DON'T LOOK AT ME

I received the following email and thought it compelling enough to share.  Normally I would simply comment on it, but this is well written and stands alone in its defense.  Folks, anyone who things we need more government oversight in just about anything is actually a friend of tyranny.  Read and weep.

From: Amie Brunkow
Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2025 12:37 PM
Subject: Fight for Small Locker being threatened to get inspected pulled for Food Transparency

Dear Mr. Salatin and Everyone at Polyface Farms

My name is Amie Brunkow, and I own and operate Alta Vista Meat Co., a small, female-owned federally inspected locker plant in Kansas. I work hard every day to provide transparency in how food is produced.

I recently became federally inspected, but for the 8 months, while I was still state inspected, I regularly streamed educational livestreams showing our processes and answering consumer questions. These livestreams have been a powerful tool for transparency. They are interactive, educational, and allow me to walk people step by step through what happens when their animals are processed.

In this time, I’ve had one-on-one conversations with dozens of individuals across the country, helping them source meat directly from local farmers. I’ve educated people about mobile butchers, on-farm production and processing, and shown that these options are just as safe — if not safer — than large industrial facilities or even smaller lockers like mine. My journey began as the owner of Brown Kow Farms LLC in Paxico, KS, processing meat birds for on-farm sales. When I couldn’t find a butcher I trusted for my larger ruminant animals, I became that person — and since then I’ve been advocating for education and transparency in our industry. With a B.S. in Biochemistry, I quickly built a large social media following under the name Butcher_with_the_Braid, where I emphasize the science of meat. I’ve gained trust by answering the harder questions consumers have about food safety from a biological perspective, while showing why meat sourced directly from farms is not only safe, but also a higher quality than anything they could buy in a store.

Recently my personal social media account Butcher_with_the_Braid has been directly linked with my business, Alta Vista Meat Co. — and that was the immediate trigger for USDA pushback. Shortly after my business became federally inspected and my online presence more visible, I was told my livestreams had to stop. What makes this even more confusing is that my on-site inspectors have repeatedly told me they don’t care about the livestreams and have not raised objections. Instead, I’ve been informed, but can't verify and am not being provided any documentation of, that a federal inspector outside of our region reported my account and raised concerns to the district office.

Their stated concern is that inspectors cannot appear on livestreams, and that the public should not see what inspectors are doing during their official duties. They have gone as far to state that if I go live again with an inspector present in the facility, they will pull my inspection. But this logic runs directly against the First Amendment. Federal courts have consistently affirmed that citizens have the right to record government officials performing their duties, provided it does not interfere with those duties (Glik v. Cunniffe, Smith v. City of Cumming, Fields v. Philadelphia). Inspectors, like other government employees, have a reduced expectation of privacy when carrying out official responsibilities. Transparency is not a threat — it is a constitutional guarantee.

To say that consumers cannot see inspectors doing their jobs, even peripherally in the background of an educational livestream, undermines both public trust and the very principles of openness our government is meant to uphold. If inspectors are enforcing laws fairly and consistently, then there should be nothing to hide from the public eye.

As you and I both know, industrialization has been the root cause of many food safety concerns for decades. Small, local, transparent operations like mine are part of the solution, not the problem.

However, USDA inspectors are pressuring me to stop livestreaming. Their concern is that inspectors sometimes appear in the background. But here’s the reality:

• There is no FSIS regulation or USDA directive that prohibits livestreaming inside a federally inspected plant.

• In fact, FSIS Directive 5000.9 explicitly acknowledges and encourages the use of video monitoring by establishments.

• The First Amendment protects the right of citizens to record government officials in the course of their duties, so long as it does not interfere with those duties.

This leaves small lockers like mine in a bind. We are told to be transparent and educate consumers — but when we do, we’re silenced under the weight of agency pressure.

As a female-owned small business, I don’t have the lobbying power, the political connections, or the industry clout that the big packers enjoy. My voice, and the voices of small lockers like mine, often get lost. That’s why I’m reaching out to you.

You have spent your life defending food freedom and calling out government overreach. I believe this is another front in that same battle. Consumers deserve transparency. Small processors deserve to educate their communities without fear of retaliation. And the USDA should not be able to quell speech when there is no law to back it up.

I would be honored if you would consider lending your voice to this issue — whether that’s sharing my story, offering advice, or connecting me with others in the food freedom community who can help bring attention to this.

Thank you for your lifelong work in championing liberty, transparency, and the dignity of small producers.

 Is Annie a hero or villain?