Free Talk Live

At this quasi-clandestine monthly event, a tribal gathering of young chefs, vendors and their iron-stomached followers are remaking the traditional farmers market as an indie food rave. In a sense it is civil disobedience on a paper plate.

ST. LOUIS — The city is changing how it issues permits for food vendors on downtown park property and sidewalks. The city wants more quality control, more oversight and, in some cases, more money. Brady Tolliver, the self-dubbed King of Carts, has five vending sites throughout the area, including one in front of City Hall at Market Street and Tucker Boulevard. Tolliver has no problem with the higher fees. They may weed out vendors who aren't serious enough, he said . . .

An attorney for a group of food truck and push cart vendors has written members of the Birmingham City Council to say the vendors have “serious concerns” about a proposed mobile food ordinance that they say is “extraordinarily restrictive” and, if passed as written, could drive them out of downtown. “Our organization isn’t opposed to regulation, but the complexity of this ordinance is kind of astounding to me,” David Donaldson, the attorney representing the mobile vendors, said today.

Cuba has no shortage of fertile farmland, but the country spends $1.5 billion a year importing about 70 percent of its food. The communist government's chronic struggle to get farmers to produce more is forcing authorities to grudgingly accept a greater role for market principles and the profit motive. Now authorities seem willing to go another step further, tolerating the rise of what might be described as Cuba's "free-est" market.

"To sell at a farmers market, you need to produce your wares in a commercial kitchen. This is an impossible expense for many of us, so the underground farmers market is about helping to get some exposure for all of our fellow producers without the cash for a commercial kitchen."

The FDA says its new guidelines would make the food Americans eat safer and help prevent the kinds of food borne disease outbreaks that sicken or kill thousands of consumers each year. The rules could cost manufacturers up to $475 million annually. The bill also authorized more surprise inspections by the FDA and gave the agency additional powers to shut down food facilities. In addition, the law required stricter standards on imported foods.

A health food store in PEI Canada is getting leaned on for selling non government approved eggs. This is part of a campaign to put small producers out of business. Last year a B&B was leaned on for serving non-graded eggs to customers. And shortly before that there was a move afoot to change the size of flocks that would fall under health regulations, from 300 to 50.

The health food store proprietors have chosen disobedience by selling the cartons and giving the eggs away for free. It takes guts to do something like this in a region where government spends 62% of gdp.

Members of the "City Hall Sandwich Club" said they plan to take a protest to the steps of city hall, passing out food during a city council meeting on Monday.

The Orlando group said it plans to distribute food at 5 p.m.

Not mentioned in the Article, coverage will begin soon on www.cityhallsandwichclub.com

Government, public health and dairy industry officials want to restrict the sale and distribution of raw milk, citing safety concerns. But small dairy farmers, organic consumers' advocates and raw milk drinkers say that safety isn't the real issue -- it's control of the dairy market. The FDA and CDC have been particularly aggressive recently in their efforts to crack down on raw milk under the pretense of public health safety.