Here is the story the Healthy Family Farms apologists would like you to hear. It is the same story I heard about a year or so ago:
http://www.ediblecommunities.com/ojai/spring-2012/sharon-palmer.htm
Two things from this lovely pastoral farmer profile that I would like to point out:
1) Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms in Virginia and hero of the real food movement (what, you haven't heard of him?) recommends in his book, You Can Farm, that as a new farmer it is wise to not keep pets because their feed bills add up and when you are getting any new business off the ground you need to cut out all unnecessary expenditures to ensure that your business will be economically sustainable and viable. Not that the act of rescuing isn't noble, but Sharon Palmer rescues many animals and that means more mouths to feed.
2) "A longterm frustration for Sharon has been finding high-quality feed. For example, she believes soy to be much too challenging to a chicken’s digestive process to produce a truly healthy bird. After a long search she finally found a supplier that custom mixes her own soyfree, non-GMO recipe including high-protein whey and pea, flax, essential minerals, etc." This is the same long term frustration of many local animal farmers and ranchers, especially if they produce at the scale that she once did. If she has found a feed supplier that is doing all of these things than I am sure that that feed supplier would be a huge success and in demand amongst the local farming community. Unfortunately, no one can figure out the name and location of this supplier.
The second tale that hit my inbox yesterday paints a far more sinister image of Palmer, from a bonafide local news article:
http://m.vcstar.com/news/2012/mar/20/expert-testifies-on-sales-pitch-given-farm/
This is testimony coming out of the
Ventura District Attorney's case against Palmer, Stewart and Otting that paints a picture of Palmer as the main player in a scheme to bait others to help her buy her farm:
"Frank Huber, an investigator with the District Attorney's Office,
described how criminals use a "straw buyer," an individual who lends his
name and good credit rating on a bank loan application. A criminal also
will use so-called "silent seconds," money concealed from bank
officials and used as a down payment on the loan....The focus of Tuesday's testimony was how the bank loan was obtained.
Huber said that in his opinion, duping the bank and in some cases not
being straightforward with people about a business venture constitute
real estate fraud."
Another important point for both myself and Palmer's apologists:
"Huber said his concern isn't about the farm operation but only about fraud that was committed.
"It was about being ripped off and a bank being ripped off," he said."
My concerns about potential consumer fraud at farmer's markets and apologists concerns that she is being targeted by "the powers that be" because she is independently providing food, specifically raw milk, outside of government regulation...neither of our concerns matter in this case.
It is about real estate fraud.
My question to the Sharon Palmer apologists is thus:
How can you reconcile these two very different women named Sharon Palmer?
One wants to grow healthy food for her community, and
The other allegedly ripped off members of her community for her own gain: "He said the Hetheringtons were promised 12 percent interest on their
$60,000 investment and were sent an unsigned promissory note through
an email. ...
Investors allegedly weren't told that their money would be used
as a down payment on the farm or that it would be concealed from
bank officials.
Huber said none of the investors have been repaid. One investor, Michael Kirrene, testified he was promised 9 percent for
two months on his initial $25,000 investment. Kirrene invested $125,000.
"
Take Home Points:
My intro to criminology teacher taught me a valuable lesson through countless examples:
"If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is." People have, can, and will try to scam you in this life. It is your obligation to protect yourself and do your homework.
What
I have learned:
I would like to highlight that the Edible Ojai farm profile was written by
Joanie Blaxter, who was at one time a WAPF co-chapter leader for
Ojai/Ventura County (I cannot confirm the current status of the Ventura
WAPF chapter as they are no longer listed as a chapter on the WAPF
website). AnnMarie Michaels and Victoria Bloch are also Sharon Palmer
supporters, and were both chapter leaders of the WAPF Los Angeles
chapter when my curiosity in this matter began. Victoria Bloch is a
current co-chapter leader of the Los Angeles WAPF chapter, and AnnMarie
is a current co-chapter leader of the Las Vegas WAPF chapter.
I would caution people to learn how to source food from
farmers and farmers markets on your own and not to take anyone's word
for it, even, in all likelihood, the good intentioned WAPF chapter
leaders. Like I keep promising, it is my goal to write a Farmers Market
Consumer Guide. I promise to float it around to the knowledgeable
farmers and farmer's market managers: the food producers and
distributors that have helped me make sense of Sharon Palmer's claims
versus farm reality and the very people and markets who will be hurt WHEN this story is
made more widely public (It is not a matter of IF anymore).
Caveat Emptor!