Typo Tuesday: just told someone "you are the wind beneath my wigs"
Ex-farm worker & crop scientist. Here to talk food, agriculture, and money. patreon.com/farmtotaber
20,685 followers 1,605 following 2,994 posts
view profile on Bluesky
Typo Tuesday: just told someone "you are the wind beneath my wigs"
The saga continues! Today's episode: "Today's version of farm slavery isn't even cheap, farmers are getting TURBO screwed." youtube.com/shorts/e5R53...
you're asking me "did you sign a contract that prohibits you from disclosing you have a relationship with Chorus" ...in a thread where I said "hello everyone I have a relationship with Chorus"
Hi Chris. Is the issue that you believe we're not allowed to talk about Gaza? I've actually addressed Gaza MORE since getting the fellowship. Whatever bogeyman you're worried about here, it's certainly not Chorus or 1630. Which wouldn't even apply to you anyway.
As mentioned in the video, I've talked about Gaza MORE since getting the Chorus fellowship, and nobody's said anything about it or batted an eye
I already talked about this in the video and the thread you're replying to the only "don't talk about X" rule is literal campaign finance laws about not endorsing candidates w 501(c)4 money. It doesn't matter if they're lib, progressive, or conservative, that's literally just against the law.
I.....already discussed that in the video *and* in the thread that you're replying to my brother. you can't get worked up about "what if The Man is controlling the flow of information" when you won't even read the thread you're in
🥲
THIS. Without serious backup, the only people who can risk ✨speaking truth to power✨ are OTHER people who are rich & powerful. The billionaires are already in charge. There's no way to Simply Cleanse The System Of Money at this point. That takes deep legal reform...which takes winning elections.
haven't had in-depth interviews w everybody but I would describe the vibe as "progressive, just pragmatic about it." mostly under-30 the most centrist thing that's happened so far is many people feeling like "it's nice that Newsom is punching back. he still sucks though"
A+ handle btw
There are a few difft ways to handle this. But at the most basic level, you make $2K from Patreon & $2K from Chorus, it's ok if 50% of your videos are "look at how cool this candidate is." but if 75% or 100% of your videos are about endorsing & showcasing candidates, you're gonna have a problem
yeah I really liked a lot of her stuff, but have been noticing her work going "off" for a while. It's wild to watch the slide with concern, & then suddenly be the target of it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I really liked a lot of her stuff but have been noticing her work going "off" for a while. It's wild to watch the slide with concern, & then suddenly be the target of it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I know what a dark money group is Spencer "Dark money will destroy our politics" was accurate back in 2010 when Citizens United was new. It's now 2025 & our politics ARE wrecked. If we want to get dark money out of politics, we have to pass laws against it....which means we have to win elections.
Well worth a watch if you're het up about that wildly misframed Chorus thing
Please watch the video & listen carefully - ignorance on the left leads to stupid shit just as it does on the right. Study, listen, then speak, in that order.
Unfortunately the author of the piece just... doesn't understand what "dark money" actually means, or how the laws around campaign finance work. So she heard a telephone-version of that restriction and turned it into a "big exposé." This is why we can't have nice things lolsob
We can still endorse whatever candidates we want. We just have to produce endorsement videos/graphics with other funds. (Like Patreon, product sponsorships, etc).
There's one (1) restriction: "you can't use grant $ to make content that endorses a candidate bc that's illegal to do with 501(c)4 money." It doesn't matter if the candidate is progressive, centrist, or whatever. That's literally a "keep dark money out of politics" law that everyone has to follow.
It's a nonprofit that gives grants to online creators. There was just a ~big exposé~ in Wired by someone who has 0 understanding of how nonprofits work, so now there's a big "they must be paying people to not talk about Gaza!" discourse ...I've been talking about Gaza MORE since getting the grant
The scary headlines about "Chorus, a sEcReT dArK mOnEy gRoUp" have been absolutely wild to watch. Because I'm in Chorus, & it's been a godsend. Without it, I wouldn't be able to cover the US's massive modern-day farm slavery problem- at all. youtu.be/f5UwwtrGdak
actual footage of gay ex-mormons living their best lives
tired: Mormon influencers inspired: ex-Mormon deinfluencers
TIL Gary from Gary's Economics grew up Mormon and you know what. yeah that explains a lot www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfPf...
right? if I can't sleep I just put one of those babies on and 💤
o7
me at 4: DINOSAURS YEAHHH me at 42: amateur documentaries about ancient mass extinctions are my escapism because they're over already. & thus I can feel no pressure to do anything about them
no joke one of my favorite paleontology youtubers is about to drop a feature-length nerdout about the Triassic at 9am tomorrow and I'm so pumped youtu.be/b9Hh9_aIU9I
Anyway if you want to see bonus content, get the Ballerina Farm video early, or weigh in on what the next video will be about, you know what to do! www.patreon.com/posts/vote-w...
Tradwives Deep Dives: Farm Women vs Poultry Giants Before the big poultry co's, chickens were raised by farm women who ran their own businesses. Who ran these women out of the chicken business? It was their own husbands, brothers, fathers, & sons. Sometimes, the corporations have inside help.
2) If You Want To Understand Farming, Stop Trying to Learn About Farming and Start Reading Jane Austen US agriculture is a mess because we have landed gentry. We just don't like to talk about them. Jane Austen did though (: Bonus Field Guide To Identifying Today's Many Versions of Mr Collins
1) How US Agriculture Became Conservative Ever wonder why farm country used to be full of progressive rabble-rousers, and now it's nearly solid red? You won't after this video! It's not pretty!
This does, however lead to a new problem: NOW WHAT Here are my top 3 current contenders for what the next video essay will be about: (note: I put a poll on my Patreon. if you're subscribed, you can vote on this www.patreon.com/posts/vote-w...)
Guys I've been working on a video on Ballerina Farm for MONTHS and there's finally starting to be light at the end of the tunnel
omg link/screenshot?
praise to the professional bubble-cutters who assist us in our quest to see 🙏
nah just chillin with my cat & he got big eyes I'm 100% sober just tired lmao
like this www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTMG...
eyeballs are so weird you guys just fancy bubbles you can see through
if it's any consolation, I don't make enough $ per individual ad watch to make it worth suffering through the whole ad if you don't want to LOL
and here's a Wojack thumbnail. for people who need that
Craftsmanship note: YouTube lets you upload up to 3 different thumbnails for each video. The one in the 1st post in this thread is the "shitposting for nerds" thumbnail here's the "sophisticated professional" one
First confirmed case of screwworm in the US. What does it mean? This news is somehow being treated with both way MORE PANIC and also LESS SERIOUSNESS than it deserves. Let's talk about flesh-eating maggots wooooooooo youtu.be/tdM1_lsYPAI
the saga continues: part 3 of how there's some modern-day slavery going on on US farms, it can happen to people who immigrated LEGALLY, and Trump rolled back key anti-slavery provisions back in June youtube.com/shorts/xB7-w...
you joke but this is literally what it's like writing scripts for TikToks about science & ag news way less sexy but you gotta package everything in a bolus of ✨✨fun✨✨ and also ✨✨whimsy✨✨ or nobody will ever see it
honestly yeah but the answer is there's a paying audience for erotica, & it's ok for pieces to take a few months meanwhile there's less of a paying audience for detailed science + supply chain news (paywalls kill clicks) & also people expect it to be written within 24 hours
it's not a conspiracy we really are all just this dumb
Re: the radioactive shrimp I think the reason "reporting has been murky" is just bc very few people, including journalists, understand shrimp farming, international supply chains, OR radioisotope chemistry never mind all 3
The sap doesn't do anything at all to my hands, but I got a little on my belly yesterday & it started itching IMMEDIATELY washed it off with a lil soap & water & it was fine
Part 2 of a lighthearted little series, "How Trump has made farm slavery easier." 💀 The H2A visa for farm workers to come here *legally* had a lot of issues that uhhhhh made it real easy to enslave the visa holders. Reforms were made in 2024. Trump undid them in June. youtube.com/shorts/WliZZ...
Based solely on how that was written, they appear to be alleging that the nature of the exchange was pretty explicit about it being for humans.
There’s a reason why the complaint includes the allegation that the store employee said something to the effect of, “the label is just there so we can sell it.” The implication being that it was for humans and that was clear. FL law appears to create a big wink wink system around the ruse.
could be a bot, could also just be a reply guy, they exist oh boyyyyyyyy do they exist lmao
Florida’s recognition of post-sale duty to warn for foreseeable misuse in product liability cases is probably gonna be an issue for them, then.
Trump's DOL cancelled those changes in June 2025: civileats.com/2025/06/25/d...
Detailed report on how H2A slavery works: prismreports.org/2023/04/14/h... Example of how H2A slavery rings collab with organized crime in Mexico: westfaironline.com/courts/mexic... 2024 antislavery updates to H2A program: www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/blog/biden-h...
It's one of those things where if you just say what's happening it sounds insane but that's what's actually happening There is slavery happening on farms. To legal immigrants. It's stupid profitable. And people get convicted for it. Sometimes. Anyway Trump just gutted our antislavery enforcements.
Part 2 of a lighthearted little series, "How Trump has made farm slavery easier." 💀 The H2A visa for farm workers to come here *legally* had a lot of issues that uhhhhh made it real easy to enslave the visa holders. Reforms were made in 2024. Trump undid them in June. youtube.com/shorts/WliZZ...
🙌
GOD HATES FIGS
most domesticated figs don't need wasps for pollination, they're doing this out of pure love of the game
idk would have to Google it
kinda yeah, allegedly the enzyme's mostly in the skin
oh it's fine I just didn't see it coming
giving their friend the Fig Talk 😂😭
Oh yeah the leaf burn thing is universal, not an allergy. People can get more sensitized over time but that's usually "working in a fig orchard" levels of contact with the trees.
we only pick every few days so some aren't fully ripe yet, just gonna just cut off the neck or eat em with a spoon
NO LIPS NO PROBLEMS (with proteolytic enzymes cooking your lips)
WOW UM OK (who/where was this? DM if you prefer)
(fig skin has a proteolytic enzyme in it. kinda like pineapple & papaya. will be fine, but that was a couple hours of ouch) (but wait! there's more! if you get the leaves/sap on your skin & stay out in bright sun, you can get 2nd degree burns) (the theological ramifications are staggering)
-plant fig trees ☺️ -wait 3-4 years 🥰 -finally! all-u-can-eat figs! 😍 -find out what all-u-can-eat figs does to the inside of your mouth 💀
For most dairies, that's just a cost-saving measure. But it's noteworthy how a farm that sells raw milk as a magic health food for calves doesn't seem to believe their own advertising that much. Not that sincerity matters in adulterated pet food & livestock feed cases. It's just interesting.
That's how bad this is... they were selling "livestock feed" that isn't even fit for animals. And per the farm's own website, they feed calves from a bottle- that's usually formula. Rather than their own raw milk straight from the cow, which is a LOT simpler than bottle-feeding. Kinda weird!
Like... it's nice that you're a lawyer. I'm a ag scientist with a decade of food safety auditing & consulting under my belt. Selling raw milk as pet/livestock feed doesn't protect them, because the Campylobacter that was in their milk can cause disease problems in pets & livestock too.
This farm also *chose* to sell it in stores that promote raw milk as a health food, and stock it in their "dairy for humans" case. That's not a real mistake. As a farm selling directly to a local retailer, you have a say in how they class & sell your products. That's "lose your business" stupid.
There's no way the farm thought city dwellers were buying 1-2 gal/wk as "livestock feed." They knew people drank their milk. Knowing that, here's how they chose to raise their cows.
re: the risk of lawsuits being the main force that keeps food & ag businesses from taking shortcuts that make people sick
yeah they haven't pulled it off the shelves either, the dairy is still selling & insists they're "something fishy with the investigation" : /
yeah (: there's a LOT of magical thinking in the raw milk fandom, and it does seem to extend to legal strategies
Bill Marler has been low-key keeping the US food system functional more or less by himself since the 1990s
is the ONLY thing keeping the US food & farm sectors on the up & up. It's definitely not regulations. Those just aren't enforced enough to keep food businesses honest. Haven't been for years or decades, unfortunately.
Real talk though. I've been in ag for 28 years- and in food safety training, consulting, & auditing for 8 of them. The threat of "giant lawsuits bc you got caught doing something that's cheap & easy for you, but can put customers/employees in the hospital"
If you're wisdom-challenged enough to sell a high-risk food that sends people to the hospital for months, in a very litigious society w high medical costs........ maybe the food business isn't for you!
I agree! Protecting people from their own mistakes just encourages more mistakes. That's why as a business owner, I think "losing everything bc you did something stupid" should also apply to business owners.
made a perky little musical number about how small local farms you trust ❤️ can still give you the shits & shred your kidneys youtube.com/shorts/Pm8iu...
(:
nothing like a good educational farm stay!!
I'm so excited for the discovery portion of the lawsuit where the farm gets to explain how they thought dozens or hundreds of customers had a real live pet calf that only needs to eat 1-2 gallons per week
Like… people tried "let's just run clean dairies" for decades in the 1800s & 1900s. Some people back then didn't like pasteurizing either. After a few decades, they realized good hygiene just isn't enough. That's why they started pasteurizing, & raw milk cheese became a treat for adults.
Cows poop every ~12-13 minutes. It takes ~4 min to milk a cow by machine. Add on the cleaning/prep stages, and every time you milk, about 1/3 to 1/2 the cows will poop during milking *after* you clean them. You really, really cannot "just clean the udder before milking to get rid of the poop." lol
It's fun to highlight how cavalier some dairies can be with their hygiene! But at the end of the day, there's still no such thing as "enough hygiene to make raw milk safe." Why? Udders are directly underneath a cow's anus and they never stop pooping. It is what it is.
In the EU, the traditional understanding is raw milk cheeses taste good! But they're NOT for small children, the elderly, pregnant, immunocompromised, etc. A little bit like fugu. It's understood that it's delicious, there IS risk, that's part of what makes it delicious, consume responsibly.
Oh get this, Europe has outbreaks from raw milk products all the time. Even with high standards, it's still not a "safe" food. The most recent big outbreak was just a few months back. A fancy Morbier hospitalized 11 people. Shredded the kidneys on 9 of them. www.foodsafetynews.com/2025/01/elev...
*The GoFundMe is being organized by a local pastor, my bad, CIW is signal boosting
Marco Antonio Hernández Guevara did everything "right." He came to the US legally on an H-2A visa. But coming here legally doesn't protect you. The US Dept of Labor updated the H-2A program last fall to keep farm workers from succumbing to heat stroke. Trump cancelled those updates in June.
Another farm worker downed by heat stroke. Marco Antonio Hernández Guevara is 35 years old. Coalition of Immokalee Workers is raising funds to handle medical care and/or end-of-life care for him & his family. www.gofundme.com/f/help-suppo...
I mean it's not FINE but dragging it out over several weeks is even worse haha radiation is FUN
That leaves even the academic history pretty rosy. So another great way to get into the reality of it all is, look at how people living subsistence livelihoods today do it. That's billions of people. Some are doing ok, some aren't. And drawing from the present helps kill the romance a little lol