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Food Tactics

Global Food & Land Control

Local Agenda 21: The U.N. Plan for Your Community

Walnuts, Milk and Global Tyranny | World Heritage 'Protection'

Swat Team conducts food raid in rural Ohio

The UN Plan for Food and Land | The Pizza Choice Game

The Revolutionary Roots of the UN

May 2014

Epidemic Of Hunger: New Report Says 49 Million Americans Are Dealing With Food Insecurity: "...more families are falling out of the middle class every single day. There is going to be a great need for love and compassion in this country during the hard times that are coming. ...I hope that you will choose to be a light to those that desperately need it." See The UN Plan for Food and Land

July 2013

Animals, Food Criminalization Michigan Demands $700,000 from Farmer and the Destruction of 70 Farm Animals: "Late last week, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) demanded the payment of $700,000 from a small farm family...  and the destruction of 70 of their pigs at Baker’s Green Acres, operated by Mark and Jill Baker and their eight children.... The Baker’s small farm business has nearly been ruined...

     "Mark and Jill Baker and their eight children bought farmland in Michigan after he retired from 20 years of service in the U.S. Air Force. ... His nutrient-dense 'red meat' pork and lard is of the quality that is highly prized... by fine chefs and restaurants." See Walnuts, Milk and Global Tyranny: Squeezing America into a Socialist World System

The Loss of Food Rights: How the Government Destroys Local Farms: "From urban farmers’ markets to charitable lemonade stands, small-scale food sources are being shut down in what can best be described as a loss of our food rights....

   “Virtually all the chickens sold in the United States are grown under production contracts to a handful of companies, who own the birds from egg to supermarket.... Even bake sales and lemonade stands aren’t off-limits to the increasingly aggressive public health inspectors." See The UN Plan for Food and Land

Threats to Food & Farms.  Animals, Food Criminalization Michigan Demands $700,000 from Farmer and the Destruction of 70 Farm Animals:  "Late last week, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) demanded the payment of $700,000 from a small farm family of ten and the destruction of 70 of their pigs at Baker’s Green Acres, operated by Mark and Jill Baker and their eight children....

      "...on Thursday, June 27 court say the state demands $700,000 in fines and destruction of the farm animals...The Baker’s small farm business has nearly been ruined and at jeopardy now are their pastured poultry and beef production for local families who want want farm fresh, healthy food. ...

     "Mark and Jill Baker and their eight children bought farmland in Michigan after he retired from 20 years of service in the U.S. Air Force. ... His nutrient-dense 'red meat' pork and lard is of the quality that is highly prized throughout the world and throughout this part of Northern Michigan by fine chefs and restaurants." See Walnuts, Milk and Global Tyranny: Squeezing America into a Socialist World System

May 2013

European Commission to criminalize nearly all seeds and plants not registered with government: "A new law proposed by the European Commission would make it illegal to 'grow, reproduce or trade' any vegetable seeds that have not been 'tested, approved and accepted' by a new EU bureaucracy named the 'EU Plant Variety Agency.' ... Home gardeners who grow their own plants from non-regulated seeds would be considered criminals under this law.

     "This law will immediately stop the professional development of vegetable varieties for home gardeners, organic growers, and small-scale market farmers....  Nearly all varieties of heirloom vegetable seeds will be criminalized under this proposed EU law. ...saving seeds from one generation to the next...will become a criminal act." See From Freedom to Servitude

Monsanto Has Taken Over the USDA: "Monsanto is, of course, the world's largest biotech corporation. These are the people who brought us Roundup weed killer and the resulting superweeds and superbugs, along with growth hormones for cows, genetically engineered and patented seeds, PCBs, and Agent Orange.... This chemical company... has monopolized our food system largely by taking over regulatory agencies like the U.S. Department of Agriculture. ...

      "The takeover has been thorough. Monsanto's growth hormones for cows have been approved by Michael Taylor, a former Monsanto lobbyist turned USDA administrator and FDA deputy commissioner. ... Islam Siddiqui, a former Monsanto lobbyist, wrote the USDA's food standards, allowing corporations to label irradiated and genetically engineered foods as 'organic.'"

February 2013

The UN’s Food Police: "Its environment wing – the United Nations Environment Programme ( UNEP) – has issued a new report called'Our Nutrient World: The challenge to produce more food and energy with less pollution.' Here’s a taste of the headlines it has generated:

Halve meat consumption or kiss the planet goodbye, UN researcher says...

• Your meat habits are killing the planet...

      "The UN enlists academics from a variety of countries. It persuades them to write a report that 1) says there’s a crisis and 2) says that UN bodies stand ready to introduce all sorts of red-tape in response.... The executive summary talks about a 'a new global effort,' 'inter-governmental' processes, and 'international consensus.'" See The UN Plan for Food and Land

UN Proposes 'Food Redistribution' from US and Europe through 'Swift and Collective Action': "If you loved wealth redistribution, remember that money is just the tip of the redistribution iceberg. In the USSR, wealth redistribution gave way to food redistribution. And the UNSSR is moving along that same road.

     "The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) – has issued a new report called 'Our Nutrient World: The challenge to produce more food and energy with less pollution.' People in the rich world should become 'demitarians' – eating half as much meat as usual, while stopping short of giving it up – in order to avoid severe environmental damage..." See Walnuts, Milk and Global Tyranny: Squeezing America into a Socialist World System

August 2012

Fauquier County steps over the line: "Farmers in Fauquier County are planning to bring their pitchforks to an Aug. 2 hearing before the Board of Zoning Appeals to protest the arbitrary treatment of one of their own. On April 30, Zoning Administrator Kimberley Johnson sent Martha Boneta an official cease-and-desist notice for selling farm products and hosting a birthday party for her best friend's 10-year-old daughter on her 70-acre Paris, Va., farm without a special administrative permit.

June 2012

Farmers plead to use their own wells: "Now an estimated 200 farmers have met in a show of solidarity, signing a statement to the government that if they are not allowed to turn on their wells and irrigate their crops they will not be able to pay taxes next year. This year’s snowpack is only 2 percent of average, tying a record low set during another historic drought in 2002." A different kind of food-and-land control: SWAT Team conducts food raid in rural Ohio

Farmer panic! Crops die as gov't blocks wells: "Farmers in Colorado are watching their fields dry up amid one of the worst droughts in the state’s history. But just a few feet beneath them, the water is so plentiful it’s flooding basements and causing septic systems to overflow. Yet the government will not permit farmers to pump the water to save their crops."

May 2012

Raw-milk confiscations begin: "....government health officials have begun tracking down the names and addresses of natural-foods customers and showing up at their homes, demanding to confiscate any raw milk they might have. The dispute... has reached a fever pitch in recent weeks, with a judge ruling that owners of cows have no right to the milk their herds produce." See Walnuts, Milk and Global Tyranny

April 2012

Michigan government unleashes armed raids on small pig farmers: "...the Michigan Department of Natural Resources has, in total violation of the Fourth Amendment, conducted two armed raids on pig farmers in that state, one in Kalkaska County at Fife Lake and another in Cheboygan County. Staging raids involving six vehicles and ten armed men, DNA conducted unconstitutional, illegal and arguably criminal armed raids on these two farms with the intent of shooting all the farmers' pigs under a bizarre new 'Invasive Species Order' (ISO) that has suddenly declared traditional livestock to be an invasive species....In anticipation of the DNR arriving on the scene, one farmer engaged in what can only be described as a heart-wrenching task of shooting his own pigs, one by one....This was to avoid being arrested as a felon. His livelihood is now completely destroyed....

      "'It was very traumatic for him. These guys are farmers, and I know how much he cared for the animals there, and the DNR treats these like they're some kind of a plant that needs to be exterminated...'" See SWAT Team conducts food raid in rural Ohio

Obama’s secret plan to seize Americans’ land: "Brian Sussman, author of 'Eco-Tyranny: How the Left’s Green Agenda will Dismantle America,' has exposed Barack Obama’s secret plan to seize land from the American people. ...[T]he plan... was 'concocted by Obama’s Department of the Interior to take over hundreds of thousands of acres of private land, take it off the books for development.” See From Freedom to Servitude

March 2012

Back to the Future? (by Sowell) "Roscoe Filburn was an Ohio farmer who grew some wheat to feed his family and some farm animals. But the U.S. Department of Agriculture fined him for growing more wheat than he was allowed to grow under the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 [during the Roosevelt administration], which was passed under Congress' power to regulate interstate commerce.

     "Filburn pointed out that his wheat wasn't sold, so that it didn't enter any commerce, interstate or otherwise. Therefore the federal government had no right to tell him how much wheat he grew on his own farm, and which never left his farm. The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution says that all powers not explicitly given to the federal government belong to the states or to the people. So you might think that Filburn was right..." See Walnuts, Milk and Global Tyranny

February 2012

Feds shut down Amish farm for selling fresh milk: "'I can't believe in 2012 the federal government is raiding Amish farmers at gunpoint all over a basic human right to eat natural food,' said one of them, who asked not to be named but received weekly shipments of eggs, milk, honey and butter from Rainbow Acres, a farm near Lancaster, Pa. 'In Maryland, they force taxpayers to pay for abortions, but God forbid we want the same milk our grandparents drank.'" See Swat Team conducts food raid in rural Ohio

December 2011

Federal Land Grab in the Works: "Sen. Jim DeMint....chairman of the U.S. Senate Steering Committee [said]: "To my chagrin, I have not known about this: "A secret administration memo has surfaced revealing plans for the federal government to seize more than 10 million acres from Montana to New Mexico, halting job-creating activities like ranching, forestry, mining and energy development. Worse, this land grab would dry up tax revenue that’s essential for funding schools, firehouses and community centers. See Agenda 21

July 2011

Execuctive Order 13575 "RURAL COUNCILS" Agenda 21 NWO: "...the Executive Order states that the council will 'make recommendations to the President, through the Director of the Domestic Policy Council and the Director of the National Economic Council, on streamlining and leveraging Federal investments in rural areas...." See  The Habitat II Agenda

FDA Says: Drinking This Natural Food is a Crime: "'If we are not even free anymore to decide something as basic as what we wish to eat or drink, how much freedom do we really have left?' [Ron] Paul was talking about the FDA ban on the interstate sale of raw milk... milk that has not been pasteurized" [-the kind we always drank in Norway and which never made us ill]

June 2011

Does The New ‘White House Rural Council’ = UN’s Agenda 21?: "On June 9, 2011, President Obama signed his 86th Executive Order....E.O 13575 is designed to begin taking control over almost all aspects of the lives of 16% of the American people. [Ponder the new policy:]

      '"Section 1. Policy. Sixteen percent of the American population lives in rural counties. Strong, sustainable rural communities are essential to winning the future and ensuring American competitiveness in the years ahead.... The Federal Government has an important role to play in order to expand access to the capital necessary for economic growth, promote innovation, improve access to health care and education, and expand outdoor recreational activities on public lands.'

     "Warning bells should have been sounding all across rural America when the phrase 'sustainable rural communities' came up. As we know from researching the UN plan for Sustainable Development known as Agenda 21, these are code words for the true fundamental transformation America." But how will burdened farmers and other tax-payers pay the extra costs -- especially in light of our government's massive debt?

May 2011

FEMA to confiscate food from local farms in emergencies? "Since our nation's founding the federal government has, in times of emergency, claimed extra-constitutional powers and authority. Under the guise of acting in the public's best interests, Washington has taken away privacy rights, free speech, and habeas corpus, among others....With that in mind, would it surprise you to find out that if disaster strikes in your part of the country, the federal government is prepared to take over local food supplies, in part by confiscating farms?" See The UN Plan for Food

February 2011

FDA claims walnuts are drugs: "The FDA warned Diamond that [b]ecause of these intended uses, your walnut products are drugs... Therefore…they may not be legally marketed....Additionally, your walnut products are offered for conditions that are not amenable to self-diagnosis and treatment by individuals who are not medical practitioners; therefore, adequate directions for use cannot be written so that a layperson can use these drugs safely."


October 2010

Food crisis forecast: "Rising food prices and shortages could cause instability in many countries as the cost of staple foods and vegetables reached their highest levels in two years, with scientists predicting further widespread droughts and floods.... Although food stocks are generally good despite much of this year's harvests being wiped out in Pakistan and Russia, sugar and rice remain at a record price."

August 2010

More regulation-happy Obama czars: "Obama has appointed another czar from Chicago: the new food czar, Sam Kass.... Everybody laughed when Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., asked Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan if it would be constitutional for Congress to order Americans 'to eat three vegetables and three fruits every day.' Kagan declined to give a straightforward answer, maybe because she knew that exactly that type of dictatorial mandate was coming....

     "Czar Berwick is on record as saying, 'Excellent health care is by definition redistributional.' He used this favorite Obama term in the context of praising Britain's socialized medicine system as 'a global treasure.'" See Unalienable Rights?

How Obama Is Locking Up Our Land: "White House officials have been meeting quietly with environmental groups to map out government plans for acquiring untold millions of acres of both public and private land. ... 'Property owners have every reason to be worried." The UN Plan for Food and Land

July 2010

Raids are increasing on farms and private food-supply clubs: "When the 20 agents arrived bearing a search warrant at her Ventura County farmhouse door at 7 a.m.... Sharon Palmer didn't know what to say. This was the third time she was being raided in 18 months, and she had thought she was on her way to resolving the problem over labeling of her goat cheese that prompted the other two raids. (In addition to producing goat's milk, she raises cattle, pigs, and chickens, and makes the meat available via a CSA.) ...

     But her 12-year-old daughter, Jasmine, wasn't the least bit tongue-tied. ...'She said, 'If you take my computer again, I can't do my homework.' This would be the third computer we will have lost. I still haven't gotten the computers back that they took in the previous two raids." See SWAT Team conducts food raid in rural Ohio

Europe's scrambled-egg policy -- Label laws are evidence of the nanny state gone wild: "The EU is in the midst of revising requirements for food labels across its 26 member countries so that various weight-based nutritional information would be available on all packaging. The changes are being made in the name of forcing the public to 'eat healthy' and to 'combat obesity.' Early proposals also called for a traffic light to be printed on food packaging on which a green light would represent good food, and red would represent a disfavored item."

EU to ban selling eggs by the dozen: "British shoppers are to be banned from buying eggs by the dozen under new regulations approved by the European Parliament. For the first time, eggs and ­other products such as oranges and bread rolls will be sold by weight instead of by the number contained in a packet."

May 2010

Congress just getting warmed up: "...Democratic lawmakers promise the best is yet to come. S.510, the Food Safety and Modernization Act of 2010, requires federal definition of 'food,' federal certification of 'food' before it can be sold (even from a farmers' market), federal licensing of food growers (formerly known as farmers), processors and sellers – all in the name of 'food safety,' of course, and funded by a new food tax (VAT tax?).... According to Obama, you only have the right' to food the government chooses." But apparently we continue to import unchecked contaminated food and medicines from China.

New 'safety plan' would control what you eat: "Critics say a bill pending in the U.S. Senate would do for Americans' food supply what 'Obamacare' is doing to the nation's supply of health-care resources. And it's generating a surge of alarm among small-farm operators and natural food advocates. 'S. 510, the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2010, may be the most dangerous bill in the history of the U.S.,' writes Steve Green..."

March 2010

Bubbles Boil Into Trouble: "Like many of his neighbors, farmer Tony Goltstein has to deal with the aftermath of the dairy bubble. But besides his mounting financial troubles, Mr. Goltstein also must contend with bubbles the size of small houses that have sprouted from the pool of manure at his Union Go Dairy Farm. Some are 20 feet tall, inflated with the gas released by 21 million gallons of decomposing cow manure. But he has a plan. It requires a gas mask, a small boat and a Swiss Army knife.”

February 2010

Feds move against farmer – for having cows! "U.S. Food and Drug Administration agents have demanded to inspect a Pennsylvania farm described by its owner as private, arguing, 'You have cows. You produce food for human consumption.' The confrontation developed just days ago at a farm near Kinzers, Pa., belonging to Amish farmer Dan Allgyer.... The agents 'drove past Allgyer's 'No Trespassing' signs and up his driveway almost to his barn, where Allgyer happened to be outside.'....After Allgyer said, 'This is a private farm, I do not sell anything to the public,' the agents accused him of refusing an inspection....

      "...in a previous U.S. case, Mennonite farmer Mark Nolt of Maryland had his farm raided by SWAT-type agents. He was fined more than $4,000 and had his equipment confiscated for providing raw – or unpasteurized – milk to participants in his program. ....a participant concluded, 'The food produced on that farm is probably far safer than anything you get at the grocery store.'

     "As someone that lives in Pennsylvania in the Amish farmland, I find this story to be horrifying. Our state legislator is working very hard to protect and encourage organic farming in Pennsylvania and then this … happens which totally undermines all his hard work."


November 2009

Summit disappoints UN food chief: "The head of the UN food agency, Jacques Diouf, says he is not satisfied with the final declaration of the UN world food summit in Rome.... Mr Diouf, head of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), said he ....regretted the absence of a deadline for the total eradication of world hunger - referring to the UN Millennium Development Goal deadline of 2025. ... 'I am not satisfied that some of the concrete proposals I made were not accepted. There was no consensus on this and I regret it."

      How can a firm deadline be set when the outcome depends on numerous uncertain factors: African politics, corruption, the global economy, weather, China's African ventures, etc.?

October 2009

Food production 'must rise 70%': "Food production will have to increase by 70% over the next 40 years to feed the world's growing population, the United Nations food agency predicts. The Food and Agricultural Organisation says if more land is not used for food production now, 370 million people could be facing famine by 2050.... Climate change, involving floods and droughts, will affect food production.....

      "Food production would also have to deal with 'the effects of climate change, notably higher temperatures [now proven to be crisis propaganda].... Climate change would reduce water availability and lead to an increase in plant and animal pests and diseases."

      [Actually "global warming" would cause more ocean water to evaporate, which would produce clouds and rain -- which in turn would hide the sun and cool the earth. That's the normal cycle -- which is separate from the 11-year cycle of sun spots and other natural cycles. Humans have nothing to do with it -- except to use deception to create a useful crisis.]  See Food Tactics

Media Bias. Time's lack of objectivity glaringly apparent in food article: "...Walsh’s story, 'Getting Real about the High Price of Cheap Food' is a classic case of stretching and bending the truth to prove a point. Walsh’s article purports to show that America’s abundant supply of cheap food comes at a high price to the environment, animals and humans. What it shows is how little Walsh and others who share his views know about farming and the economics of feeding a growing world population. ... The article concedes that Americans spend less than 10 percent of their incomes on food, but Walsh gives little credit to innovations by farmers. He claims a transition to more sustainable, smaller-scale production methods could be possible without a loss in overall yield....

      "...Walsh said Time is going away from objective reporting and moving toward becoming part of the conversation. He said he had heard opposing views to the opinions expressed in the article, but chose not to include them.

SWAT raid on food storehouse heading to trial: "A lawsuit brought by an Ohio family whose children were held at SWAT-team gunpoint while their food supplies were confiscated is scheduled to go to trial this week....The Stowers and their 10 children and grandchildren were detained in one room of their home for six hours while sheriff's officers confiscated 60 boxes of fresh farm food, computers, phones and records, including USDA-certified meat from the children's mini-farm, according to lawyers for the plaintiffs." S

September 2009

This month's set of links deal with regional food planning and control -- a local/national/international project justified as needed because of potential famine, social injustice, health safety, environmental threats, and need for more solidarity.

 

Mayor Newsom Announces Regional Food Policy for San Francisco and Several New Food Initiatives: "San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom today issued the first ever comprehensive food policy for San Francisco, and a sweeping action plan to make improvements to food that is available in the region. The plan, which Mayor Newsom issued through Executive Directive, aims to ensure that all regional residents have access to healthy food, and will have far reaching impact throughout Northern California..."

 

The American Planning Association [APA]: Our Mission. The American Planning Association is an independent, not-for-profit educational organization that provides leadership in the development of vital communities by advocating excellence in community planning, promoting education and citizen empowerment, and providing the tools and support necessary to meet the challenges of growth and change. ....

    "Our vision is of a nation of vital communities, fully accessible to all people, with: comprehensive plans implemented to create healthy, safe places to live and work; social, economic, and racial equity and integration; good public services are provided; decisions based on sustainability at all levels; good jobs available close to home; a quality education available to all students; quality, affordable housing available to all people."

  

APA Green Team: "...the American Planning Association has the opportunity to be a leader in promoting the sustainable use of Earth's resources. Practicing and demonstrating environmentally sound business practices can and should become an intrinsic part of APA's organizational culture that is apparent to our employees, members, and surrounding communities. The Green Team — an APA staff committee — wants to reduce APA's consumption of energy, natural resources, and manufactured materials, as well as its contributions to greenhouse gas emissions, other air and water pollution, and landfills."

 

Policy Guide on Community and Regional Food Planning: "Food is a sustaining and enduring necessity. Yet among the basic essentials for life — air, water, shelter, and food — only food has been absent over the years as a focus of serious professional planning interest....The following are a few converging factors that explain the heightened awareness among planners that the food system is indeed significant:

~ Recognition that food system activities take up a significant amount of urban and regional land

~ Awareness that planners can play a role to help reduce the rising incidence of hunger on the one hand, and obesity on the other

~ Understanding that the food system represents an important part of community and regional economies

~ Awareness that the food Americans eat takes a considerable amount of fossil fuel energy to produce, process, transport, and dispose of

~ Understanding that farmland in metropolitan areas, and therefore the capacity to produce food for local and regional markets, is being lost at a strong pace

~ Understanding that pollution of ground and surface water, caused by the overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture adversely affects drinking water supplies

~ Awareness that access to healthy foods in low-income areas is an increasing problem for which urban agriculture can offer an important solution

~ Recognition that many benefits emerge from stronger community and regional food systems.

 

Teaching Food: Agriculture, Food and Society Syllabi and Course Materials Collection: "A Publication of the Association for the Study of Food and Society and the Agriculture, Food and Human Values Society....WEEK 13 A. 18 April, Preserving the Four F’s: Farmland, Farming, Farmers, Farms Guest: Adesoji Adelaja, Dean for Research, Cook College, Rutgers and Director, Regional Food Policy Research and Outreach Institute See ARTICLE

 

Cities Farming for the Future Urban Agriculture for Green and Productive Cities: "The livelihood of a large number of people in cities in developing countries, especially the poor and women, depends completely or partly on urban agriculture. These agricultural activities take place in various parts of cities, both in the built-up area (in back yards, along streams and railway reservations, on vacant public or private land) as well as in the rapidly changing sub- and peri-urban areas.... Research undertaken in the last two decades indicates that urban agriculture has multiple roles and functions and plays an important role in:

• enhancing urban food security, nutrition and health;

• creating urban job opportunities and generation of income especially for urban poverty groups and provision of a social safety net for these groups;

• contributing to increased recycling of nutrients (turning urban organic wastes into a resource);

• facilitating social inclusion of disadvantaged groups and community development; and,

• urban greening and maintenance of green open spaces.....

     "For United Nation agencies and other international donor organisations, this publication provides some important directions to consider regarding the role of urban agriculture in the context of achieving the Millennium Development Goal of halving poverty by 2015. Experiences documented in this publication provide evidence of how local authorities deal with urban agriculture in the context of food security for the urban poor."

 

Food Systems Planning (scroll half way down the page): Food Systems Planning - Burnham Conference Center at APA • 122 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 1600, Sponsor: American Planning Association Free event CM 1.0 For planners there is no better time than now to start thinking about where our food comes from, beginning with the farm and ending on our plates. With a global food crisis gaining momentum what role can planners play in both preservation and improvement of the food system? Lynn Peemoeller, co-chair of the Chicago Food Policy Advisory Council, will discuss the environmental, health, social justice, and policy implications of food, and she will share her perspective on how APA's Community and Regional Food Policy Guide informs the planner's role in the complex food system."

July 2009

Food Cops: Coming Soon to a Restaurant Near You? "Jacobson doesn't suggest you will die from drinking soda, but he does say you could get fat, and fat costs money: 'Americans spend about $90 billion a year in direct medical costs related to obesity, of which half is paid with Medicare and Medicaid taxpayer dollars.'... Soda also is bad... because 'we all need food, but no one needs soda' -- a product he calls 'liquid candy' and therefore 'uniquely worthless.'...

       "Solution? Tax them. A soda tax 'would promote health and reduce health care costs.'... The health-care angle rescues the soda tax from what otherwise might seem remarkable arrogance; without the cost argument, food cops like Jacobson sound as though they are setting themselves up in judgment over other people's personal choices. The cost argument transforms those personal decisions into public-policy questions: If you make poor dietary choices, then you are effectively raising taxes on other citizens by raising medical costs through Medicare, Medicaid.... Therefore, you should not be entirely free to make your own dietary choices. ...

       '"Hyper-palatable food,' as Kessler calls it, is carefully engineered toward the 'bliss point,' the point at which we get the greatest pleasure.... The food industry is 'design[ing] food for irresistability,' Kessler says. 'It's been part of their business plans.' In short: Food companies and restaurant chains work hard to make sure their offerings taste as good as possible. Shocking, isn't it?...  Big Government stepping in to protect the little guy from an evil industry that takes advantage of his ignorance and weakness.

      "The difference, of course, is that while Big Food can lure, entice, cajole, and seduce, it cannot coerce as government can.... Because government is taking care of your health, it has the right (they will say) to tell you how to eat. And you have a duty to obey." See The Pizza Choice Game

June 2009

Urgent Action Alert!! New Food Safety Bill HR2749: "A new food safety bill is on the fast track in Congress-HR 2749, the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009. The bill needs to be stopped.... HR 2749 would impose an annual registration fee of $500 on any 'facility' that holds, processes, or manufactures food. ... And people making foods such as lacto-fermented vegetables, cheeses, or breads would be required to register and pay the fee, which could drive beginning and small producers out of business during difficult economic times....

     "HR 2749 would empower FDA to regulate how crops are raised and harvested. It puts the federal government right on the farm, dictating to our farmers. ... The agency can halt all movement of all food in a geographic area.... HR 2749 creates severe criminal and civil penalties, including prison terms of up to 10 years and/or fines of up to $100,000 for each violation for individuals." See Food Tactics

May 2009

The rising cost of health care explained: "I am a just retired Prof of Medicine from UCLA. .... When I started in Medicine there were few meds for high blood pressure and cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes was called 'maturity onset diabetes' because we only saw it in patients 50 years old. The American diet and Big Pharma have changed all that....

      "What’s to be done? ... For starters, every place that sells prepared food (both restaurants and deli’s) must have Heart Healthy® items identified. Let’s eliminate all trans-fats in the food supply.... Put a weight limit on people who can be admitted to restaurants and grocery stores. (imbed scales in the floor at all entrances) No ordering fast food by phone unless you have been certified by your doctor. Charge care-givers who continue to feed people who are too obese to get out of bed with felonious life endangerment.... You all will wear GPS bracelets to monitor compliance." See The Pizza Choice Game

A charity can't sell a pie? "Lawmakers introduced bills in the House and Senate recently that would prevent Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture inspectors from citing churches and other community groups for serving food that was prepared in home kitchens, a practice against the law in Pennsylvania. 'If church members can't prepare a home-cooked meal or dessert and take it to the church for fellow members or the local community to enjoy, what's next?" Remember: SWAT Team conducts food raid

April 2009

Coming government takeover of food: "There's always been a home gardening passion among many Americans, and farmer's markets are a familiar part of American life. However, this is something new.... Both big government and big business are alarmed – and both are working to control this phenomenon. What's in the works threatens a government definition of what is 'food' and proposes regulations amounting to a government takeover of the production, transportation and sale of food in this country for the benefit of Big Ag." See The UN Plan for Food and Land Swat Team conducts food raid

 

California water crisis: “'If things do not get better, the state’s multi-billion dollar economy will be in jeopardy,' says Hoppin. Already, estimated losses tied to a lack of water range from $3 billion to $5 billion.... However, he must compete for water with critters protected by the Endangered Species Act (ESA). 'ESA takes 30 percent to 40 percent of my farm’s water right off the top,' Hoppin points out. Most farmers want the ESA basically tossed out, but the political reality is that that is not likely to happen. Hoppin says amending ESA to provide 'a little latitude' in its enforcement to allow regulators to use 'common sense' in dealing with individual ESA species would alleviate some of the water issues tied to the federal law.... California’s current water capture, conveyance and storage network was built to supply water to 20 million people. California’s current population is 37 million. ... 9 million more people have moved into the state since ... [1991] and there are 400,000 acres more to irrigate."

March 2009

U.S. farm group backs world grain reserve proposal: "The proposal to create global cereal stocks topped the agenda of a meeting of farmers' unions from the Group of Eight industrialised countries in Rome..." See The UN Plan for Food and Land

Lose your property for growing food? "Big Brother legislation could mean prosecution, fines up to $1 million.... Some small farms and organic food growers could be placed under direct supervision of the federal government under new legislation making its way through Congress.

    "House Resolution 875, or the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009, was introduced by Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., in February. DeLauro's husband, Stanley Greenburg, works for Monsanto – the world's leading producer of herbicides and genetically engineered seed.... It calls for the creation of a Food Safety Administration to allow the government to regulate food production at all levels – and even mandates property seizure, fines of up to $1 million per offense and criminal prosecution for producers, manufacturers and distributors who fail to comply with regulations....

    "'We need somebody to watch over us when we're eating food that comes from thousands and thousands of miles away [like China].... But when food comes from our neighbors or from farmers who we know, we don't need all of those rules." See The UN Plan for Food and Land

HR 875 The food police, criminalizing organic farming and the backyard gardener, and violation of the 10th amendment: "This legislation is so broad based that technically someone with a little backyard garden could get fined and have their property seized. It will effect anyone who produces food even if they do not sell but only consume it. It will literally put all independent farmers and food producers out of business due to the huge amounts of money it will take to conform to factory farming methods. If people choose to farm without industry standards such as chemical pesticides and fertilizers they will be subject to a variety of harassment... That's right, a whole new government agency is being created just to police food, for our own protection of course." See SWAT Team conducts food raid in rural Ohio

February 2009

The Hidden Link Between Factory Farms and Human Illness: "Factory farms are breeding grounds for virulent disease, which can then spread to the wider community via many routes — not just in food, but also in water, the air, and the bodies of farmers, farm workers and their families. Once those microbes become widespread in the environment, it’s very difficult to get rid of them. A 2008 report from the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production. ...underscores those risks. The 111-page report, two years in the making, outlines the public health, environmental, animal welfare and rural livelihood consequences of what they call 'industrial farm animal production.' ... Factory farm production is intensifying worldwide, and rates of new infectious diseases are rising. Of particular concern is the rapid rise of antibiotic-resistant microbes, an inevitable consequence of the widespread use of antibiotics as feed additives in industrial livestock operations." See Swat Team

Mercury Found in High Fructose Corn Syrup: "Quantities of mercury have been found in high fructose corn syrup, the ingredient that has replaced sugar in many of our processed foods. Reports have also come out that the FDA knew about traces of the toxic substance in food, and sat on the information. This news comes out just as we've learned that the peanut butter factory responsible for the salmonella outbreak....

     "'Mercury in high fructose corn syrup affects many of the most popular foods in America, including yogurt, soda, candy, juice and jelly. Even a small amount of it can be seriously unhealthy....'Given how much high fructose corn syrup is consumed by children, it could be a significant additional source of mercury...."'

FDA Employees Say Agency Isn’t Working Properly: "A slew of problems at the Food and Drug Administration are 'placing the American people at risk,' the FDA scientists explained to President-elect Obama. ...the Agriculture Department is responsible for inspecting meat and poultry... while the FDA takes charge of nearly everything else.... Meanwhile, a fair portion of the money the FDA does receive is directed toward drug safety. 'With a limited budget and a huge workload, the food side of the agency has lurched from one crisis to the next.'"

Food Tactics: "...a new way to address the problem of world hunger was proposed. Rather than simply handing out food to the poor and needy, from now on the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) will be databanking and monitoring food distribution.... As part of this identification process, the WFP will be conducting an 'experiment with cash and voucher systems'...

     "In a perfect world this idealistic plan might work to help local microeconomies. But that isn't what this plan is all about. It isn't about simple food distribution to the poor, starving and needy in Africa. Rather, this plan represents a fundamental shift in how aid will be given to people. ... From the point that someone registers for and/or receives the voucher they will enter the 'system.' Everything they do from that point on will be monitored, databanked and assessed....

      "What role will Rick Warren and his church-based health clinics play in all of this? ...his church-based clinics in Africa are health-care data-driven centers, cooperating with a multitude of partners across the full spectrum of a global 3-legged stool, it raises many uncomfortable questions about their ultimate 'purpose.' ... What happens to the survey information once it is databanked?" See The Pizza Choice Game


December 2008

Raid on family's home and organic food co-op challenged: "The Buckeye Institute's 1851 Center for Constitutional Law today took legal action against the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) and the Lorain County Health Department for violating the constitutional rights of John and Jacqueline Stowers of LaGrange, Ohio....  ODA and Lorain County Health Department agents forcefully raided their home and unlawfully seized the family's personal food supply, cell phones and personal computers. ... The Buckeye Institute argues the right to buy food directly from local farmers; distribute locally-grown food to neighbors; and pool resources to purchase food in bulk are rights that do not require a license. In addition, the right of peaceful citizens to be free from paramilitary police raids, searches and seizures is guaranteed under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Section 14, Article 1 of the Ohio Constitution.

    '"The Stowers' constitutional rights were violated over grass-fed cattle, pastured chickens and pesticide-free produce.... Ohioans do not need a government permission slip to run a family farm and co-op, and should not be subjected to raids when they do not have one. This legal action will ensure the ODA understands and respects Ohioans' rights.'...

    "On the morning of December 1, 2008, law enforcement officers forcefully entered the Stowers' residence, without first announcing they were police or stating the purpose of the visit. With guns drawn, officers swiftly and immediately moved to the upstairs of the home, finding ten children in the middle of a home-schooling lesson. Officers then moved Jacqueline Stowers and her children to their living room where they were held for more than six hours."

Manna Storehouse Raid: It’s about Control: "The civil suit was filed in response to a raid of the Stower's residence... Law enforcement officials seized thousands of dollars in business and personal property, including over $8000 worth of the Stowers' personal food supply. In the complaint the Stowers and Manna Storehouse ask for the return of all property seized and for an injunction against any further unconstitutional searches and seizures as well as an injunction prohibiting enforcement of the licensing requirements of the Ohio Uniform Food Safety Code upon the cooperative....

     "The deputy from the Lorrain County Sheriff's Department who served the warrant to the Stowers' daughter-in-law Katie is a member of the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force (NOVFTF). According to information posted on a federal government website, NOVFTF is a 'collaborative, four-county law enforcement effort spearheaded by the U.S. Marshals Service that is dedicated to the pursuit, apprehension, and successful prosecution of violent adult fugitives across the Northern District of Ohio with outstanding state and federal felony warrants for gun crimes.'....

     "The Stowers' contention is that since Manna Storehouse is a private cooperative they do not need a permit. A review of the Ohio Uniform Food Safety Code indicates that the Stowers have an arguable claim that Manna Storehouse is not required to obtain a permit -- a claim that should have been given consideration by ODA and LCGHD before resorting to a search warrant. ...

     "...the agency resorted to a tactic it had used in the past -- sending an undercover agent to the co-op to 'make a buy'. Agent Lesho showed up unannounced at Manna Storehouse on September 30, 2008 trying to purchase food. The Stowers rejected him, saying all the food the co-op had in stock was to be divided up among the members.... On October 7, Lesho returned in another attempt to purchase food from Manna Storehouse. According to the Stowers, this time Lesho told them that he had a sick mother whose health he believed could benefit from eating the eggs the co-op distributed. The Stowers tried to get Lesho to leave the premises but he would not go. Eventually, the Stowers told him he could have a dozen eggs for free. Lesho took the eggs and departed leaving an unsolicited $3.25 for the eggs and $5.00 for a membership in the co-op.... This incident is the strongest 'evidence' ODA had that Manna Storehouse was 'selling' food to members of the public. Lesho's statement in the affidavit that he purchased eggs from the co-op is arguably false. The Stowers did not want to sell him eggs nor accept a donation for giving him eggs. They simply gave him the eggs to get rid of him. There was no agreement between the two parties that would constitute a sale under Ohio law."

FTCLDF [Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund] Joins Buckeye Institute as Co-Counsel in Civil Suit over Manna Storehouse Raid: "The complaint claims that the Stowers’ due process, equal protection and other constitutional rights were violated when their house was raided by representatives from various state and local governmental agencies, including the Ohio Department of Agriculture.  ...several of whom had guns drawn and who treated the Stowers family like drug dealers. ...one of the deputies even snatched a cell phone out of the hand of a teenage son who was attempting to call Mr. Stowers....

     "FTCLDF General Counsel Gary Cox said 'this is an example where, once again, the government is trying to deny people their inalienable, fundamental right to produce and consume the foods of their choice. The purpose of our complaint is to correct that wrong.' The complaint also seeks a preliminary injunction against the Department of Agriculture and declarations stipulating that Manna Storehouse and the Stowers are not a 'retail food establishment' under Ohio’s Food Safety Code. As a private cooperative, Manna Storehouse is exempted from the Food Safety Code."

Declaration of Intent, Notice & Demand: [See the last document in this pdf file -- a letter from Mrs. Stowers (dated December 10)

Manna Storehouse wants county to return $10,000 in seized food: "The Manna Storehouse and owners John and Jacqueline Stowers asked the court to declare the entire Dec. 1 search unconstitutional and to order the county to return more than $10,000 in seized food. They also asked the court to rule that the law the county cited for the search — one requiring retail food businesses to be licensed and inspected — does not apply to Manna." See Swat Team conducts food raid in rural Ohio

Food Safety Rules for Ohio: "In 2007, food safety regulators in Ohio have come out more than once saying they are seeing more small-time food stands, Amish community members and tiny farms selling homemade goods to the public. The positives are that it is one way to make money for a family and people really seems to appreciate the foods such as pies, cakes, cheeses and canned organic veggies. The negative are that these are unlicensed and unregulated food businesses. Since the beginning of 2007, there’s been an immense wave of food recalls, food poisoning outbreaks and food-bourn illnesses across the United States. People are nervous about the safety of food products, and government entities are rushing in to clear up the issues."

    Yes, people are concerned -- but not about food from trustworthy family co-ops in rural Ohio! Yet these health-conscious families have become targets of government assault, while U.S. officials barely inspects the massive amounts of potentially contaminated Chinese food products that cross our borders.

Video: The Stowers tell their story

The first link adds some background information to our report on the SWAT team and food raid in rural Ohio. Ohio Agricultural Department's latest battle against natural food providers is not the first one:

Ohio Department of Agriculture loses challenge over legal uses of raw milk: “Ohio Department of Agriculture [ODA] officials engaged in illegal rulemaking and violated the constitutional rights of two local farmers in order to stop them from legally using raw milk as an ingredient in their pet food products, a Washington County judge ruled last Wednesday in Marietta. Common Pleas Judge Ed Lane’s ruling, wholly against the ODA, ends at least for now a two-year struggle against the ODA....

     "There had been no complaints against the pet food products, and Fagan and Betts had both been licensed by the ODA to produce them using raw cow and goat milk, per ODA-approved labels, for nearly five years."

The rising (& largely corrupt) UN food bureaucracy will affect everyone:

 

The International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN): "(INFOSAN) was developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), to promote the exchange of food safety information and to improve collaboration among food safety authorities at national and international levels....

     "In July 2004, the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission [food standards] adopted a text entitled Principles and Guidelines for the Exchange of Information in Food Control Emergency Situations, which includes the designation of official contact points for information exchange in each country. ...  To date, there are over 160 Member Countries in the INFOSAN Network...

     "INFOSAN Focal Points are nominated by countries to facilate two-way sharing of information..... In this context, food safety authorities include national authorities involved in food legislation, risk assessment, food control and management, food inspection services, laboratory services for monitoring and surveillance... education and communication, across the farm-to-table continuum. Therefore, INFOSAN Focal Points may be located in several ministries, such as ministries of health, commerce, agriculture and trade." See SWAT Team conducts food raid and next 2 links:

Codex adopts more than 20 food standards: "Codex is an international food standards-setting body established by FAO and WHO. It has 170 member countries, all of which are members of FAO or WHO or both. In addition, the European Community is also a Codex member organization. The main work on standard setting is carried out in the more than 20 Codex Committees and Task Forces. The Codex Commission adopts the standards proposed by these Committees and Task Forces and sets the Commission's future work plan." 

     What about UN's notorious bent toward corruption? Whose standards, power and interests will rule?

November 2008

The Pizza Choice Game [an allegory]: "...a tall man with a restaurant manager nameplate on his right pocket is approaching the table. He has a very severe expression on his face and holds yellow papers in his hand. He begins reading from them, 'There shall be no food left behind,' he states slowly in a commanding voice. 'Everyone shall eat their pizza. We expect full compliance.... I am not going to have a poor rating on my food! ... I surely am not going to put up with penalties that would shut my restaurant down!'"

Background information on melamine contamination [in America]: "Food ingredients that may have been contaminated with melamine have been exported from China to all over the world including at least 2 million pounds of it to the United States....The White Rabbit Candy in the story above did NOT have powdered milk listed as an ingredient, yet it still had melamine in it. The other product the FDA identified in this news item sounds like some kind of off-brand coffee/dairy creamer combination.... Until the FDA comes clean, I'd avoid ALL food products manufactured in China regardless of what's in the listed ingredients. I'd also avoid ALL manufactured food products that contain powdered milk sold by ANY company, US or otherwise, that won't clearly state that they do not buy powdered milk (and eggs and other bulk commodity ingredients) from China." See Moral & Cultural Corruption

September 2008

Chinese Melamine Contamination Triggers U.S. Recall of Instant Coffee and Tea Products: "The FDA said today that seven instant coffee and tea products sold in the United States are being recalled by King Car Food Industrial because of possible contamination with melamine.... Melamine contamination of milk products, especially infant formula, has resulted in a major public health problem in China..." See Depravity

July 2008

Britain declares war on food waste: "The Government is to launch a campaign to stamp out Britain's waste food mountains as part of a global effort to curb spiraling food prices." See Utilization of Dissatisfaction


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Previous links on this topic at Global Food Management (2005-2008)


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