Mad Sheep: The True Story behind the USDA's War on a Family Farm

by Linda Faillace

In the mid-1990s Linda and Larry Faillace had a they wanted to breed sheep and make cheese on their Vermont farm. They did the research, worked hard, followed the rules, and, after years of preparation and patience, built a successful, entrepreneurial business.
But just like that, their dream turned into a nightmare. The U.S. Department of Agriculture told them that the sheep they imported from Europe (with the USDA's seal of approval) carried a disease similar to the dreaded BSE or "mad cow disease." After months of surveillance--which included USDA agents spying from nearby mountaintops and comically hiding behind bushes--armed federal agents seized their flock. The animals were destroyed, the Faillace's lives turned upside down, all so that the USDA could show the U.S. meat industries that they were protecting America from mad cow disease--and by extension, easing fears among an increasingly wary population of meat-eaters. Mad Sheep is the account of one family's struggle against a bullying and corrupt government agency that long ago abandoned the family farmer to serve the needs of corporate agriculture and the industrialization of our food supply. Similar to the national best-selling book, A Civil Action , readers will cheer on this courageous family in its fight for justice in the face of politics as usual and the implacable bureaucracy of the farm industry in Washington, DC.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Biography, Food

336 pages, Paperback

First published June 28, 1905

About the author

Linda Faillace is a writer, shepherdess, songwriter, and owner of a country store dedicated to supporting local farmers and locally grown food. She has studied mad cow disease since the early 1990s. A champion of organic and sustainable farming, farmer's rights, and strong local communities, Linda lives with her husband, Larry, and their three children in East Warren, Vermont.

Reviews

[Jaclynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

As this book warns, you may become "mad" after reading this family's story of their battle with the USDA, who claimed their sheep had mad cow disease, despite negative test results. Well written, you will feel sympathetic for this great family who did their research and followed all the rules and yet lost it all in the end to a corrupt government.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the most excellent book about farming and government that I've read this year.
It seems the older I get, the more I realize there are so many lies out there. Lies that we (As Americans) have been fed.
Truth is hard to be found.
But it was most certainly found in this book.
Being of the farming agricultural mindset, I really enjoyed this book!
However, I must warn you: this book will make your blood pressure rise. You will be shocked (unless you already know...) and horrified. You will want justice for this poor family and the other affected by the USDA.

You will come to realize that so many agencies cannot be trusted.
The government can't be trusted.
Your best interest is not in mind.

[hellaD · Rating 5 out of 5]

Linda Faillace takes us on a journey from England, where she and her husband studied scrapie in sheep. When the family This story is an important example of how badly things can go when large regulatory institutions go rogue. I highly recommend reading it if you are involved in food security issues and are concerned with food safety. One thing I would especially like to point out is that the Faillace family did their best to work with the USDA until they realized that the science the USDA was using to back their actions was bogus. Even when their animals were slaughtered, their argument was not for NO regulation, but for localized regulation which is transparent, based on good science, and assists farmers through open communication and understanding.

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

The more you read about the American government, you find more and more examples of why it truly sucks.

[Phayvanh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've only read segments of this book and not the entire narrative. Someday.

The authors came for a book reading at the bookstore some time ago, and I can homestly say that I have never felt such comapassion for a cause at such an event as this. They told of their struggle and random targeting by the USDA and their years-long court battle trying to get all the FOIA info that was due to them, only to have their case held up with the judge.

They are kind, sincere and earnest people who only wanted to live their lives sheep farming, maybe making some cheese. Instead, they were harrassed and litigated to no end. I wish them all the best. Linda's prose is really touching. She leaves nothing to the imagination. And despite being in the midst of all of the gongs-on while writing this, she portrays it all with stark clarity. Thank god.

[Jocelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had this on my bookshelf since it came out, meaning to read it, but knowing that I needed to save it for a time when the heartbreaking nature of it would be endurable. I was a cheesemonger for five years, and I was one of the people on the American Cheese Society tour in chapter 10. I don't know if any of the other tour members had heard through the grapevine what was going on with the USDA; I had not. When the news came out later, I reflected on the fact that the Faillaces had not taken us anywhere near the animals. I followed their story in the news, so I knew where the end of this book was going, but it was still as heartbreaking all over again as it was back then, with added infuriation because I now knew more of the bureaucratic disaster. The value of the loss of the potential sheep dairy industry in the United States is incalculable.

[suz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewer: Suzanne Prescott (Albuquerque, NM USA) This is my review on Amazon

If I had told friends I was reading about alleged disease in sheep they would have missed the true significance of this book. It's about big government intervention against the rights of citizens. It's about a Vermont family's creativity and dedication and how all of that was trampled by the USDA run amok. It's also about what happens when special interests and lobbyists overwhelm a government agency.

It really was a page turner.

[Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. I heard bits and pieces of this story when it was happening. I wish I had paid more attention then and done something to help these folks out. One of this book's main strengths is that it lays out how hard it is for small farmers -- even if they have knowledge and resources -- to fight a government agency, even when the government is absolutely in the wrong.

Mad Sheep is a well-written book and a necessary book for anyone claiming to have solidarity with small farms and farmers.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

I met the author at the Waitsfield (VT) Farmers' Market. Great story. Looks like a great book.

True story. Very unsettling, and convinces me that the government is not always looking out for us.

Well written, and impressive the way the family deals with bureaucratic distress. May we all have such stamina and focus.

[Tommy Estlund · Rating 5 out of 5]

I almost didn't read this one. I had checked it out from the library, but when it came time to read it, I just wasn't all that into it. I gave it the 10% rule, and, bam. Wow. Great book. Angers up the blood.

Read it if...hm, well...just read it, you.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unbelieveable story!

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frank also read this book - he was sad and agreed that the government messed up but he skipped the chapters dealing with the family. He gave it 4 stars.

[Toni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good! Read it in day. The pictures made me cry.

[Christine]

Highly recommended in the small farm community.

[Tabitha · Rating 4 out of 5]

insightful read, worth reading