I just read a news story, found via Strike the Root, that warmed my heart. The overcolorful headline reads Arrests drain bathtub cheese sellers.

To be more precise, the story is the usual rah-rah nonsense over two individuals (whose names suggest they are browner than is PC in some areas of Fortress USSA these days) being arrested for selling unlicensed cheese; one was also arrested for “felony cheese making”, whatever that is. (Makes my musings with Chef Michael over aging cheese seem not so silly, sadly.) The heart-warming part can be found in the comments. At the moment, the overwhelming majority of the commenters are not just ridiculing the puffed-up reporting, but are demolishing the lie that licensed foods are somehow inherently safer than unlicensed, homemade products.

It may seem a small and silly thing, but I’m feeling more encouraged than I have in some time about the individuals around me. Not only are people rejecting the licensing nonsense, but also the pro-corporate pandering the mainstream media so often tries to push. Wish I could support those cheese entrepreneurs in some way ... I also would like to find more local, unregulated food producers to patronize. (We have a good source for squash at present; our basement is decently stocked with a variety of yellow and orange yumminess.)