in Clark County, will not take this meat from farmers because that testing has not happened,” LaBay said.
Joe Pollock, Program Manager for the Nevada State Health Division, who was attending the meeting via teleconference in Carson City, brought up a possible work-around to the USDA issue. He pointed out that the USDA will grant exemptions to small producers. In that case, it falls to the state or local health authority to oversee the process from there, he said.
“If the exemption was granted, the meat would then have to be inspected by the health authority,” Pollock said. “Or the Nevada Revised Statute (NRS) allows the health officer to designate the operator of the facility to do self inspection. I think with our current staffing that would be the only option for us to do.”
This could cover the smaller farm animals; like rabbits, chickens and sheep; that the Bledsoes had processed on site. But it still left the problem of processing larger livestock at an approved facility.
“The USDA would not be issuing any exemptions for this,” said University of Nevada Extension Veterinarian, David Thayne who was also attending from Carson City. “When livestock move across state lines for slaughter purposes they have to be inspected by USDA before they can return to Nevada.”
Thayne said that the nearest USDA slaughter plant that would be able to handle this situation is in Cedar City, Utah.
“My goodness what a can of worms my little back yard dinner created here,” said Laura Bledsoe. “And I believe it was for good cause. We had a horrific experience that has turned into something really important for us to discuss here in Nevada.”
Bledsoe said that the fundamental principle in the discussion was one of choice and people’s freedom to choose what foods they will consume.
Bledsoe explained that she had met with SNHD officials in the week following the Farm to Fork episode.
“It was a cordial meeting,” she said. “But I asked the question: If I were to go and get a permit today, would I ever be allowed to serve my meats? The answer was no, I would not. Without the USDA inspection, I wouldn’t. And as was rightfully said here today, no USDA facility is going to close down shop for my 12 rabbits and a few chickens and a lamb. They’re not going to do it. I think it is important that we realize that in the state of Nevada there is no meat. We do not produce any meat in the state for consumers. None. It is not an option.”
Bledsoe made the point that consumers want a choice in what foods they eat, but that complete food safety is difficult to guarantee. She noted that on the same night as the Quail Hollow event, her own nephew had contracted food poisoning from eating USDA certified meat at a popular restaurant.
“So we are not going to be able to eliminate every food risk.” she said. “But we can allow an educated populous to make the choice for themselves and their families. We don’t allow this at this time.”
“I want to address the issue of an informed public,” said Assemblywoman Peggy Pierce, who sits on the committee. “The public has absolutely not a clue as to the temperature meat needs to be so that its safe to eat; how long it takes to grow bacteria; how long you have to keep things cold. It’s complicated. People who do this for a living have to be trained to do it. The idea of an informed public is, well it is just mythical.”
“With all due respect, I disagree,” said Bledsoe. “I am a mom. I provide food to my family on a daily basis. We have this assumption throughout the United States these days that people are just stupid; that we don’t have the ability to make good choices for our family. I respectfully disagree with that. I feel that I have the freedom and the right to make health choices for my family and for my loved ones.”
“This is ultimately not just about food safety but its about the freedom of the consumer to make decisions,” said Jeff Rose, an attorney from the Institute of Justice who was representing the Bledsoes at the hearing. “It’s about food freedom. Eggs are not mysterious. Eating meat is not mysterious. These are things people have done for thousands of years. All of us understand how to eat fresh fruits and vegetables and meat. What the Bledsoes are really asking for is just a common sense exception to current state law that will allow them to hold their farm to fork dinners and provide food they have raised without having to go through the cost prohibitive inspection process that is presently required.”
“What we are talking about are farmers who want to grow their own food and serve it,” Rose continued. “The fact that their guests are paying really shouldn’t make a difference. As Assemblyman Hardy noted, if it were a 300 person family reunion, everyone could come and eat it. It is just not reasonable to think that the citizens of Nevada must lose their ability to consent to eating foods, ordinary simple foods, just because they are paying for it.”
But Mastroluca made a distinction between the consumer expectation when eating a family dinner as opposed to paying for a meal.
“If I go someplace and I’m paying money, I have an expectation that the food that I am eating is safe,” she said. “If there is a disclaimer that comes before that to tell me: Yes the food is safe, and it has gone through proper channels, but you do need to know that it didn’t come from a USDA inspected plant; then that is my choice.”
Pierce added that a disclaimer of this kind would have to be very clear to the consumer.
“It needs to be a real disclaimer not like the ones on your credit card bill,” she said. “It would have to accompany the original advertisement. Everyone has to be able to read it. It’s got to be up front and big enough for everybody to see.”
Senator Joe Hardy urged the parties to sort out the details and possibly find a solution before the legislative session.
“We don’t go into session until February of 2013,” Hardy told Rose. “Now I hear you pleading for a law, but these people are interested in doing something sooner than that. We have what we call legislative intent. We intend to solve this problem.”
Rose said that he would circulate a draft legislative change specific to Nevada law that would enable the Bledsoes to do what they wanted. He said that he would provide the committee with the language.
“I would encourage you to come up with some possible legislation and bring that forth to us,” said Mastrolucca. “We will have a work session in August and hopefully will have something that we’ll be able to consider as a committee and move forward in the next legislative session.”
