Food Freedom
Georgia hobby farmer faces fines for growing too many vegetables
September 16, 2010 | 
Author Just when I thought I’ve seen it all I find this news alert. Did you ever imagine that growing your own food and selling the extra at a local farmer’s market could land you in court? I certainly didn’t.
This case is a prime example of how tyranny has become common place in the USA. Before the law of the land only needed to be involved in clear cases of the violation of rights of someone else now it is all about violating our rights to grow our own food, make our own food choice, consume the food we prefer and support the farmers that grow that food. We’ve seen the war against raw milk but now it’s being brought against hobby vegetable gardeners.
In case you find this hard to believe, and I don’t blame you, you can watch the local news segment on this hobby farmer’s plight on WSBTV Georgia’s website.
I’m still not sure what this man’s actual crime was though I can see they are using the excuse that he violated zoning laws however that doesn’t make sense as they continue to pursue the case against him even after he got his land rezoned. This smacks of harassment to me. And I have to wonder how much they will spend on court fees, and the time for the prosecutors to pursue this $5000 in fines. Probably enough to make it not worth it but of course they will anyway. Common sense rarely comes into play where governments are concerned.
Then there is the rather disturbing method they used to determine he was growing too many vegetables. No one is sure how the information was obtained without a search warrant or someone actually coming to the premises to determine his “violation. This has led many people to believe they are using satellite or aerial surveillance? Not hard to believe as we know they constantly fly over the countryside supposedly looking for illegal drug production. Is anything sacred anymore? Privacy fences and screening trees and bushes do little to protect against snooping eyes from the skies. When will enough be enough and Americans stand up and demand their rights especially to privacy and the freedom to life and liberty. And what is a better example of freedom than growing one’s own food? It’s hard for me to think of anything more vital and crucial really.
And the sad truth is that I doubt anyone really cares that he was growing vegetables but instead the local governments that are struggling to meet their budget needs in this horrendous economy, getting no help from the onerous Federal Government which is taking a bigger chunk out of our souls every day, has decided to become proactive in finding new fines to collect. That should really upset you, when the government decides instead to look for law breakers, and make new ones by invasive means, rather than just punish crimes committed in open air. It rather smacks of Orwell’s 1984 to me where everyone is under constant surveillance and scrutiny the very minutia of our lives recorded to find possible thought crimes to prosecute us.
“There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment. How often, or on what system, the Thought Police plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork. It was even conceivable that they watched everybody all the time. But at any rate they could plug in your wire whenever they wanted to. You had to live—did live, from habit that became instinct—in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinized.” – George Orwell, 1984
Posted in Food Freedom, Government Tyranny, News & Views | 
Tags: farming freedom, government tyranny, organic farmer | 
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Happy Independence Day from Naturally-Texan
Hard to believe it’s summer again, and sweltering in Texas though we’ve had a nice break the last few days with a good amount of rain due to the hurricane down south. Here in Texas we’ve always taken great joy in celebrating Independence Day. After all we are one of the few states that can boast our own independence.
I find myself thinking about what that really means these days though. Are we truly free? In some ways yes, but in other ways we are definitely not. It’s been a busy summer already with reports of food and health freedoms being trampled upon by an over-eager government enforcing outrageous regulations and not just in our country.
Locally we felt it. It was with great sadness and not a little anger that I write about one episode close to home. Our local CSA was shut down by the USDA because of outrageous requirements that make sense on large farms and no sense at all on small operations selling directly to the customer. What was the evil they committed? Recycling wax boxes to save money and prevent waste instead of always using new ones when harvesting the organic produce.
In Great Britain they are now banning the sale of eggs and other food products by number instead of by weight/volume. That sounds alright on the surface but then again when you consider it is now illegal to buy eggs by the dozen or a dozen dinner rolls, or even to see how many rolls are in a package it begins to become absurd. These regulations are burdensome on the producers and end up costing money to regulate which increases the tax burden and they cost money for the producers to comply. For example in this situation the egg producers and shopkeepers will have to design and obtain all new packaging, will have to design new methods to weigh and calculate instead of just put 12 medium sized eggs in the medium carton and the costs for all of this will be transfered to the consumer. Read more here: EU to ban selling of eggs by the dozen
Back here at home we have the FDA telling us that we do not have the right to obtain our own food or to make informed decisions about what types of food we will purchase and cosume. Read more: “FDA says ‘No right to eat what you want’”. This was in response to the law suit filed by the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FTCLDF) claiming that the federal regulations against the purchase and consumption of raw milk are unconstitutional.
With this news it should come as no surprise that the FDA is also moving to severely limit the amount of “sodium” in processed foods, also sounds good on the face of it but is it really? Real salts have minerals that are good for the human body and are required for many foods to be preserved, and also for them to taste good. What do you suppose will take the place so producers can make sure their products don’t spoil and they taste good? Probably dangerous toxins like MSG. That would likely suit the FDA just fine as they’ve shown a serious conflict of interest with the large corporations that make food additives, GMOs and other products including the monster Monsanto. The FDA has a revolving door with Monsanto where Monsanto executives end up running the FDA, then head back to Monsanto and big bucks and who knows what else. When will this corruption end? Read more: Labeling Issues, Revolving Doors, rBGH, Bribery and Monsanto
This Independence Day I’d like to ask you all to think about what freedom means to you. To think about what our country fought for when they decided to declare their independence. Did that include the most fundamental rights to choose what we eat and how we live? I think so. How about you?
Posted in farm freedom, FDA, Food Freedom, Holidays, Independence Day, Politics, Uncategorized, USDA | Tags: 4th of July, Food Freedom, Health Freedom, Independence Day, right to food | No Comments »
What happened to the USA’s Agricultural Heritage?
A Red Barn
I remember many hours spent in history courses in grade school and then in college that talked about the building of the United States. A country that’s backbone was agriculture. Now that backbone seems to be rotting to the core. What happened to us?
It seems to be mainly due to two things. Firstly a lack of respect for farming, nature, and agriculture in general. Secondly government interference which include subsidies and “regulations” that don’t solve any of the real problems and create a thousand more.
Today’s discussion is about respecting our means of nourishment, food. Such a simple word for something so important and vital that effects us so profoundly physically, emotionally and mentally. Over the coming weeks we will discuss the government’s role in destroying the agriculture of America piece by piece.
Before the industrial age agriculture was part of the every day lives of most people. Even if you didn’t live on a farm you weren’t far from one and had a closer connection to the people that raised your food. But with the industrial age people began abandoning the small towns to move to the big cities for work. The food needs went from buying from your local farmer and raising some necessities yourself such as a family cow, a few chickens and a vegetable garden to relying on purchasing food from 3rd parties.
Eggs are taken for granted
The connections were lost. No more appreciation for each and every egg, knowing the chickens that produced it and instead taking for granted they will be there on the grocer’s shelves. I was so disconnected growing up that I never realized what a real, fresh egg tasted like. How the yolk was a dark golden yellow or orange. The egg white wasn’t watery but thick and stuck around the yolk with a tenacity that the store bought eggs had never shown. Even making a hard boiled egg was a new experience as the fresher eggs were harder to peel because the eggs hadn’t spent considerable time breaking down during shipping and shelving.
My meat came from plastic wrapped packages with dyes added to make it look more red, and more fresh. The meat was so bland it had to be helped with unhealthy chemicals to induce flavor such as steak sauces and corn-syrup based ketchups.
I had no idea what herbs were, or spices, nor how they were used. I never saw fresh ground pepper until I saw a chef cooking on TV.
Is this the sad legacy that has fallen onto America? The once strong agricultural based country is now based on overpriced, nutrient lacking, mass marketed, psuedo-food. Our very existence is ruled by what marketing companies have trained us to want and feel we need. It’s a hollow and empty existence. It surely explains why our country’s moral center is also starting to atrophy.
It is no wonder we have no respect for the animals that provide our food, for the farmers that work so hard to produce that food and get so little for their efforts, and for the resources that it takes to get that food from production to our plate. We are disconnected from them behind a wall of middle men that also take the big chunk of the money we pay for these products.
Our values are all out whack. It’s time to take our agricultural heritage back. If you can’t raise a couple of inconspicuous hens for eggs or have a milk cow (or a couple of goats) then find a local farmer who can and support them. Buy directly from that farmer, get to know them, get to know where your food come from.
For some things we do have to rely on markets, especially those of us that are financially challenged. For other reasons we also must rely on some food made from a distance, such as coconut oil, but we can buy with discernment. Buy from companies with integrity and honor, also run by people and not corporations. Let’s get back to the people and not the profit share.
Easy to use glass jars, labeled and refilled as needed.
We all need affordable items to augment our kitchen but we can make good choices. Organic spices and herbs are more nutritious and not irradiated. If you cannot grow your own herbs (even some in a pot in the kitchen window) then buy organic from places like Mountain Rose Herbs. Not only is buying in bulk cheaper it saves resources as you can reuse the glass container you store the herbs in. Join a buying club or form a group of friends to divide up a pound of organic black peppercorns or a 5 gallon pail of Virgin Coconut Oil. The possibilities are then endless.
Respect the food you cook with, waste less of it and make judicious choices. It will save you money in this current depression we are experiencing and it will also make you feel better. When we respect and honor our food, we are respecting and honoring our bodies and ourselves. It’s the first step to a new world and if we each take a few steps together it will be a brighter place.
Next week’s article will discuss farm subsidies and how they are ruining our agriculture and serious economic and health problems not just for United States Citizens but for our neighbors in Mexico. The subsidies have a broad impact, and it’ s not a good one.
In the mean time check out this great article on Nutrition and Physical Regeneration about Farm Subsidies, “Subsidizing Cheeseburgers”
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Posted in Farming, Food Freedom, Politics, Uncategorized | Tags: agriculture, food industry, nourishing food, small farmers | No Comments »