I stopped by my favorite meat producer's stand at the Dupont Farmers market this morning and learned some news that I have to share in hopes of others supporting the cause of the small farmer and small meatpacker.
Bev Eggleston of EcoFriendly foods is going to be testifying before a Congressional Subcommittee about the meatpacking industry this Thursday. Bev runs a small slaughter house that was mentioned in the best-selling book "The Omnivore's Dilemma". At the time the book was published Bev was still working through the red tape of getting a small, humane, slaughterhouse going. He got it running and now sells meat at markets and to a lot of high-end restaurants from VA to NY. His meat has been on the cover of Food and Wine magazine and he sells to the extremely popular Momofuku restaurant in New York City, to name just one.
I buy meat from Bev at the Dupont Circle and Arlington Courthouse farmers markets. Bev buys from a number of small farms in southern Virginia and processes the meat. He then does things impossible to find elsewhere, like grass-fed, grass-finished beef dry-aged for 90 days. His products are better quality than a lot of high-end butcher shops, but they certainly come at a premium price as well. A lot of the cost comes from actually paying workers livable wages at every step of the way. The animals are also treated humanely for their entire lives, so when it comes to the slaughterhouse that means killing many less animals per hour than the conventional slaughterhouse.
These efforts to be humane to animals and keep workers safe and healthy actually don't fit into the USDA's definition of how a meatpacking operation is run. It took Bev a lot of struggle to get the USDA to even come and inspect his facilities, implying that it was beneath them to inspect such a small operation. Without USDA inspection he can't sell his meat. His extremely high-quality meat sold at 4 star restaurants would basically be labeled as "pet food" in this country without USDA inspection.
Here is what EcoFriendly is asking people to do to support Bev and his cause of making the market more fair for the small farmer and small slaughterhouse since the laws are basically written with only the huge operations in mind:
Write an email to your representative and/or senator (find them at house.gov and senate.gov) explaining why this hearing is critical and what you want them to do.
Come to the hearing: Thursday March 4 at 2pm in room 2154, Rayburn House Office Building
Send a letter to the editor or call the assignment desk of your local news outlet and tel them that covering this hearing is important to you as a reader.![]()
Bev Eggleston of EcoFriendly foods is going to be testifying before a Congressional Subcommittee about the meatpacking industry this Thursday. Bev runs a small slaughter house that was mentioned in the best-selling book "The Omnivore's Dilemma". At the time the book was published Bev was still working through the red tape of getting a small, humane, slaughterhouse going. He got it running and now sells meat at markets and to a lot of high-end restaurants from VA to NY. His meat has been on the cover of Food and Wine magazine and he sells to the extremely popular Momofuku restaurant in New York City, to name just one.
I buy meat from Bev at the Dupont Circle and Arlington Courthouse farmers markets. Bev buys from a number of small farms in southern Virginia and processes the meat. He then does things impossible to find elsewhere, like grass-fed, grass-finished beef dry-aged for 90 days. His products are better quality than a lot of high-end butcher shops, but they certainly come at a premium price as well. A lot of the cost comes from actually paying workers livable wages at every step of the way. The animals are also treated humanely for their entire lives, so when it comes to the slaughterhouse that means killing many less animals per hour than the conventional slaughterhouse.
These efforts to be humane to animals and keep workers safe and healthy actually don't fit into the USDA's definition of how a meatpacking operation is run. It took Bev a lot of struggle to get the USDA to even come and inspect his facilities, implying that it was beneath them to inspect such a small operation. Without USDA inspection he can't sell his meat. His extremely high-quality meat sold at 4 star restaurants would basically be labeled as "pet food" in this country without USDA inspection.
Here is what EcoFriendly is asking people to do to support Bev and his cause of making the market more fair for the small farmer and small slaughterhouse since the laws are basically written with only the huge operations in mind:
Write an email to your representative and/or senator (find them at house.gov and senate.gov) explaining why this hearing is critical and what you want them to do.
Come to the hearing: Thursday March 4 at 2pm in room 2154, Rayburn House Office Building
Send a letter to the editor or call the assignment desk of your local news outlet and tel them that covering this hearing is important to you as a reader.
