Hogwash

Is Michigan Losing its Marbles?

And so it begins...

Back in March, the Michigan government declared that in the beginning of April 2012, all the state's pigs and hogs that weren't white in color would be mass murdered, as they put down a new "Invasive Species Order". If a farmer/owner of the pigs did not kill his animals he faced a fine of four years in prison.  The government's logic is that these domestic hogs look feral, therefore they must be feral; and feral hogs were destroying farmer's crops. So they had the grand plot to just out and out kill ALL the state's hogs! Hoo boy...

April came, and as planned, the small farms are beginning to be raided. The farmers are being forced to shoot their own livestock, from pregnant sows to newborn piglets. 

Folks, if we can't make the decision about what breed of livestock to raise, what else will be taken from us?

You can read more about this disturbing piece of news by clicking HERE.

Interesting...

I'm not hugely into politics of this sort, but I thought this was interesting to hear Ron Paul's opinion on raw milk.

Farm-to-Fork Dinner Fiasco

Not even ten minutes ago, an e-mail from the FTCLDF (Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund), that relayed a story that really got my goat for the morning... A CSA farm in Nevada was hosting a "Farm-to-Fork" meal for friends, and town locals, but right before the guests sat down to eat, who should arrive but a FDA inspector. The inspector took one look at the food they were serving (organically grown, local veggies, grass-fed meats from neighbors, etc.) and told the farm owners that they could not serve that food, that it needed to be thrown away immediately and have bleach poured over them. They weren't even allowed the option of feeding the food to their pigs, instead of throwing it away. You can read the entire story HERE. And I attached a video of some footage as well...

Stand Up for Fair Food in Oregon!

If you raise or grow food to sell, how would you like to wake up in the morning to this at your door?

They'll introduce themselves as the SWAT team, and they're here for you. Your crime? It could be many things. Perhaps you were selling some raw milk from your little goat to your next door neighbor. Perhaps you sold some organically grown vegetables to your aunt who lives in town. Or maybe you made a nice pound cake to sell at a fundraising event. It doesn't matter what it was. You don't have the freedom to do any of those things, and if your caught, guess who comes calling.... They do. 

I've said it before.... Our food system has been corrupted. The small farmers who have their head screwed on straight get raided by SWAT teams, and are arrested. They provide good, clean food and get punished. Meanwhile, the big Ag bosses continue to sell contaminated food, that people continue to eat, and they are rewarded with tax subsidies and are given no trouble. Am I the only one who sees something wonky with this picture?

I wanted to let y'all know that the Food and Water Watch is collecting signatures for their Fair Farm Bill petition, and you Oregonians are needed! FaWW would like to deliver 2,000 signatures to Senator Wyden, here in OR, next week. Right now they have a little over 1,400 signatures and only have 6 more days to get the last 600 people needed! Of course, you don't have to live in the State of Oregon to sign the Fair Farm Bill petition. Once 50,000 signatures from all over the nation have been collected, they will be delivered to the members of Congress. We need to speak up and let our government know what we think!!

To read more about the petition, and to sign it, click HERE. 

Would you like a pair of handcuffs with that raw milk, Ma'am?

I'm not exactly sure what I want to say in this post... Upon reading the articles in the below links, and then watching the YouTube, I wasn't surprised at what I saw/read, but there was still that feeling of outrage, helplessness, and  horror. It was that feeling of "You have got to be kidding me", and "Why am I not surprised?".

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/agriculture/geneticmodification/8423536/Genetically-modified-cows-produce-human-milk.html
This link was what really made me mad. Am I the only one who sees something wrong with implanting human genetics into cows and thus making a mutant like this? I'm still up in the air about my opinion about cow milk (raw as well as pasteurized), but I do know that I wouldn't touch this new stuff with a ten foot pole!


http://wholefoodusa.wordpress.com/2011/05/16/fda-dragon-slayer-speaks-out-on-amish-raw-milk-sting/
 I loved the video on this article! I was laughing out loud at the cow being milked on the Capital grounds!

I've heard a huge amount about Monsanto's methods of silencing people who try and tell the truth about their products, and here's just another example... It is scary to be sure, what lengths Monsanto will go to, to gag those who try to do what the reporters in the below video have done.




Another groan escaped me when I read another article about a new brand of milk that is being sold in CA.:

US - Ganeden Biotech, makers of the probiotic ingredient, GanedenBC30, and Foster Farms Dairy, the largest privately owned dairy in California, have announced the official debut of Dairy Balance milk with probiotics. 

The new milk line is one of the first to include the probiotic, GanedenBC30, and is one of only a handful of probiotic-enhanced milks currently available to consumers.

Dairy Balance is now available in more than 150 northern California locations, including CVS/pharmacy, Nugget Markets, Winco and O’Briens in the Bay Area and Sacramento region. Distribution to over 500 outlets is scheduled by the end of the year. Dairy Balance milk includes whole and 2% reduced-fat varieties and has a suggested retail of $3.49 for a half gallon."

The whole political tidal wave behind raw milk is staggering. It never ceases to amaze me to see what Monsanto, USDA and FDA are pushing next. The nation is in an uproar over a seemingly simple food: Milk. One side of the people fights for the liberty to have free access to this wonderful liquid. The other fights just as hard to extinguish all who stand up to them. It's a crazy game of tug of war... Who will win? The side that has the legal papers, government officials, money and power? Or the side that has people who believe in truth, transparency, health and freedom? 

Why am I not surprised?

When I read the article below, I really wasn't surprised at all. Mad that tainted meat can still be sold in grocery stores? Yes. But not surprised...


"A team of researchers from Arizona bought meat and poultry in five cities across the United States, tested them for bacteria, and found this: 47 percent of the samples contained the very common pathogen Staphylococcus aureus, and 96 percent of those isolates were resistant to at least one antibiotic. Of more concern: 52 percent of those staph isolates were resistant to at least three antibiotics that are commonly used in both veterinary and human medicine.

That is: Roughly one in four packages of meat and poultry from across the US contained multi-drug resistant staph.

Here are the details: A team from the Translational Genomics Research Institute in Flagstaff, Ariz., led by Lance B. Price, Ph.D., bought 136 packages of ground beef, chicken breasts and thighs, pork chops and ground pork, and ground turkey, under 80 brand names, in 26 supermarkets in Flagstaff, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles and Washington, DC. They analyzed the meat for the presence of staph, because staph has been found in the past in several food-animal species. They did a second round of testing to define which strain of staph was on the meat, and then they did a third round, testing the isolates against five important classes of antibiotics, to see whether the staph they had found was resistant.

Which it was. Very. The antibiotics to which the staph was resistant included: penicillin and ampicillin; erythromycin; tetracycline; oxacillin, the more modern form of the drug methicillin; the drug combination quinupristin/dalfopristin, known as Synercid; the fluoroquinolones levofloxacin (Levaquin) and ciprofloxacin (Cipro); and the last-resort drugs for very serious staph infections vancomycin and daptomycin. One staph isolate was resistant to nine different antibiotics.

Among the types of meat tested, turkey carried the most resistance, with 77 percent of the meat samples showing at least some; that was followed by pork (42 percent), chicken (41 percent) and beef (37 percent). Interestingly, it wasn’t all the same staph. Though there was a great diversity of staph types, each animal species seemed to carry mostly one sequence type or strain of staph: ST1 in pigs, ST5 in chickens and ST398 in turkey. 

I spoke to Lance Price about his team’s work. “This is the first study to show that antibiotic-resistant staph is highly prevalent in the American food supply,” he told me.

He added: “There’s an important second point: We found that each of the meat and poultry types had their own distinctive staph on them. That provides strong evidence that food animals were the primary source of the resistant staph. The source wasn’t human contamination of the meat at slaughter, or when it was packaged for retail sale.”

And yet the government is still trying to snuff the small farmers out. Why is it that our clean meat is considered "more dangerous" than CAFO meat?

The Noose Tightens

What's new in the world of raw milk, these days? Lots.

FDA has just passed the law where it is now illegal to transport raw milk across state lines. In Wisconsin, Nevada, Louisiana, Iowa, and Montana, it is illegal for state residents to buy and/or sell raw milk, but there are thousands of people in each state that want it. So they traveled over to the next state to get it, where it is legal to buy and sell this contraband item, and then they smuggled it home. Now, with the new law in action, these ordinary people who just want good, clean milk, are violating the law as they continue to smuggle the embargoed raw milk into their state, and risk heavy penalties if they are caught.

Back in December, a woman living in Minnesota received a letter from the MDA (Minnesota department of Agriculture) stating that they had scheduled an administrative meeting concerning her actions in "assisting the sale of raw milk." What was this woman doing? She was buying raw milk, and local foods for her family, and sharing it freely with friends around her. But the MDA wanted to put a stop to it. Since then, the woman and her family have gone through many days in the courtroom, fighting their case, they have had police officers come to their home with criminal search warrants, and they are still fighting their way through everything. All because she had an affiliation with raw milk.

There are over nine million people in America who drink raw milk. FDA is cracking down on small farms that produce it, and people who buy it. The noose is tightening; slowly. So slow that we don't realize what's been taken from us until it's too late. Right now, selling raw milk in the state of Oregon is legal. But there are still laws that we have to put up with. If you are an unlicensed milk producer (which we are), then you can only sell your raw milk from the farm, you cannot deliver milk, you cannot advertise that you are selling raw milk, and you can have no more than 2 milking cows, nine dairy goats, and nine dairy sheep. As long as I stay within the limits, I can pass beneath the radar of the FDA, and my contraband milk can still be sold. But if I so much as dare try to milk ten dairy goats and sell the milk, then I risk having certain government officials coming to my door, and threatening me with various tactics. Don't believe me? It happens quite frequently across the nation.

As I delve deeper into the political world of food topics, I come to realize just how precious raw milk is becoming in this nation. The government is doing everything in it's power to make raw milk illegal to everyone. A couple states are viciously trying to make it illegal to own your own dairy animals. They are treading unmercifully upon our dwindling freedoms... What is it about this white liquid that causes such a war within the nation? I know the majority of the problem leads down to money. More and more Americans are choosing to buy raw milk directly from the farmer, which means less and less money going to the dairy CAFO's. We've scared the government, and they are retaliating.

 Thankfully, things aren't quite so black as they first seem. There are a lot of activists out there who are making life difficult for the USDA and FDA. Because of their faithfulness to the cause, many states do still allow the buying and selling of raw milk -- for now.

The Bible verse about loving your enemies has really hit home this week, for me. I've been feeling like I've been hit over the head with a two by four as things sink in.

"Love your enemies; bless those who curse you, pray for those who hate you..."


You mean I have to love and pray for the USDA officials!? Double whammy!

I remember reading in Joel Salatin's book 'everything I want to do is illegal', at the very end, Joel simply says how the USDA truly believes that raw milk and homegrown chicken is hazardous. They believe it with every fiber of their being. To have such people who will so doggedly try to extinguish these things is truly amazing. They don't care if you hate them, they don't care what you try to do to them. They want you to stop producing "unclean" food. And they will do whatever it takes to stop you.

Joel's electrifying words that follow are : "God bless 'em".

I recently read through a thread online, concerning raw milk, and of course there was a USDA official on there. It was incredible reading through his comments on the matter. He sincerely, 100% believed that raw milk is poisoning people, and that is was the USDA's job to save the lives of American citizens and abolish the "horrible practice of drinking raw milk". I laughed when I first read it, because it was so unreal. All his "scientific facts" were so goofed up, that it became a little clearer as to why things are the way they are.

As for me, I'll continue to drink my milk raw, and I will continue to provide it for others no matter what.

I gave my goats and my cow each an extra bedtime hug tonight. They deserved it... :)

Milk anyone?

Farmageddon: The Unseen War On American Family Farms

I recently found out about a documentary that will be coming out soon, titled "Farmageddon", and am now very excited to get to watch the whole thing rather than just the trailer. This documentary bluntly shows the injustices being done to the small farmers in this nation. We are not being allowed to sell, giveaway or consume our own clean food. Farms are being raided, farmers being led away in handcuffs, people being held at gun point by police officers, sheep being killed for no reason... The trailer alone is riveting.

I wanted to put the trailer on here so y'all could see it too, but the producers of the video respectfully ask that viewers go to their website instead. You can visit it, and see the trailer HERE.

I did also want to mention that the producer, Kristin Canty, will be doing a broadcast on the radio about food rights and 'Farmageddon' on March 19th. You can find more info about that HERE

Quote of the day

The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any.

~ Alice Walker ~

It's Not Just A Health Thing....

"When the American spirit was in its youth, 

The language of America was different:

Liberty, sir, was the primary object."

~Patrick Henry

I got to thinking last night....

Many people look upon eating non-conventional foods as merely a way to be healthier, and yes it is. But I also know a lot of people who feel that since everyone is going to eventually die one way or another, it doesn't really matter whether you eat organically or conventionally. There are two ways I could take this post now. One is that I could start going on and on and on about how much better organic food is; but I'm not. The other direction is one of the ultimate reasons why I choose to try to eat locally/homegrown, and why many people choose to really know where their food comes from.

It's a matter of liberty and American rights. And what we are being denied.

America as a nation likes to wallow in its pride. "We are the best country", "We are a free nation and have more freedoms than any other country" Etc... Yet, in in the midst of our purring, we are being blatantly denied of the most basic of all freedoms. What we can and can't eat.

 It's a matter of liberty: Shouldn't I, as a "free American" be able to decide if I want raw milk or not? Shouldn't I, as a "civilian of one of the greatest nations" be able to choose if I want genetically modified soy or not? 

No. I am not allowed.

That's too much freedom, sayeth the government. They want to keep their money right where they've got it: In their pockets. Whoever has the most money, controls the food system. Which is why we now have Monsanto running the show, and now we have hybrid tomatoes sitting on our grocery store shelves that have fish genes canonized into them, so that they will withstand colder temperatures, and we have corn that has human genes mixed into it. Have you had your daily helping of cannibalism today? When I go to the grocery store to buy a tomato, I want a tomato!! Not something that has fish (sometimes even pig!) genes that cause health problems, and affect the taste. At this rate, who knows, candy just might be healthier! 

So Americans cry foul. We want to know what foods have been genetically modified! We want to make the decision ourselves as to whether we want to eat your mutated foods!

No, that's too much freedom, sayeth the government. But once again, it goes back to money.Monsanto has got a toehold in the food system and owns the money. Therefore, he stays. And so we watch as he modifies our soy, corn, canola, and now alfalfa (what are organic dairy farmers supposed to do now!?)

Where are my rights? Eh? Where'd they go? Something's not right when small farmers live in terror that at any given moment, FDA and USDA can raid their farms, loot their homes and even assault their families, because they have been selling clean raw milk for thirty years without one single health problem. It's raw milk, sayeth the government. It must be purged from this country so that people can instead have the safe alternative of pasteurized, hormone laced, antibiotic pumped, lifeless milk in a plastic jug that has a sticker of cows grazing serenely in a clover pasture, stuck on it. Give me a break. I've seen enough downer cows (cows that are too ill too stand anymore) to know which milk is safer. 

But we have no freedoms to choose. Oh sure, we can (and many do) buy "bootlegger milk" (raw milk that is sold underneath the detection of the government), but how often do you see raw milk for sale in the grocery store? Ya' don't. We lost our freedoms to that choice, and now just have to make the decision of, "Do I want 2% milk this week, or skim milk?" as we stroll down the dairy aisle in the store. The government owns the dairies across the nation, and they want no competition against them. 

We are consumers now. We eat what is put before us, and the government chooses what that will be. We may think that we are a free country, but is a free country really a country where people are not allowed to make the most basic of all decisions?

I have tried calling my state senator to plead with him about a cause that was about to go into action (S510 for those who are wondering) and e-mailed him as well. But I don't have the big bucks that grab the attention. I'm just a tiny consumer who "obviously doesn't know what is "safe food" and what is not." Humph. 

America: A government of the people, written by the people, for the people.

Huh? Of the people, by the people, for the people? Only if you have the money!! This country ain't as free as we imagine it! The government doesn't want us to know what's going on with our food system. They don't want us to know that a high percentage of our grocery store beef is actually from dairy cows who are so sick that they can no longer stand. They don't want us to know what beef is cloned and what it not. They don't want us to know that when going through the slaughter line, most animals are still alive while being scalded and skinned. Or that our GM'd food causes tumors, cancer and heart problems in lab rats. Or that our vegetables are no longer really vegetables. Or that FDA says that store bought granola bars can have up to 15% of rat feces in them and still be considered "safe" to eat.

It's a national game of secrecy, and you can only know about it if you have the money and are on their side.

If you haven't noticed yet, this is one of my "hot buttons", it's one of the things in life that really gets under my skin. I am sick and tired of hearing about "America the free", as we watch our liberties being signed away, and we can't do anything about it. Should I be proud of this country? I keep on going back and forth on this question. Yes, we may have freedoms that other countries do not (freedom to worship as we choose, freedom to homeschool) but how long will those freedoms last? If we are already being denied the freedom of choice in the matter of food, how long will it take before our other liberties are snatched from us?

The food debate is ultimately about liberty. It's about our rights that we should have. The government needs to back off a ways; I don't need any help choosing my food, thank you! And yet, I'm not so dumb as to believe that one day, things will be better and the government won't have such a death grip on things. Nope. As long as they get their money, they're happy.

There. I said it. You have no idea how long I have wanted to say aaallll of the above. I apologize if I have offended you, or over stepped my bounds in the writing world, but I felt the need to say this.

P.S. Buying bootlegger milk is really fun, you should try it sometime! ;)