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Why are Almonds so Expensive This Year? USDA Hits Again

Tex

Well-known member
My wife makes the best almond crescent cookies and sent me out to get some almond slivers so she could make them. I was astonished at the prices for almonds and I think I found out why:

Are your raw almonds actually fumigated or steamed?

Over a year ago, the USDA implemented regulations requiring treatment for almonds, alleging that it was a necessary food safety requirement. Two outbreaks of salmonella traced to almonds were reported in the last ten years, one traced to a 9000 acre nut farm, and the Almond Board of California supported the USDA’s decision.

From the Cornucopia Institute:

A group of fifteen American almond growers and wholesale nut handlers filed a lawsuit in the Washington, D.C. federal court on Tuesday, September 9 seeking to repeal a controversial USDA-mandated treatment program for California-grown raw almonds.
“The USDA’s raw almond treatment mandate has been economically devastating to many family-scale and organic almond farmers in California,” said Will Fantle, the research director for the Wisconsin-based Cornucopia Institute.

* » Read more on agriculture

The USDA requires that raw almonds be treated with propylene oxide (a toxic fumigant recognized as a carcinogen by the EPA) or steam-heated before sale to American consumers. Foreign-grown almonds are exempt and are rapidly displacing raw domestic nuts on the market. Almonds treated with propylene oxide or steam heat can still be labeled as “raw”. This is extremely misleading for consumers looking for raw food choices.

Stores are not required to alert consumers of the treatments, and vegans who eat a lot of nuts in their diet are outraged. The Cornucopia Institute is helping to support this lawsuit:

Please support the right to truly raw almonds by making a donation for this lawsuit. The Cornucopia Institute is helping underwrite the cost of the almond legal challenge. By using this link to our secure server, you can make an online, tax-deductible gift. Make sure to indicate in the message box that your donation is for the Almond Lawsuit. (If you prefer, you may also mail your donation to The Cornucopia Institute, PO Box 126, Cornucopia, WI 54827). Your support helps protect the livelihood of small and medium-size family and organic almond growers and the right of consumers to choose authentic and truly fresh food in the marketplace.

Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, has a great commentary on NaturalNews about the almond fumigation issue and its “plot to deceive consumers over “raw”.

Related posts:

http://eatdrinkbetter.com/2008/09/12/almond-growers-sue-usda-over-compulsory-almond-treatment/

Note that foreign almonds were exempt from the pasteurization.
 

per

Well-known member
I would like to buy raw milk as well. My neighbor can't even give me milk from his cow unless I am sitting at his table. Of course he could pour a little too much at lunch time. Your USDA and our CFIA are regulators gone wild. Yes I hear those safety arguments but a little sense (formerly known as Common Sense) is indicated.
 

RobertMac

Well-known member
per said:
I would like to buy raw milk as well. My neighbor can't even give me milk from his cow unless I am sitting at his table. Of course he could pour a little too much at lunch time. Your USDA and our CFIA are regulators gone wild. Yes I hear those safety arguments but a little sense (formerly known as Common Sense) is indicated.
The way it is gotten around here is the raw milk is sold as pet food.
 

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