Dan Brown, owner of Gravelwood Farm in Blue Hill, speaks to a crowd of more than 150 people gathered Friday, Nov. 18, 2011, in front of the Blue Hill Town Hall. The Maine Department of Agriculture has filed a suit against Brown, alleging that he is illegally selling unpasteurized milk without a license. Brown, meanwhile, insists he is doing nothing wrong and that a local food ordinance adopted by Blue Hill residents protects the rights of farmers to sell directly to consumers without a license.
(Photo: Kevin Miller / Bangor Daily News)
Making History Mondays is a weekly digest of American food news from the around the web. These are the stories that are changing American foodways and impacting the way we eat.
- Maine Food Revolution: Small towns across the state of Maine are passing “food sovereignty” ordinances allowing smaller food producers to bypass costly state and federal regulations. The state has begun suing individual farmers to prevent this, though they say they are legally allowed to manufacture products like raw milk or to slaughter chickens on a farm, rather than having to send it to a centralized processing facility.
- GMO Wheat Scare: The USDA is continuing to investigate how unapproved genetically modified wheat planted in Idaho fields by Monsanto ended up in Eastern Oregon, causing Japan and other countries to halt US wheat imports to their countries.
- NO SNACKS: The Department of Agriculture has effectively banned the sale of junk food in public schools, including candy, sports drinks and sugary sodas. The new rules were implemented after bipartisan legislation passed Congress in 2010 to improve school meals.
- MOONSHINE: Tennessee is turning to moonshine to help boost the state’s economy, by increasing the number of legal distilleries in the mountain region. The move is also expected to benefit local farmers.
- TWINKIES RETURN: After disappearing from stores following the bankruptcy of snack food giant Hostess in November, 2012, Twinkies will be returning to the shelves on July 15.
