The Food Rights Hour
Host(s): Pete Kennedy
Call In Number: 800-313-9443
Show Time: Saturdays 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
LISTEN LIVE:
Listen Live ONLINE!
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Host(s): Pete Kennedy
Call In Number: 800-313-9443
Show Time: Saturdays 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
LISTEN LIVE:
Listen Live ONLINE!
MP3 Stream
Maine Town Declares Food Sovereignty, Inspiring a Movement
Posted Mar 15, 2011 5:52 PM CDT
By Martha Neil
As state lawmakers debate whether food such as raw milk can safely be sold to informed consumers, the residents of a Maine community have seized the day and recognized a right to do so.
Under a so-called food sovereignty initiative unanimously approved at a March 5 town meeting by 100 or so residents of Sedgwick, residents, producers may sell local food products without regard to federal and state regulations deemed to be a usurpation of citizens' rights to eat food of their own choice, reports Food Safety News.
Three other towns in Hancock County are now on the verge of adopting similar measures that allow the sale of local food that doesn't comply with standard inspection and processing rules.
State officials are taking a hands-off approach to the issue of their regulatory power while waiting to see how the legislature decides several food bills currently under consideration.
The state Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources "has not been aggressive on this subject, in part because these areas are currently before the state legislature," Commissioner Walter Whitcomb tells the publication. "Our staff has been dealing with these concerns for several years, but they've come to a head this year. We kind of wanted that to work through the process before we became more active in enforcement."
Hat tip: Above the Law.
By Martha Neil
As state lawmakers debate whether food such as raw milk can safely be sold to informed consumers, the residents of a Maine community have seized the day and recognized a right to do so.
Under a so-called food sovereignty initiative unanimously approved at a March 5 town meeting by 100 or so residents of Sedgwick, residents, producers may sell local food products without regard to federal and state regulations deemed to be a usurpation of citizens' rights to eat food of their own choice, reports Food Safety News.
Three other towns in Hancock County are now on the verge of adopting similar measures that allow the sale of local food that doesn't comply with standard inspection and processing rules.
State officials are taking a hands-off approach to the issue of their regulatory power while waiting to see how the legislature decides several food bills currently under consideration.
The state Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources "has not been aggressive on this subject, in part because these areas are currently before the state legislature," Commissioner Walter Whitcomb tells the publication. "Our staff has been dealing with these concerns for several years, but they've come to a head this year. We kind of wanted that to work through the process before we became more active in enforcement."
Hat tip: Above the Law.
Vermont Takes Action to Resist FDA Take Over With a Resolution All Should Adopt In the face of the recent passing by the senate of the ‘food safety’ bill H.R.2751, previously S. 510, that will put the FDA in control of the nations food supply,Vermont citizens have made a declaration that the agency and government have no right to determine or restrict the food choices of the People of Vermont. “The Vermont Resolution for Food Sovereignty” was brought forth by the Vermont Coalition for Food Sovereignty, it makes a statement to the United States government and the FDA that all citizens who want to protect their freedom of food should stand behind.
[ READ MORE (Health Freedoms) ]
[ READ MORE (Health Freedoms) ]
Consumers have the right to choose their own milk
Will Verboven is right in saying that, "Where the raw milk issue invariably ... He is wrong in saying the benefits of raw milk are "some perceived benefit, ...Calgary Herald
Will Verboven is right in saying that, "Where the raw milk issue invariably ... He is wrong in saying the benefits of raw milk are "some perceived benefit, ...Calgary Herald
Food Freedom Betrayal!
Organic Consumers Association Funded by Big Pharma!
Barara H. Peterson, Farm Wars Guest Post
Activist Post
Our food supply is in jeopardy. Not only from outside forces such as poisons from China, but from within. The very people that we look to for guidance seem to be working together to lead us straight into global food governance in the form of Codex Alimentarius. This is especially alarming when you consider that the very organizations such as the USDA and FDA, that are charged with the safeguarding and regulation of our food supply are at the forefront of the battle, leading us straight into worldwide genocide using food as a weapon.
But the USDA and FDA do not stand alone. There are others who consider food to be “fair game” in this war against the people, and they just happen to control some very large purse strings. So, who holds the purse strings behind the push to obliterate any food safeguards we may have? Let’s just pick two – Rockefeller and Merck, then take a closer look at a few of the “trusted” organizations that they fund.
Read more »
Organic Consumers Association Funded by Big Pharma!
Barara H. Peterson, Farm Wars Guest Post
Activist Post
Our food supply is in jeopardy. Not only from outside forces such as poisons from China, but from within. The very people that we look to for guidance seem to be working together to lead us straight into global food governance in the form of Codex Alimentarius. This is especially alarming when you consider that the very organizations such as the USDA and FDA, that are charged with the safeguarding and regulation of our food supply are at the forefront of the battle, leading us straight into worldwide genocide using food as a weapon.
But the USDA and FDA do not stand alone. There are others who consider food to be “fair game” in this war against the people, and they just happen to control some very large purse strings. So, who holds the purse strings behind the push to obliterate any food safeguards we may have? Let’s just pick two – Rockefeller and Merck, then take a closer look at a few of the “trusted” organizations that they fund.
Read more »
Food Safety vs. Food Freedom
There is a growing movement within the “Raw Milk” movement to sacrifice your guaranteed liberties for what is being claimed as “safety”. These people that claim to be awake and know the agenda need to take another “Red Pill”. Many good people are starting to fall for this scheme that will only ensure control of both the food and the people for, all be it that they are doing so with good intentions, but are blindly leading the proverbial sheep to the slaughter in the name of safety. Because they are too blind too see the entire picture, they have began to divide the “cause”. Divide and conquer.
The United States of America is not a Democracy, this may surprise some of you, but remember the Pledge of Allegiance here.....”and to the Republic for which it stands”. Yes, we are a Republic like it or not. A Democracy is mob rule plain and simple, 51% can control 49% with no checks or balances. Our founders of this nation wanted something that would be fair and hence a Republic was born. A Republic protects all its citizens not just those that rule. For example the Revolutionary War against England was fought by 3% of the people, financially supported by 10%, and vocally supported by 20%. If your math is the same as mine that only gives us 33% of the people involved in forming this great bastion of freedom and liberty, the United States of America.
What about the other 67%? Makes you wonder doesn't it? In a Democracy we would still be under the control of the British Crown to this day. God Bless our founders for having the foresight to establish a Republic and protect everyone's rights even the 3% that sacrificed all so that we may have what their ancestors did not, were their effort's in vain? When you have Democracy you have tyranny of the masses.
In a Republic you have private property rights and you can do as you see fit with that property, if that property is food, then you can consume it as your right. Those who falsely believe that we live in a Democracy are leading us down a very dangerous and narrow path, they are trying to tell you what you can do with your private property.
No one should be pushed around and this is what is happening now that there is an outcry for safety and a to hell with liberty attitude growing among the self proclaimed elite of the raw milk movement.
Are they wolves in sheep's clothing? Perhaps, only time will tell.
Greed and control seem to be the personal agenda being shrouded by the illusion of safety. No matter how good men are “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”.
We have been led to believe that an out of control government can guide our future with the passage, and growing acceptance of, the “Food Safety Bill S510”. Do we now surrender our rights and march to the beat of a different drummer in this nation because we will ensure safety? Do we listen to those that continually tell us to OBEY? The masters always demand that the slaves obey and if you do not obey they threaten you with punishment or banishment.
Will those that become subject to these self imposed regulations be given any say as to how they will be policed. Do we blindly trust their integrity? Do they control the media and control the fate of their competition with innuendo's and threats? What they are doing, perhaps unwittingly is working to eliminate competition and gain a greater control of the market, perhaps even a monopoly. They will play on peoples emotion and claim that I can do things better and safer than what God had originally designed intelligently. Their competitors will be forced out of business with the aid of over-regulation.
Eventually this could very well lead to only having government approved food sources.
Henry Kissinger once said “that he who control's the food control's the people”, think about that for a minute. By surrendering the choice of your food to only “approved” sources you are treading dangerous waters. Now Mr. Kissinger was not very original in his statement either because it was Adolph Hitler that first used that phrase originally. Still want more control?
Being narrow minded and claiming that we need safety with no regard for liberty makes you actually part of the problem and not the solution. By surrendering your rights you have already played into the hands of the global elitist's agenda of controlling the food and ensuring a monopoly eventually. It may well destroy the small family farms of which you claim to be trying to save from demise. Now you may want to call names here and say that this is a conspiracy, well I now challenge you to prove me wrong with facts and not just rant that liberty loving people are “nutcases”.
Was food intended to be grown and consumed in sterile conditions? I do not think so, safety has been a tool of control and is now being used in the future to control the “Raw Milk” movement of these United States of America.
Let me close with one final thought from one of our founding fathers “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Benjamin Franklin.
There is a growing movement within the “Raw Milk” movement to sacrifice your guaranteed liberties for what is being claimed as “safety”. These people that claim to be awake and know the agenda need to take another “Red Pill”. Many good people are starting to fall for this scheme that will only ensure control of both the food and the people for, all be it that they are doing so with good intentions, but are blindly leading the proverbial sheep to the slaughter in the name of safety. Because they are too blind too see the entire picture, they have began to divide the “cause”. Divide and conquer.
The United States of America is not a Democracy, this may surprise some of you, but remember the Pledge of Allegiance here.....”and to the Republic for which it stands”. Yes, we are a Republic like it or not. A Democracy is mob rule plain and simple, 51% can control 49% with no checks or balances. Our founders of this nation wanted something that would be fair and hence a Republic was born. A Republic protects all its citizens not just those that rule. For example the Revolutionary War against England was fought by 3% of the people, financially supported by 10%, and vocally supported by 20%. If your math is the same as mine that only gives us 33% of the people involved in forming this great bastion of freedom and liberty, the United States of America.
What about the other 67%? Makes you wonder doesn't it? In a Democracy we would still be under the control of the British Crown to this day. God Bless our founders for having the foresight to establish a Republic and protect everyone's rights even the 3% that sacrificed all so that we may have what their ancestors did not, were their effort's in vain? When you have Democracy you have tyranny of the masses.
In a Republic you have private property rights and you can do as you see fit with that property, if that property is food, then you can consume it as your right. Those who falsely believe that we live in a Democracy are leading us down a very dangerous and narrow path, they are trying to tell you what you can do with your private property.
No one should be pushed around and this is what is happening now that there is an outcry for safety and a to hell with liberty attitude growing among the self proclaimed elite of the raw milk movement.
Are they wolves in sheep's clothing? Perhaps, only time will tell.
Greed and control seem to be the personal agenda being shrouded by the illusion of safety. No matter how good men are “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”.
We have been led to believe that an out of control government can guide our future with the passage, and growing acceptance of, the “Food Safety Bill S510”. Do we now surrender our rights and march to the beat of a different drummer in this nation because we will ensure safety? Do we listen to those that continually tell us to OBEY? The masters always demand that the slaves obey and if you do not obey they threaten you with punishment or banishment.
Will those that become subject to these self imposed regulations be given any say as to how they will be policed. Do we blindly trust their integrity? Do they control the media and control the fate of their competition with innuendo's and threats? What they are doing, perhaps unwittingly is working to eliminate competition and gain a greater control of the market, perhaps even a monopoly. They will play on peoples emotion and claim that I can do things better and safer than what God had originally designed intelligently. Their competitors will be forced out of business with the aid of over-regulation.
Eventually this could very well lead to only having government approved food sources.
Henry Kissinger once said “that he who control's the food control's the people”, think about that for a minute. By surrendering the choice of your food to only “approved” sources you are treading dangerous waters. Now Mr. Kissinger was not very original in his statement either because it was Adolph Hitler that first used that phrase originally. Still want more control?
Being narrow minded and claiming that we need safety with no regard for liberty makes you actually part of the problem and not the solution. By surrendering your rights you have already played into the hands of the global elitist's agenda of controlling the food and ensuring a monopoly eventually. It may well destroy the small family farms of which you claim to be trying to save from demise. Now you may want to call names here and say that this is a conspiracy, well I now challenge you to prove me wrong with facts and not just rant that liberty loving people are “nutcases”.
Was food intended to be grown and consumed in sterile conditions? I do not think so, safety has been a tool of control and is now being used in the future to control the “Raw Milk” movement of these United States of America.
Let me close with one final thought from one of our founding fathers “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Benjamin Franklin.
Food Freedom Is Tasting Good in Switzerland
By Mark Anderson
TROISTORRENTS, Switzerland
—Those who search the world over for genuine political freedomand good health on the same
piece of ground might as well be hunting snipes. Yet the villages in western Switzerland,
in the French-speaking region, bring these key ingredients together. Numerous self-sufficient villages dot Switzerland’s towering mountainsides, many of them centuries old. Around these
villages, dairy cows graze and produce the prized products of the Swiss diet: milk
and cheese. And of course, the milk goes into making the world famous Swiss chocolate.
But the best part is that raw—that is, unpasteurized—milk is readily available
for retail sale in the small grocery stores in these villages.
This writer found this enzyme-rich staple of good health at a self-serve station in one of the
stores. Opaque plastic bottles—the right choice because transparent bottles allow light in that breaks down the milk’s quality—are made available to rawmilk consumers.
Cold, ultra-fresh and nourishing, this milk makes you feel as good as it tastes. In the U.S., this writer has found that one of the most law-friendly places for raw milk is New Hampshire, where it is sometimes difficult to sell it retail, but it is available for purchase right at the
dairy farm. Notably, New Hampshire, with the nation’s most populous state legislature and a tradition of strong citizen input in government, is something like Switzerland in terms of its political culture.
But unlike the U.S., Switzerland leaves raw milk producers and sellers alone, at least for the most part. The U.S. is particularly despotic in treating unpasteurized milk and its producers as if a cocaine racket is underway—which is patently ridiculous when pasteurization heats milk to the point that all the good bacteria and enzymes are destroyed—all in the process of killing “bad” bacteria.
But good bacterial strains are needed to maintain and improve the intestinal “flora” that
enables the human digestive system to function properly and ensure optimum health. Many of
us, having taken a lot of antibiotics over the years, need raw milk (or a pro-biotic supplement)
to restore the good bacteria that antibiotics deplete.
A bonus is that large wheels of rich cheese from raw milk are made throughout Switzerland. A favorite is “raclette,” in which a large wheel of this cheese is cut to expose a flat edge that is placed close to a heat source. The melted cheese is scraped off the main piece and
served on potatoes or by itself as a traditional treat.
And considering that fast-food joints are minimal—and family-owned restaurants using
mostly fresh, locally grown ingredients predominate— Switzerland is a place where the ingredients for good health are part of the normal fabric of life.
____
Mark Anderson is the editor of AMERICAN FREE PRESS and an outspoken advocate of
keeping government out of the people’s health business.
By Mark Anderson
TROISTORRENTS, Switzerland
—Those who search the world over for genuine political freedomand good health on the same
piece of ground might as well be hunting snipes. Yet the villages in western Switzerland,
in the French-speaking region, bring these key ingredients together. Numerous self-sufficient villages dot Switzerland’s towering mountainsides, many of them centuries old. Around these
villages, dairy cows graze and produce the prized products of the Swiss diet: milk
and cheese. And of course, the milk goes into making the world famous Swiss chocolate.
But the best part is that raw—that is, unpasteurized—milk is readily available
for retail sale in the small grocery stores in these villages.
This writer found this enzyme-rich staple of good health at a self-serve station in one of the
stores. Opaque plastic bottles—the right choice because transparent bottles allow light in that breaks down the milk’s quality—are made available to rawmilk consumers.
Cold, ultra-fresh and nourishing, this milk makes you feel as good as it tastes. In the U.S., this writer has found that one of the most law-friendly places for raw milk is New Hampshire, where it is sometimes difficult to sell it retail, but it is available for purchase right at the
dairy farm. Notably, New Hampshire, with the nation’s most populous state legislature and a tradition of strong citizen input in government, is something like Switzerland in terms of its political culture.
But unlike the U.S., Switzerland leaves raw milk producers and sellers alone, at least for the most part. The U.S. is particularly despotic in treating unpasteurized milk and its producers as if a cocaine racket is underway—which is patently ridiculous when pasteurization heats milk to the point that all the good bacteria and enzymes are destroyed—all in the process of killing “bad” bacteria.
But good bacterial strains are needed to maintain and improve the intestinal “flora” that
enables the human digestive system to function properly and ensure optimum health. Many of
us, having taken a lot of antibiotics over the years, need raw milk (or a pro-biotic supplement)
to restore the good bacteria that antibiotics deplete.
A bonus is that large wheels of rich cheese from raw milk are made throughout Switzerland. A favorite is “raclette,” in which a large wheel of this cheese is cut to expose a flat edge that is placed close to a heat source. The melted cheese is scraped off the main piece and
served on potatoes or by itself as a traditional treat.
And considering that fast-food joints are minimal—and family-owned restaurants using
mostly fresh, locally grown ingredients predominate— Switzerland is a place where the ingredients for good health are part of the normal fabric of life.
____
Mark Anderson is the editor of AMERICAN FREE PRESS and an outspoken advocate of
keeping government out of the people’s health business.
The Food Rights Hour
Host(s): Pete Kennedy
Call In Number: 800-313-9443
Show Time: Saturdays 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
LISTEN LIVE:
Listen Live ONLINE!
MP3 Stream
Host(s): Pete Kennedy
Call In Number: 800-313-9443
Show Time: Saturdays 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
LISTEN LIVE:
Listen Live ONLINE!
MP3 Stream
Vermont drafts food sovereignty resolution to protect health, food freedom
by Jonathan Benson,
(NaturalNews) In response to the recent passage of "food safety" bills S. 510 and corresponding H.R. 2751, the Vermont Coalition for Food Sovereignty has drafted its own resolution called "The Vermont Resolution for Food Sovereignty." Crafted to declare and protect the food and health freedom rights of all Vermont citizens, the resolution is essentially a warning to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that it does not have jurisdiction over the food choices of the People of Vermont.
The resolution declares that food freedom is a "fundamental prerequisite to life," and that individuals have every right to save seeds, grow what they wish, and buy and sell the fruits of their labor without interference from an over-zealous, tyrannical government. And if any federal official tries to infringe on these rights, the People "shall resist any and all" of them.
Additionally, the resolution declares that, on the basis of the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the People of Vermont completely reject any and all "Federal decrees, statutes, regulations or corporate practices that threaten our basic human right to save seed, grow, process, consume and exchange food and farm products within the State of Vermont."
The recently-passed "Food Safety Modernization Act" essentially hands over control of the nation's food supply to the FDA. The legislation gives the agency free reign to mandate food recalls at will and require even small producers to jump through burdensome regulatory hoops in order to buy and sell their goods. The entire scheme has nothing to do with food safety and everything to do with giving the FDA more control over the food supply.
The Vermont Coalition for Food Sovereignty is encouraging concerned citizens to review the resolution and encourage their local and state politicians to co-sponsor it, both in Vermont and in other states.
http://www.naturalnews.com/030827_food_sovereignty_Vermont.html
WHEREAS All people are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, and among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; and
WHEREAS Food is human sustenance and is the fundamental prerequisite to life; and
WHEREAS The basis of human sustenance rests on the ability of all people to save seed, grow, process, consume and exchange food and farm products; and
WHEREAS We the People of Vermont, have an obligation to protect these rights as is the Common and Natural Law; and in recognition of the State’s proud agricultural heritage; and the necessity of agricultural, ecological and economic diversity and sustainability to a free and healthy Society;
THEREFORE, Be it resolved, that We The People, stand on our rights under the 10th Amendment to the US Constitution and reject such Federal decrees, statutes, regulations or corporate practices that threaten our basic human right to save seed, grow, process, consume and exchange food and farm products within the State of Vermont; and,
Be it further resolved, that We The People, shall resist any and all infringements upon these rights, from whatever sources that are contrary to the rights of the People of the State of Vermont.
http://www.vtcommons.org/blog/2010/12/21/most-likely-secede-vermont-resolution-food-sovereignty
by Jonathan Benson,
(NaturalNews) In response to the recent passage of "food safety" bills S. 510 and corresponding H.R. 2751, the Vermont Coalition for Food Sovereignty has drafted its own resolution called "The Vermont Resolution for Food Sovereignty." Crafted to declare and protect the food and health freedom rights of all Vermont citizens, the resolution is essentially a warning to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that it does not have jurisdiction over the food choices of the People of Vermont.
The resolution declares that food freedom is a "fundamental prerequisite to life," and that individuals have every right to save seeds, grow what they wish, and buy and sell the fruits of their labor without interference from an over-zealous, tyrannical government. And if any federal official tries to infringe on these rights, the People "shall resist any and all" of them.
Additionally, the resolution declares that, on the basis of the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the People of Vermont completely reject any and all "Federal decrees, statutes, regulations or corporate practices that threaten our basic human right to save seed, grow, process, consume and exchange food and farm products within the State of Vermont."
The recently-passed "Food Safety Modernization Act" essentially hands over control of the nation's food supply to the FDA. The legislation gives the agency free reign to mandate food recalls at will and require even small producers to jump through burdensome regulatory hoops in order to buy and sell their goods. The entire scheme has nothing to do with food safety and everything to do with giving the FDA more control over the food supply.
The Vermont Coalition for Food Sovereignty is encouraging concerned citizens to review the resolution and encourage their local and state politicians to co-sponsor it, both in Vermont and in other states.
http://www.naturalnews.com/030827_food_sovereignty_Vermont.html
WHEREAS All people are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, and among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; and
WHEREAS Food is human sustenance and is the fundamental prerequisite to life; and
WHEREAS The basis of human sustenance rests on the ability of all people to save seed, grow, process, consume and exchange food and farm products; and
WHEREAS We the People of Vermont, have an obligation to protect these rights as is the Common and Natural Law; and in recognition of the State’s proud agricultural heritage; and the necessity of agricultural, ecological and economic diversity and sustainability to a free and healthy Society;
THEREFORE, Be it resolved, that We The People, stand on our rights under the 10th Amendment to the US Constitution and reject such Federal decrees, statutes, regulations or corporate practices that threaten our basic human right to save seed, grow, process, consume and exchange food and farm products within the State of Vermont; and,
Be it further resolved, that We The People, shall resist any and all infringements upon these rights, from whatever sources that are contrary to the rights of the People of the State of Vermont.
http://www.vtcommons.org/blog/2010/12/21/most-likely-secede-vermont-resolution-food-sovereignty
The Coming "War on Food"
December 23,2010
by Andrew Mastrocola
We have witnessed "The War on Drugs" and "The War on Terror" for too many years as a vehicle for federal tyranny and a simple excuse to take away our States Rights, Constituional rights and personal liberties. Now we have reached the pinnacle. The coming "War on Food" will only create more felons, prisoners, and law enforcement jobs. We can expect an increase in food raids against the private buyers clubs, farmers markets, and eventually your garden. You will be criminalized for growing your own nutritionally dense organic foods, even possession of a slice of raw cheese may be enough to get you time in their ever growing prison system.
The raid of Rawsome Foods this past year (2010) was a test for the new "War on Food". Jackbooted thugs coming into a private food distribution center with guns drawn! Yes, that is what we can expect to see over the coming years as the FDA and the USDA become militarized. There are already plans on the table for the federal agencies to recruit help on the state level from agencies, such as DATCP here in Wisconsin, to enforce this draconian "Food Safety" legislation. When we wake up in 2011 farmers will be relegated to the level of drug dealers and those who choose to consume those homegrown foods as junkies. Your neighbor may even get a reward if they call the FDA hot line and report that you have too many tomato plants in your garden. Are you prepared for when the FDA comes crashing through your garden fence in the name of "Food Safety"?
There is a war on for your food. Will you stand up to this tyranny, or live in fear and be a good slave?
The tyranny we are about to face in this country will make the oppressive days of the Soviet Union look all too mild.
The raid of Rawsome Foods this past year (2010) was a test for the new "War on Food". Jackbooted thugs coming into a private food distribution center with guns drawn! Yes, that is what we can expect to see over the coming years as the FDA and the USDA become militarized. There are already plans on the table for the federal agencies to recruit help on the state level from agencies, such as DATCP here in Wisconsin, to enforce this draconian "Food Safety" legislation. When we wake up in 2011 farmers will be relegated to the level of drug dealers and those who choose to consume those homegrown foods as junkies. Your neighbor may even get a reward if they call the FDA hot line and report that you have too many tomato plants in your garden. Are you prepared for when the FDA comes crashing through your garden fence in the name of "Food Safety"?
There is a war on for your food. Will you stand up to this tyranny, or live in fear and be a good slave?
The tyranny we are about to face in this country will make the oppressive days of the Soviet Union look all too mild.
FOOD FREEDOM AMENDMENT
The people shall have unrestricted access to food resources, directly from the farm or its agent, all commodities and products, simple, mixed or compound, or complements to such commodities or products, that are capable of being eaten or drunk, by either human beings or animals' irrespective of other uses to which such commodities or products may be put, at all stages of processing from the raw commodity to the products thereof in vendible form for human or animal consumption. The term "food resources" shall also include all starches, sugars, vegetable and animal fats and oils, cotton, tobacco, wool, mohair, hemp, flax fiber, and naval stores, but shall not include any such material after it loses its identity as an agricultural commodity or agricultural product.
The people also secure the right to process, store, and grow food. Farmers shall not be denied the right to water, seed, fertilizer, or pasture. Farmers have the right to produce, process, and distribute their products, themselves or by direct agent, without any government regulation or fee's.
author: Andrew Mastrocola
The people shall have unrestricted access to food resources, directly from the farm or its agent, all commodities and products, simple, mixed or compound, or complements to such commodities or products, that are capable of being eaten or drunk, by either human beings or animals' irrespective of other uses to which such commodities or products may be put, at all stages of processing from the raw commodity to the products thereof in vendible form for human or animal consumption. The term "food resources" shall also include all starches, sugars, vegetable and animal fats and oils, cotton, tobacco, wool, mohair, hemp, flax fiber, and naval stores, but shall not include any such material after it loses its identity as an agricultural commodity or agricultural product.
The people also secure the right to process, store, and grow food. Farmers shall not be denied the right to water, seed, fertilizer, or pasture. Farmers have the right to produce, process, and distribute their products, themselves or by direct agent, without any government regulation or fee's.
author: Andrew Mastrocola
Food and Depopulation
Part 1 of 4) Tuesday, 08 June 2010 20:32
Written by Cassandra Anderson Rockefeller Family The purpose of this article is to give a brief outline of how the elites, and the Rockefellers in particular, are using food as a weapon. Since the Rockefeller family came to power (especially after gaining a monopoly in 1914 with Standard Oil) they have manipulated our government into ruining our financial system by way of the Federal Reserve, energy through oil dependency and food with GMOs (Genetically Engineered Organisms). The intention is to rob us blind and kill us. It's time to wake up. The official name of this program is Agenda 21 Sustainable Development. It the overarching blueprint for depopulation and total control over America and the rest of the world. There is no question that Americans are targeted for depopulation: GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) food has saturated American farmlands. GMOs are dangerous and the proliferation of corn crops (used as sweetener, animal feed, processed food, etc) in America is shortening our life spans.(1) Our water is polluted, containing over 60,000 chemicals, most of which have never been tested for safety.(2) Our air is toxic, and the US is one of the most targeted areas read story here | Part 2 of 4)
By Cassandra Anderson June 10, 2010 Monsanto's Monopoly A monopoly is exclusive control of a commodity or service that makes it possible to manipulate prices. This is accomplished through governmental regulations used to enforce the monopoly. The way to break a monopoly is to remove those laws. This is simple, but not easy in the case of Monsanto, because the roots extend to international, federal, state, and local government regulations. Monopoly owners corner a market by taking control of the resource AND preventing others from using the resource. The famous robber baron JD Rockefeller refined this method of monopolization with Standard Oil; he created a cartel (an agreement between companies to avoid competition) with the companies he could not buy or force out of business through extraordinarily corrupt business practices. Competition creates a free market; JD Rockefeller is famous for saying, "Competition is a sin." Of course, the Rockefellers have an enormous stake in biotechnology and the Rockefeller Foundation funded the biology centers and research that led to the creation of GMOs; F. William Engdahl's book, "Seeds of Destruction", is highly recommended for th read story here |
Food and Depopulation: International Takeover by the UN (Part 3 of 4)
By Cassandra Anderson June 16, 2010 Most people think that the United Nations is a noble enterprise and they don't understand the history and malignant character of the UN. Christina Aguilera, Drew Barrymore and Sean Penn are probably unaware, even though they are UN Ambassadors to the World Food Program (WFP), that the intent of the UN is to implement one world government. The UN WFP, which spreads GMOs in poor countries, is just one tool used for advancing the goals of UN Agenda 21, the overarching blueprint for depopulation and total control. read story here | Food & Depopulation: Scams and Solutions (Part 4 of 4)
By Cassandra Anderson June 23, 2010 The Food & Depopulation series of articles has been written for people who think that conspiracies are mere theories, that the American government is working in our best interest and that the United Nations is benevolent. Nothing could be further from the truth; irrefutable proof of this is explained in the previous three articles. Sharing the truth about food is an exceptionally effective way to wake people up because all people have a personal relationship with food every day. Here are the important points to remember: read story here |
2 recent radio interviews Max Kane gave in favor of raw milk and farm to consumer relationships.
Linderman LIVE! 05-14-10 Originally Aired Fri, 05/14/2010 - 11:00am Today on LInderman LIVE! We're thalking about raw milk, but more importantly about our Constitutional and basic human rights that are being shredded by our government! Max Kane (rew milk activist and advocate from Wisconsin) will be on the show today to discuss raw milk, our rights and his personal fight with the FDA and the State of Wisconsin. You don't want to miss this one if you're concerned about your freedom!
  | The Theory That Bacteria Cause Illness Is a Myth — Max Kane by Joanne
in Interviews Do you believe that bacteria are swimming around the environment just waiting to get into your body and make you ill? Are you afraid of food-borne pathogens or raw milk? And do you actually believe the government cares about your health and is working to protect it? Max Kane is a raw milk advocate who also eats raw meat, and in this interview he explains what’s wrong with the bacteria-cause-disease paradigm and what’s really creating many of our illnesses. Max describes how Crohn’s disease was destroying his body and how he regained his health. Max also talks about the struggles he’s facing because of his involvement in the raw milk movement and how the Department of Agriculture has branded him a threat to society. He’s extremely passionate and articulate about our Constitutional rights, and he refuses to give those up despite government coercion and threat of imprisonment. Max is one of those rare individuals willing to risk it all on our behalf, and this is one interview you just shouldn’t miss. Interview Right-click to download MP3 file Bio After reversing advanced degenerative illness through unprocessed, whole food nutrition, Max Kane has engaged the individual rights movement with a tremendous amount of momentum. He travels the U.S. speaking about food freedom and is currently in a lawsuit with the Wisconsin Department of Justice and Wisconsin Department of Agriculture. More information about the suit can be found at rawmilkparty.com. |
Sauk County farmer makes a move to get around state effort to close him down
By Jessica VanEgeren | Posted: Thursday, June 3, 2010 7:00 pm
On the heels of defying a state-supported raid aimed to shut down his dairy farm, a Sauk County farmer has filed paperwork to circumvent state law by joining a "buyers club."
A buyers club, begun as part of a national "Right to Choice Healthy Food" movement, essentially allows club members who pay a fee to lease farm animals. Because a lease equals ownership to some degree, Vernon Hershberger said he is no longer breaking any state laws by operating his farm without a dairy license or providing goods to people without a retail food license.
For that reason, Hershberger, whose dairy farm just south of Loganville was raided Wednesday by the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, said Thursday afternoon at his farm that the state no longer has jurisdiction over anything he does.
"We now read article here
On the heels of defying a state-supported raid aimed to shut down his dairy farm, a Sauk County farmer has filed paperwork to circumvent state law by joining a "buyers club."
A buyers club, begun as part of a national "Right to Choice Healthy Food" movement, essentially allows club members who pay a fee to lease farm animals. Because a lease equals ownership to some degree, Vernon Hershberger said he is no longer breaking any state laws by operating his farm without a dairy license or providing goods to people without a retail food license.
For that reason, Hershberger, whose dairy farm just south of Loganville was raided Wednesday by the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, said Thursday afternoon at his farm that the state no longer has jurisdiction over anything he does.
"We now read article here
Sauk County Farmer Battling To Sell Raw Milk
State Officials Sealed Refrigerators On WednesdayUpdated: 7:33 am CDT June 4, 2010
LOGANVILLE, Wis. -- A rural Loganville farmer could face charges for selling raw milk products from his farm store.Pro-raw milk advocates said the Sauk County farmer is within his legal right in selling raw milk and other raw milk dairy products at his private, members-only store.But state regulators from Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection said raw milk or not, what farm owner Vernon Hershberger is doing is illegal."(The Department of Agriculture) came (Wednesday) morning around 10:00 and asked for permission to inspect our private facilities," Hershberger said. "I did not give my permission."Shortly thereafter, DATCP officials returned with Sauk County sheriff's deputies and a warrant. Hershberger's coolers were all sealed for operating without a license, and he was ordered not to sell any more of his raw-milk products.On Thursday morning, Hershberger unsealed the fridges himself and began selling raw milk again."Selling raw milk is illegal -- that's what they think," Hershberger said. "And they do not recognize the option of making private sales. They do not recognize that at all."
LOGANVILLE, Wis. -- A rural Loganville farmer could face charges for selling raw milk products from his farm store.Pro-raw milk advocates said the Sauk County farmer is within his legal right in selling raw milk and other raw milk dairy products at his private, members-only store.But state regulators from Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection said raw milk or not, what farm owner Vernon Hershberger is doing is illegal."(The Department of Agriculture) came (Wednesday) morning around 10:00 and asked for permission to inspect our private facilities," Hershberger said. "I did not give my permission."Shortly thereafter, DATCP officials returned with Sauk County sheriff's deputies and a warrant. Hershberger's coolers were all sealed for operating without a license, and he was ordered not to sell any more of his raw-milk products.On Thursday morning, Hershberger unsealed the fridges himself and began selling raw milk again."Selling raw milk is illegal -- that's what they think," Hershberger said. "And they do not recognize the option of making private sales. They do not recognize that at all."
The Tape has been Broken
from the Complete Patient, by David Gumpert
Wisconsin dairy farmer Vernon Hershberger cut the yellow crime-scene tape and undid the seals covering his fridges and coolers, and announced himself open for business today. Dozens of consumers and a handful of area dairy farmers raced to his farm in Loganville, about an hour west of Madison, Thursday morning to show support in the event agents from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection showed up. They didn't. All this a day after regulators spent more than five hours conducting an inventory of food at the farm, all in connection with the dairy's practice of distributing raw milk to more than 100 regular customers.
It's what happens next that is very important. Consumers and farmers need to be prepared to show ongoing support to Hershberger, perhaps on quick notice. Other farmers may need to take the same action should the agents show up at their farms. DATCP may need to decide if it's going to use force against rebellious farmers, and whether it can handle growing numbers of brush fires. Consumers may need to decide whether they are willing to risk arrest standing up for dairy farmers. Decisions, decisions. That's what civil disobedience is about.
photo courtousey of Max Kane
Wisconsin dairy farmer Vernon Hershberger cut the yellow crime-scene tape and undid the seals covering his fridges and coolers, and announced himself open for business today. Dozens of consumers and a handful of area dairy farmers raced to his farm in Loganville, about an hour west of Madison, Thursday morning to show support in the event agents from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection showed up. They didn't. All this a day after regulators spent more than five hours conducting an inventory of food at the farm, all in connection with the dairy's practice of distributing raw milk to more than 100 regular customers.
It's what happens next that is very important. Consumers and farmers need to be prepared to show ongoing support to Hershberger, perhaps on quick notice. Other farmers may need to take the same action should the agents show up at their farms. DATCP may need to decide if it's going to use force against rebellious farmers, and whether it can handle growing numbers of brush fires. Consumers may need to decide whether they are willing to risk arrest standing up for dairy farmers. Decisions, decisions. That's what civil disobedience is about.
photo courtousey of Max Kane
Want raw milk? Lease a farm—and hire a lawyer
by David Gumpert
For two months earlier this year, Wisconsin dairy farmer Vernon Hershberger let the proposed contract sit unsigned on his desk. The agreement specified that a nonprofit organization known as Right to Choose Healthy Food, and headed by raw food advocate Aajonus Vonderplanitz, would lease his farm's 50 cows and dozens of chickens -- "the works," says Hershberger. In exchange, the organization would have access to all the food from the animals: milk, eggs, and meat.
Then, on June 2, agents from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection raided his Grazin' Acres farm near Madison, and placed seals on the refrigerators in his small store. He was operating without a retailer license and a dairy license, the regulators said. The fact that he wasn't open to the general public, but was selling direct to "members" of his farm, didn't matter.
The day after the raid, Hershberger cut the DATCP seals and defiantly re-opened for business. His confidence was buttressed by the fact that he decided that day to sign the contract with Right to Choose Healthy Food.
The deal is "simple," says Hershberger, and besides, "I think Aajonus knows what he's doing."
The wizard of raws
Vonderplanitz followed up by sending a letter to Wisconsin's DATCP explaining that Hershberger
... is not engaged in commerce. His farm animals are leased to Right To Choose Healthy Food's Grazin' Acres Farm Coop Club who owns them. Vernon Hershberger is the boarder, caretaker, milker, packager, and deliverer of our animals' products. Since the private club owns dairy, egg, and meat production, there is no commerce involved. Since no commerce of buying or selling raw milk and our other products to the public is involved, or distributed in public places, government agencies have NO JURISDICTION over the production, labeling and use of the club's products consumed by its members, nor is any permit required....It is shameful for (DATCP) to try to prevent us from producing and distributing our health-giving raw milk and other farm products to our members by threatening and imposing false warrants, seizures and arrests of our property. Since you were duly warned that this was a private club and you had no jurisdiction over it, your actions were criminal stealing, kidnap and trespass.
Though DATCP agents have since been back to his farm twice more with search warrants, the last time taking Hershberger's computer, checkbook, and other records, there has been no sign of any criminal or other charges being filed against the farmer.
If the experiences of other farmers like Hershberger are any indication, there's a good chance no charges will come. Over the last eight years, Vonderplanitz has put together lease agreements giving Right to Choose Healthy Food, and its hundreds of consumer members around the country, the rights to the land and produce of about 40 small farms.
While there have been a number of raids, especially in recent months, as I described previously for Grist, there have yet to be any legal challenges brought against the lease arrangements, he says. "If they had jurisdiction, they would have busted us a long time ago," he told me.
Not only is Vonderplanitz not afraid of a legal challenge, he welcomes one. "I hope they file charges against us," he says. While the distribution centers in major urban areas, like the one raided in Venice, must comply with fire codes and zoning regulations, they need not comply with food licensing or labeling laws required of foods sold to the public, he argues. Nor must they comply with the federal prohibition on interstate sales of raw milk. There can't be such a prohibition for member leaseholders, he maintains, since they own the farm products when they are produced.
"If you take your property from Pennsylvania to California, there is no federal jurisdiction," he says. Vonderplanitz likens the farm lease agreements to automobile leases. "In lease agreements, you have total ownership of the contract and responsibility for the items leased. If you wreck a leased car, you are totally responsible."
The analogy is important, he says, since lease-related law has a 75-year history of recognition by our legal system. "Herdshare" and "cowshare" agreements, used in many states to give raw-milk drinkers shares in cows and goats, are less legally secure, he says. He likens the rights of a herdshare owner to those of an owner of stock in a major corporation, where shareholders have certain financial rights, but don't necessarily have right to the corporation's products, or responsibility for the products. (Though herdshare rights were upheld by an Ohio court in 2006, and the state didn't appeal the case.)
Vonderplanitz maintains that the lease agreements aren't just devices to enable foodies to avoid complying with food licensing rules and the federal interstate raw milk prohibition, and has successfully persuaded farmers who've considered backing out of the agreements to stand firm.
In a case last winter, a Midwest farmer in the midst of a two-year lease agreement with Right to Choose considered shutting down his raw milk production after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration sought to enforce warning letters maintaining the farmer was violating the federal prohibition on raw-milk sales across state lines. Vonderplanitz says he told the farmer that his group would enforce its lease agreement by taking over the farm and cows to continue producing milk for members. The farmer, encouraged by Vonderplanitz's commitment, decided to fire his lawyers, who'd encouraged him to accept the FDA mandate, and continue with the Vonderplanitz organization. Vonderplanitz says he notified the FDA, much the same as he did Wisconsin DATCP in the Hershberger case, that the farm was under a lease agreement, and says the farm continues to provide his members with raw milk.
Another farmer who signed on with RTCHF was Daniel Allgyer. He made his decision shortly after agents from the FDA showed up at his Pennsylvania farm last April with a search warrant and a letter alleging he was involved in interstate sale of raw milk. Allgyer continues to supply RTCHF with milk.
Vonderplanitz sees himself as having "rescued" these and other farmers from possibly being thrown out of business by FDA and state agriculture authority actions against private food organizations. "They have left all the people alone since I notified the authorities."
The raid on the RTCHF warehouse in Venice, CA, three weeks ago, along with that on Sharon Palmer's farm in nearby Ventura County, whose goats are under lease to RTCHF, represent payback in Vanderplanitz's view.
"They are looking for any way they can to break us," he says. "They're not going to get away from it."
He says a number of prominent Los Angeles lawyers have offered legal services, and RTCHF plans to sue the government agencies involved in the raids against Rawesome and Sharon Palmer's farm for $1 million apiece, for false arrest.
Crackdown habit
It's hard to know what the government agencies will do. While they have clearly shied away thus far from a legal confrontation over the leasing matter, the various searches suggest officials are seriously considering legal action, such as charges of violating the ban on interstate sale of raw milk. Or else they could continue their harassment actions in hopes of intimidating consumers and farmers, and scaring them away from the increasingly popular leasing arrangement.
Even without government legal action against RTCHF, there is the pending suit against the FDA by the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund challenging the federal prohibition on interstate commerce of raw milk.
Clearly, we are moving closer to judicial consideration of how far consumer rights extend when it comes to consumers opting out of the factory food system and arranging for private access to the nutritionally-dense foods of their choice.
146493 David Gumpert is the author of The Raw Milk Revolution: Behind America’s Emerging Battle Over Food Rights (Chelsea Green, 2009). He is also a journalist who specializes in covering the intersection of health and business. His popular blog has chronicled the increasingly unsettling battles over raw milk. He has authored or coauthored seven books on various aspects of entrepreneurship and business and previously been a reporter and editor with the Wall Street Journal, Inc. magazine, and the Harvard Business Review.
For two months earlier this year, Wisconsin dairy farmer Vernon Hershberger let the proposed contract sit unsigned on his desk. The agreement specified that a nonprofit organization known as Right to Choose Healthy Food, and headed by raw food advocate Aajonus Vonderplanitz, would lease his farm's 50 cows and dozens of chickens -- "the works," says Hershberger. In exchange, the organization would have access to all the food from the animals: milk, eggs, and meat.
Then, on June 2, agents from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection raided his Grazin' Acres farm near Madison, and placed seals on the refrigerators in his small store. He was operating without a retailer license and a dairy license, the regulators said. The fact that he wasn't open to the general public, but was selling direct to "members" of his farm, didn't matter.
The day after the raid, Hershberger cut the DATCP seals and defiantly re-opened for business. His confidence was buttressed by the fact that he decided that day to sign the contract with Right to Choose Healthy Food.
The deal is "simple," says Hershberger, and besides, "I think Aajonus knows what he's doing."
The wizard of raws
Vonderplanitz followed up by sending a letter to Wisconsin's DATCP explaining that Hershberger
... is not engaged in commerce. His farm animals are leased to Right To Choose Healthy Food's Grazin' Acres Farm Coop Club who owns them. Vernon Hershberger is the boarder, caretaker, milker, packager, and deliverer of our animals' products. Since the private club owns dairy, egg, and meat production, there is no commerce involved. Since no commerce of buying or selling raw milk and our other products to the public is involved, or distributed in public places, government agencies have NO JURISDICTION over the production, labeling and use of the club's products consumed by its members, nor is any permit required....It is shameful for (DATCP) to try to prevent us from producing and distributing our health-giving raw milk and other farm products to our members by threatening and imposing false warrants, seizures and arrests of our property. Since you were duly warned that this was a private club and you had no jurisdiction over it, your actions were criminal stealing, kidnap and trespass.
Though DATCP agents have since been back to his farm twice more with search warrants, the last time taking Hershberger's computer, checkbook, and other records, there has been no sign of any criminal or other charges being filed against the farmer.
If the experiences of other farmers like Hershberger are any indication, there's a good chance no charges will come. Over the last eight years, Vonderplanitz has put together lease agreements giving Right to Choose Healthy Food, and its hundreds of consumer members around the country, the rights to the land and produce of about 40 small farms.
While there have been a number of raids, especially in recent months, as I described previously for Grist, there have yet to be any legal challenges brought against the lease arrangements, he says. "If they had jurisdiction, they would have busted us a long time ago," he told me.
Not only is Vonderplanitz not afraid of a legal challenge, he welcomes one. "I hope they file charges against us," he says. While the distribution centers in major urban areas, like the one raided in Venice, must comply with fire codes and zoning regulations, they need not comply with food licensing or labeling laws required of foods sold to the public, he argues. Nor must they comply with the federal prohibition on interstate sales of raw milk. There can't be such a prohibition for member leaseholders, he maintains, since they own the farm products when they are produced.
"If you take your property from Pennsylvania to California, there is no federal jurisdiction," he says. Vonderplanitz likens the farm lease agreements to automobile leases. "In lease agreements, you have total ownership of the contract and responsibility for the items leased. If you wreck a leased car, you are totally responsible."
The analogy is important, he says, since lease-related law has a 75-year history of recognition by our legal system. "Herdshare" and "cowshare" agreements, used in many states to give raw-milk drinkers shares in cows and goats, are less legally secure, he says. He likens the rights of a herdshare owner to those of an owner of stock in a major corporation, where shareholders have certain financial rights, but don't necessarily have right to the corporation's products, or responsibility for the products. (Though herdshare rights were upheld by an Ohio court in 2006, and the state didn't appeal the case.)
Vonderplanitz maintains that the lease agreements aren't just devices to enable foodies to avoid complying with food licensing rules and the federal interstate raw milk prohibition, and has successfully persuaded farmers who've considered backing out of the agreements to stand firm.
In a case last winter, a Midwest farmer in the midst of a two-year lease agreement with Right to Choose considered shutting down his raw milk production after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration sought to enforce warning letters maintaining the farmer was violating the federal prohibition on raw-milk sales across state lines. Vonderplanitz says he told the farmer that his group would enforce its lease agreement by taking over the farm and cows to continue producing milk for members. The farmer, encouraged by Vonderplanitz's commitment, decided to fire his lawyers, who'd encouraged him to accept the FDA mandate, and continue with the Vonderplanitz organization. Vonderplanitz says he notified the FDA, much the same as he did Wisconsin DATCP in the Hershberger case, that the farm was under a lease agreement, and says the farm continues to provide his members with raw milk.
Another farmer who signed on with RTCHF was Daniel Allgyer. He made his decision shortly after agents from the FDA showed up at his Pennsylvania farm last April with a search warrant and a letter alleging he was involved in interstate sale of raw milk. Allgyer continues to supply RTCHF with milk.
Vonderplanitz sees himself as having "rescued" these and other farmers from possibly being thrown out of business by FDA and state agriculture authority actions against private food organizations. "They have left all the people alone since I notified the authorities."
The raid on the RTCHF warehouse in Venice, CA, three weeks ago, along with that on Sharon Palmer's farm in nearby Ventura County, whose goats are under lease to RTCHF, represent payback in Vanderplanitz's view.
"They are looking for any way they can to break us," he says. "They're not going to get away from it."
He says a number of prominent Los Angeles lawyers have offered legal services, and RTCHF plans to sue the government agencies involved in the raids against Rawesome and Sharon Palmer's farm for $1 million apiece, for false arrest.
Crackdown habit
It's hard to know what the government agencies will do. While they have clearly shied away thus far from a legal confrontation over the leasing matter, the various searches suggest officials are seriously considering legal action, such as charges of violating the ban on interstate sale of raw milk. Or else they could continue their harassment actions in hopes of intimidating consumers and farmers, and scaring them away from the increasingly popular leasing arrangement.
Even without government legal action against RTCHF, there is the pending suit against the FDA by the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund challenging the federal prohibition on interstate commerce of raw milk.
Clearly, we are moving closer to judicial consideration of how far consumer rights extend when it comes to consumers opting out of the factory food system and arranging for private access to the nutritionally-dense foods of their choice.
146493 David Gumpert is the author of The Raw Milk Revolution: Behind America’s Emerging Battle Over Food Rights (Chelsea Green, 2009). He is also a journalist who specializes in covering the intersection of health and business. His popular blog has chronicled the increasingly unsettling battles over raw milk. He has authored or coauthored seven books on various aspects of entrepreneurship and business and previously been a reporter and editor with the Wall Street Journal, Inc. magazine, and the Harvard Business Review.
The government war on raw milk is an attack against food freedom
By Mike Adams
The Health Ranger (NaturalNews) As a rule of thumb, I don’t drink anything that comes out of a cow. But for the last several thousand years, a large percentage of the human population has consumed cow’s milk — a substance that admittedly contains quite an impressive collection of nutrients. The problem today is that those nutrients are artificially modified through pasteurization (cooking) and homogenization (breaking down fat molecules) to create a ready-made, highly processed cow’s milk beverage with a long shelf life that can be sold to consumers as “milk.”
In the history of food, pasteurized, homogenized cow’s milk is a relatively new thing. For most of recent history, milk has been consumed as a fresh, raw beverage, just hours out of the cow. Each day’s milk was usually harvested that very morning from the local cow, and most farms had at least one milk cow. (For many families, it was what kept them alive through the harsh winters…)
During all these centuries, fresh cow’s milk was considered a nourishing, even lifesaving beverage that provided people with hard-to-find proteins and fats in times when calories were hard to come by.
Pasteurization and the road to dead food This went on until roughly the end of the 19th century, when pasteurization was introduced to the milk industry as a way to increase the shelf life of milk by killing the bacteria that spoil it. By “cooking” the milk, large milk producers were able to centralize product production at distant locations (large-scale dairy farms) and then ship the product to consumers anywhere in the country. When kept at the right refrigeration temperature, this pasteurized milk now had a shelf life many times longer than raw milk.
So the dairy industry grew profitable and large, and over the next few generations, Americans got used to “milk” meaning “pasteurized, homogenized milk” even though it was an unnatural alteration of the real milk that the country had grown up on.
Raw milk rediscovered Fast forward to the 21st century: Now, more and more consumers are becoming aware of the health benefits of raw milk. It’s loaded with active probiotics, of course, which we now know increase skin health and digestive health while potentially even improving cognitive function. So naturally, consumers started purchasing raw milk from their local farmers and coops in order to benefit from this raw, unprocessed food. (Actually, lots of health-conscious people have been doing this since the 1960′s, but “raw milk” didn’t really become popular among near-mainstream consumers until just the last few years…)
When people buy raw milk from local farmers, this of course takes away profits from the large corporate milk producers that are selling pasteurized, homogenized milk. So the dairy industry attempted to get the federal government to destroy the competition (the raw milk producers). But instead of just saying, “We want you to destroy our competition,” they made up an excuse, “Raw milk is dangerous!”
Yep: The same beverage that America was raised on is now considered by the feds to be “too dangerous to drink.” Sure, you can drink diet soda laced with aspartame or high-fructose corn syrup — two ingredients known to cause degenerative disease — but you can’t drink raw, wholesome, fresh milk anyway because it’s “too dangerous.”
The idiotic war against raw milk Now the war is on. State and federal regulatory agencies, spurred on by the monopolistic business practices of the dairy industry, have set out to criminalize the sale of raw milk. They’ve raided raw milk resellers, arrested raw milk marketers and seized countless gallons of raw milk to be destroyed.
Raw milk, the bureaucrats say, is dangerous because it hasn’t been sanitized yet. Raw milk is “dirty” while cooked, pasteurized or irradiated milk is “clean.” And Big Brother thinks you’re not supposed to eat “dirty” foods like raw milk.
Sure, you can smoke yourself into a lifetime of cancer — that’s fully approved by the government. You can slather your body with personal care products laced with cancer-causing chemicals, because that’s also approved by the government. You can drink brain-busting aspartame, chow down on diabetes-promoting MSG, or swallow any number of mouthfuls of processed foods laced with a thousand different synthetic chemicals that probably cause everything from cancer to Alzheimer’s. Go take a swim in the Gulf of Mexico and soak up some Corexit dispersant chemicals — the government doesn’t protect you from any of that.
But raw milk? Well that’s just too dangerous. It’s all natural! And if you’re the whored-out U.S. government — now run by commercial interests — natural is bad!
The secret government plot to kill all your food You see, food safety in America has come down to killing your food. Only “dead food” is “safe food” in the eyes of the FDA and state health authorities. That’s why they killed your almonds (there are no more raw almonds commercially available in the United States of America), and it’s the same reason why they’re gearing up to irradiate all your fresh produce. (http://www.naturalnews.com/023945_f…)
The government wants to kill your food but it has nothing at all to do with food safety. If the government were really interested in food safety, it would ban the stuff that really promotes disease: Fried fast food, toxic chemical additives like aspartame, empty calorie ingredients like white flour and bleached white sugar… you get the idea.
But none of those things have been banned at all. Instead, of all the thousands of things that are bad for your health, the government has chosen to single out raw milk as somehow deserving the most attention — even thought raw milk is arguably GOOD for your health and not bad in the least!
So why does this matter to our freedom? Because now, not only is the government deciding what’s good and bad for your (and legislating laws against your free choice); but the government’s ability to determine what’s good or bad is flawed in the first place.
Freedom of choice Like most freedom-loving Americans, I don’t think the government has any business telling you what to eat. (But then, neither do I think corporations should have Free Speech to advertise all their junk products, either, although that’s another topic altogether.)
If some guy in Brooklyn wants to eat himself to death on hamburgers and corn syrup, that’s his right and his choice. The feds have no business criminalizing his food choices, even if they do seem rather poorly made.
But even if the feds were to start enforcing its control over your food, it would only make sense to ban the most dangerous foods first… you know, the stuff that’s really causing epidemic disease in America. Stuff like high-fructose corn syrup, aspartame, MSG, partially-hydrogenated oils, petrochemical-derived artificial food colors, dangerous chemical preservatives and so on.
But none of those things are even being considered for any ban. And that means, by any reasonable logic, that the ban isn’t about your health. It’s not about “protecting you” from dangerous foods.
The government, after all, approves the sale of cigarettes, alcohol, hair coloring chemicals and a thousand other things that are terrible for your health. They aren’t interested in protecting your health in the least. What they are interested in doing is protecting their corporate masters in the highly influential dairy industry.
And that’s what this all comes down to: The war on raw milk is a juvenile attempt by the federal government to protect a profitable, powerful industry by destroying its competition regardless of the consequences to your health — and regardless of what freedoms they destroy in the process.
Your right to buy what you choose has now been overthrown by the government’s desire to protect the processed-milk dairy industry.
And that’s why the cow in my CounterThink cartoon sprays the bureaucrats with raw milk, shouting, “Take THAT, you bureaucrats!”
Check out my CounterThink cartoon right here: http://www.naturalnews.com/029170_r…
And if you’d like to watch my behind-the-scenes video which explains this cartoon, check that out right here: http://naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=235
The Health Ranger (NaturalNews) As a rule of thumb, I don’t drink anything that comes out of a cow. But for the last several thousand years, a large percentage of the human population has consumed cow’s milk — a substance that admittedly contains quite an impressive collection of nutrients. The problem today is that those nutrients are artificially modified through pasteurization (cooking) and homogenization (breaking down fat molecules) to create a ready-made, highly processed cow’s milk beverage with a long shelf life that can be sold to consumers as “milk.”
In the history of food, pasteurized, homogenized cow’s milk is a relatively new thing. For most of recent history, milk has been consumed as a fresh, raw beverage, just hours out of the cow. Each day’s milk was usually harvested that very morning from the local cow, and most farms had at least one milk cow. (For many families, it was what kept them alive through the harsh winters…)
During all these centuries, fresh cow’s milk was considered a nourishing, even lifesaving beverage that provided people with hard-to-find proteins and fats in times when calories were hard to come by.
Pasteurization and the road to dead food This went on until roughly the end of the 19th century, when pasteurization was introduced to the milk industry as a way to increase the shelf life of milk by killing the bacteria that spoil it. By “cooking” the milk, large milk producers were able to centralize product production at distant locations (large-scale dairy farms) and then ship the product to consumers anywhere in the country. When kept at the right refrigeration temperature, this pasteurized milk now had a shelf life many times longer than raw milk.
So the dairy industry grew profitable and large, and over the next few generations, Americans got used to “milk” meaning “pasteurized, homogenized milk” even though it was an unnatural alteration of the real milk that the country had grown up on.
Raw milk rediscovered Fast forward to the 21st century: Now, more and more consumers are becoming aware of the health benefits of raw milk. It’s loaded with active probiotics, of course, which we now know increase skin health and digestive health while potentially even improving cognitive function. So naturally, consumers started purchasing raw milk from their local farmers and coops in order to benefit from this raw, unprocessed food. (Actually, lots of health-conscious people have been doing this since the 1960′s, but “raw milk” didn’t really become popular among near-mainstream consumers until just the last few years…)
When people buy raw milk from local farmers, this of course takes away profits from the large corporate milk producers that are selling pasteurized, homogenized milk. So the dairy industry attempted to get the federal government to destroy the competition (the raw milk producers). But instead of just saying, “We want you to destroy our competition,” they made up an excuse, “Raw milk is dangerous!”
Yep: The same beverage that America was raised on is now considered by the feds to be “too dangerous to drink.” Sure, you can drink diet soda laced with aspartame or high-fructose corn syrup — two ingredients known to cause degenerative disease — but you can’t drink raw, wholesome, fresh milk anyway because it’s “too dangerous.”
The idiotic war against raw milk Now the war is on. State and federal regulatory agencies, spurred on by the monopolistic business practices of the dairy industry, have set out to criminalize the sale of raw milk. They’ve raided raw milk resellers, arrested raw milk marketers and seized countless gallons of raw milk to be destroyed.
Raw milk, the bureaucrats say, is dangerous because it hasn’t been sanitized yet. Raw milk is “dirty” while cooked, pasteurized or irradiated milk is “clean.” And Big Brother thinks you’re not supposed to eat “dirty” foods like raw milk.
Sure, you can smoke yourself into a lifetime of cancer — that’s fully approved by the government. You can slather your body with personal care products laced with cancer-causing chemicals, because that’s also approved by the government. You can drink brain-busting aspartame, chow down on diabetes-promoting MSG, or swallow any number of mouthfuls of processed foods laced with a thousand different synthetic chemicals that probably cause everything from cancer to Alzheimer’s. Go take a swim in the Gulf of Mexico and soak up some Corexit dispersant chemicals — the government doesn’t protect you from any of that.
But raw milk? Well that’s just too dangerous. It’s all natural! And if you’re the whored-out U.S. government — now run by commercial interests — natural is bad!
The secret government plot to kill all your food You see, food safety in America has come down to killing your food. Only “dead food” is “safe food” in the eyes of the FDA and state health authorities. That’s why they killed your almonds (there are no more raw almonds commercially available in the United States of America), and it’s the same reason why they’re gearing up to irradiate all your fresh produce. (http://www.naturalnews.com/023945_f…)
The government wants to kill your food but it has nothing at all to do with food safety. If the government were really interested in food safety, it would ban the stuff that really promotes disease: Fried fast food, toxic chemical additives like aspartame, empty calorie ingredients like white flour and bleached white sugar… you get the idea.
But none of those things have been banned at all. Instead, of all the thousands of things that are bad for your health, the government has chosen to single out raw milk as somehow deserving the most attention — even thought raw milk is arguably GOOD for your health and not bad in the least!
So why does this matter to our freedom? Because now, not only is the government deciding what’s good and bad for your (and legislating laws against your free choice); but the government’s ability to determine what’s good or bad is flawed in the first place.
Freedom of choice Like most freedom-loving Americans, I don’t think the government has any business telling you what to eat. (But then, neither do I think corporations should have Free Speech to advertise all their junk products, either, although that’s another topic altogether.)
If some guy in Brooklyn wants to eat himself to death on hamburgers and corn syrup, that’s his right and his choice. The feds have no business criminalizing his food choices, even if they do seem rather poorly made.
But even if the feds were to start enforcing its control over your food, it would only make sense to ban the most dangerous foods first… you know, the stuff that’s really causing epidemic disease in America. Stuff like high-fructose corn syrup, aspartame, MSG, partially-hydrogenated oils, petrochemical-derived artificial food colors, dangerous chemical preservatives and so on.
But none of those things are even being considered for any ban. And that means, by any reasonable logic, that the ban isn’t about your health. It’s not about “protecting you” from dangerous foods.
The government, after all, approves the sale of cigarettes, alcohol, hair coloring chemicals and a thousand other things that are terrible for your health. They aren’t interested in protecting your health in the least. What they are interested in doing is protecting their corporate masters in the highly influential dairy industry.
And that’s what this all comes down to: The war on raw milk is a juvenile attempt by the federal government to protect a profitable, powerful industry by destroying its competition regardless of the consequences to your health — and regardless of what freedoms they destroy in the process.
Your right to buy what you choose has now been overthrown by the government’s desire to protect the processed-milk dairy industry.
And that’s why the cow in my CounterThink cartoon sprays the bureaucrats with raw milk, shouting, “Take THAT, you bureaucrats!”
Check out my CounterThink cartoon right here: http://www.naturalnews.com/029170_r…
And if you’d like to watch my behind-the-scenes video which explains this cartoon, check that out right here: http://naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=235
Raw Milk Battle Continues in Wisconsin
By Elizabeth Rich, Esq. | October 20, 2010
Battle lines between Wisconsin farmers and the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) have been drawn in two lawsuits. The first, brought by the FTCLDF, GrassWay Organics farm, and members of the Association that obtain milk from the farm, alleges that DATCP’s interpretations of state statutes governing sale and distribution of raw milk are arbitrary and capricious, and that under well-established Wisconsin corporate law, GrassWay Association members have a bona fide interest in the entity that holds the milk producer license. The suit further challenges DATCP’s jurisdictional authority to regulate the farm store, which is a private, members-only entity.
The second case was brought by the FTCLDF, Zinniker Farm, and individual owners of cows on the farm. The individuals seek declarations from the Court confirming that (i) they are entitled to own personal property in the form of a cow; (ii) they are entitled to own, ingest and use food produced by their cow; (iii) they are entitled to enter into a boarding contract with a farmer to have the farmer care for their cow; and (iv) such conduct is not a violation of Wisconsin law governing raw milk. The Zinniker case also raises several constitutional issues, including freedom of association and the right to privacy, which the plaintiffs allege includes the fundamental right to be free from governmental interference with one’s bodily and physical health.
Despite government challenges, the two pending lawsuits
read story here
The second case was brought by the FTCLDF, Zinniker Farm, and individual owners of cows on the farm. The individuals seek declarations from the Court confirming that (i) they are entitled to own personal property in the form of a cow; (ii) they are entitled to own, ingest and use food produced by their cow; (iii) they are entitled to enter into a boarding contract with a farmer to have the farmer care for their cow; and (iv) such conduct is not a violation of Wisconsin law governing raw milk. The Zinniker case also raises several constitutional issues, including freedom of association and the right to privacy, which the plaintiffs allege includes the fundamental right to be free from governmental interference with one’s bodily and physical health.
Despite government challenges, the two pending lawsuits
read story here
Calls for Wisconsin Food Freedom
"In recent events, Wisconsin's (DATCP) Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection continues to invest time, energy, and the State's financial resources into enforcements against small family farms who direct market their farm products to the end consumer. Between 2008-2010, along with aggressively expediting search warrants on small farmer Vernon Hershberger and taking Wisconsinite Max Kane to court over raw milk related investigations, DATCP has sent undercover agents to engage in covert operations to shut down small farms, such as in the case of the Trautman Family Farm. With no complaints signed by citizens, the State, a non-injured party, has now become the plaintiff against the People and the Farmers of Wisconsin. The State is very shamefully denying people the farm food of their choice, and now demanding to have jurisdiction over what people can eat in the privacy of their own home." Max Kane
"In recent events, Wisconsin's (DATCP) Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection continues to invest time, energy, and the State's financial resources into enforcements against small family farms who direct market their farm products to the end consumer. Between 2008-2010, along with aggressively expediting search warrants on small farmer Vernon Hershberger and taking Wisconsinite Max Kane to court over raw milk related investigations, DATCP has sent undercover agents to engage in covert operations to shut down small farms, such as in the case of the Trautman Family Farm. With no complaints signed by citizens, the State, a non-injured party, has now become the plaintiff against the People and the Farmers of Wisconsin. The State is very shamefully denying people the farm food of their choice, and now demanding to have jurisdiction over what people can eat in the privacy of their own home." Max Kane
End of Liberty
Vernon Hershberger is featured in this film
Farmageddon: The Movie
Farmageddon is a documentary about the escalating fight for food rights in America. Watch the preview!
[ READ MORE (Vimeo) ]
Raw Foods Raid - The Fight For the Right To Eat What You Want
