Are Kentucky farmers safe? On the surface it seems so. As Farmageddon continues across the country, Kentucky farmers seem to be left alone. “No news here, folks, move along.” Except for the two cases we just heard about, described below.
Kentucky Legislators for Kentucky Farmers
Kentucky is currently in a sweet spot as far as legislators go. Ag Commish Jamie Comer is fair-minded and pro-small farmer, instead of just pro-Big Ag. He supports raw milk and thinks the law against it is silly. He told my friend, Lynn, that if anyone messed with us and our cowshares, to call him. Here’s his number (at bottom).
At least two of our U.S. Congressmen, Rand Paul and Thomas Massie, are both pro-farmer and anti-ABC agency. Particularly agencies that squash farmers in the name of public safety: FDA, USDA and EPA.
It’s as if these guys are aware that raids and regulations have less to do with public safety than it does with corporate protectionism.
Russell Webber, Kenny Imes, and Perry Clark signed the FFF Pledge immediately!
John Schickel sponsored SB47 Livestock Act (aka the “raw milk bill”) and worked hard to get it passed in the Senate (22 to 15). It was co-sponsored by Robin Webb, Perry Clark, Bob Leeper and Mike Wilson.
The then-chairperson of the House Ag Committee refused to bring the bill up for discussion so it died in his lap. He must have feared that, if he brought it up, it would pass, right? That indicates a lot of farmer support in the House.
We are presenting the Farm Food Freedom Pledge to all state legislators asap and will let you know who signs and who ignores.
Two Kentucky Farmers Harassed By State/Federal Agencies:
Despite our sweet spot, all is not smooth sailing on the Kentucky farm food freedom front.
Dairy Burdened With Inspections
“This dairy has had 6 federal inspections in the last 4 years, even though inspections are only supposed to happen once every 2 years.
Recently, the feds came in and found a pin had fallen out of a pipe on a machine, a pipe that didn’t even touch the milk — and they had to shut down interstate sales for 3 weeks!
Meanwhile, there is a big-ag milk group in Kentucky that hasn’t had a single inspection in the last 8 years.”
This is exactly the kind of abuse that kills a family business. How much stress and income interference can one take?
I have not spoken to this farmer yet. He’s been visited by the state health board which is suggesting he pasteurize his cheese due to listeria contamination. The farmer did discover listeria in a batch of cheese. He knew exactly who had it and was able to recall it. No one got sick, not a tummy ache.
Requesting that he pasteurize all his cheese makes no sense.
First of all, his business model is raw. That’s what his customers want. They know pasteurization kills the good bacteria and enzymes along with the bad. Pasteurized food is dead food. They want raw. If he had to pasteurize, he’d essentially be starting a new business, losing everything he’s worked for to date. He might even go broke.
Yes, if someone got sick or died because of his cheese, that could happen, too. (I say “could” because when Big Ag, Big Dairy or Big Oil kills people, they don’t go out of business.)
Seriously, here’s the other thing:
Listeria is airborne. Foods can pick up listeria at any point between soil and plate, regardless of pasteurization. If listeria was found in the cheese, there’s listeria somewhere in the facility — that’s where to look. If it’s not eradicated in the facility, it could still infect the cheese right after pasteurization!
According to the CDC website, there have been only two serious outbreaks of listeria in the states. One was the cantaloupe outbreak that killed 29 people. The other was imported pasteurized cheese that killed three people.
Clearly pasteurization is not the answer to ridding the world of listeria. Pasteurization only solves one problem, the one raw cheese presents to Big Dairy. That is: that, increasingly, consumers prefer raw.
What About Farmers in Other States?
They are being put out of business, losing long-established farm property — with NO HARM DONE – via arbitrary regulations (illegally) enforced by out-of-control bureaucrats, both state and federal. For example:
Excellent question. If Mark Baker loses, every heritage pig in the U.S. will be in the cross hairs. The battle against the Bakers’ pigs is so outrageous, so immoral, so utterly ridiculous that it can’t be about pigs. It’s about somebody’s pocketbook!
We got where we are via legislation: we’ve been legislated into a corner. Seems contradictory to count on legislation to get us out. But bills like Virginia’s Boneta Bill or Michigan’s Right To Farm Act definitely have their appeal.
Here’s a better idea: why not repeal some of that burdensome legislation? Take back some risk onto our shoulders and relieve government of having to protect us from EVERYTHING?
We can’t have it both ways: we can’t give government unlimited authority to keep us safe from everything, then stamp our feet when it overprotects us right out of business, our civil liberties, and our food. “Overdoing it” is what government does.
Speaking of Overdoing It, What About That USDA Survey?
Not required nor authorized by Congress or the Constitution. Ignore it, according to Jamie Comer. My personal opinion: government only counts what it wants to eventually take or tax.
“As Americans, we no longer have the option of whether or not to be politically active.” — Katie Bechard
Kentucky Farmers: Speak Out or Keep Quiet?
Are there other Kentucky farmers being harassed that we don’t know about? Seems likely. If you know of or are suffering an injustice, please speak out — here’s why:
What TPTB (The Powers That Be) are doing is not right or legal. If they do it to you and get away with it, they will do it to the next farmer. There is a war against family farms and TPTB are winning. Here’s how they win: they scare you into silence, then pick you off one by one.
You are not alone and you have options. Not just farmer-friendly legislators and County Sheriff, but the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund. For $125/year, you get all the help you need! Then there are your neighbors. If they see it happen to you, they know they are next. They will help you.
Keeping silent will not protect a farmer. It just allows TPTB to harass you in secret. If they are harassing you now, they intend to keep at it until you die of a stress-related illness or close shop.
Staying silent is the most dangerous thing you can do for your children’s futures. If we don’t do everything we can to protect our farms, then our kids and grandkids will live on industrialized food. The other side has been at this a loooooong time while we’ve been sleeping. It’s literally now or never.
What Kentucky Farmers Can Do If Harassed:
1. Join the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund. Pete Kennedy answers your calls even after hours. You have someone to go to bat for you. They know how to respond to bureaucrats, armed and unarmed.
2. Organize a phone calling chain with neighbors, friends and family. If an unwanted visitor arrives, call your person who will call her person, etc. Stall the trespasser until twenty friends show up with cell phones to record the event. Which you will want to do as well.
3. Post the event everywhere: Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, your blog, other farmer’s blogs. Let us know.
5. Find out where your legislators — city, county, state and congressional — stand on farm food freedoms. Know who you can call on. You already know Rand has your back.
That’s a good start. We still outnumber them We just need to let them hear us roar.
Here’s Katie Bechard’s father telling their story:
Farmageddon: The Unseen War on American Family Farms vividly conveys the stories of numerous farmers who found themselves on the wrong side of government food policy. It is hard to imagine our government using S.W.A.T. raids to deal with misdemeanors, nor is it easy to fathom agents of the law seizing valuable farm products and equipment, particularly in cases where there is no proof of harm. This movie enables audiences all across America to come face to face with harsh realities of farm life in our modern day.
Congressional Screening of Farmageddon
When: Tuesday, December 13, 5:30 – 6:30 pm, followed by Q & A
What: A screening of Farmageddon: The Unseen War on American Family Farms
Where: United States Capitol, Orientation Theater South, Washington DC
PLEASE INVITE YOUR LEGISLATORS
Canty’s film project may also have an opportunity to influence public policy. The gravity of the plight of small farmers has gotten the attention of our politicians in Washington, D.C. Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D, ME) and Ed Perlmutter, (D, CO), and Congressman Ron Paul, (R, TX) are sponsoring the Congressional screening of Farmaggedon on Capitol Hill. Pingree, who is also an organic farmer, wants her colleagues to see the devastating effects regulatory policies are having on small American farms.
Pingree serves on the Agriculture Committee and along with 60 co-sponsors, will soon introduce the Local Farm, Food and Jobs Act which will change 30 provisions of the Farm Bill to place a greater emphasis on local foods and small farms and open up greater access to these foods for the public schools. While the bill doesn’t address many of the issues outlined in Farmageddon, it will lead the country toward needed changes that will benefit family farms.
Action: Please invite your Representatives, Senators and their staff to see Farmageddon!
1. Call your Congressional offices and ask for the scheduler (find your Representative: www.house.gov; find your Senator: www.senate.gov)
2. Fax or email (fax is best) the invitation below. Please include any personal notes about why you want them to see it. Make sure to include your address. They need to know you are a constituent.
3. Follow-up with a phone call to make sure they received the invitation and ask if they will attend.
Invitation to a Special Screening of Farmageddon: The Unseen War on American Family Farms
Dear ______________
You and your staff are invited to a special screening of the movie Farmageddon: The Unseen War on American Family Farms on December 13, 2011 from 5:30-6:30 in the United States Capitol Orientation Theater South, followed by Q and A with Director/Producer Kristin Canty. Several of the farmers and activists featured in the movie will be present to answer questions as well.
This movie graphically illustrates the devastating consequences of regulatory policy that American farmers face. As your constituent, I ask you to attend and learn about these issues.
Name:
Address:
Phone:
Christy and I (and a few other Farm Food Freedom KY team members) will be bringing Farmageddon to your town. Please let us know when you’d like to see it after January 2012 and we’ll put you on the list! To see a trailer and for more information, visit the film’s website: FarmageddonMovie.com. Thank you!
Farmageddon is a documentary about the FDA and USDA’s relentless attacks on small farms and farmers. The filmmakers refer to this phenomenon as “the unseen war on small family farms across America.” We do, too.
Susie at Farmesota.com (Farmesota.com is the Minnesota sister site to our FFFKY.org — looking for one in every state!) wrote a press release for their screenings back in October and describes it beautifully:
Farm + Armageddon = the film, Farmageddon
You may not know it, but your right to access fresh, healthy foods is under attack. The new documentary Farmageddon tells the story of how small family farms and private food buying clubs that provide safe, healthy foods to their communities are being forced to shut down, through harsh, sometimes extreme, actions of the FDA and state and local agencies. The film explores why these extreme actions are taking place across the country, unbeknownst to most Americans.
Taking up where films like Food Inc. leave o ff, Farmageddon tells the stories of the small farmers themselves, joined by consumers, nutritionists, legal experts and food freedom proponents to discuss these troubling and escalating trends. Armed raids, crippling paperwork and sting operations raise the basic question of why the providers of wholesome, unprocessed foods are being subjected to such things.
Why are Americans not being allowed to grow or to obtain the natural and nutritious foods of their choosing for themselves and their families? The crux of the issue is “freedom of food choice because, without it, we simply aren’t free,” says the film’s director, Kristin Canty. Whereas farm-fresh foods like unprocessed milk are being primarily targeted today, any type of food could be next to be threatened.
At a time of mounting concerns about agribusiness practices such as irradiation, genetic engineering, and chemical spraying, America’s small sustainable farms are being strained under burdensome and sometimes devastating regulatory activities. Following the Saturday, October 15th showing, a panel of local experts will discuss the issue from various angles and what can be done about it. The discussion will highlight the critical need to preserve our access to local, wholesome foods of all kinds, and what local and national e orts are underway to protect these fundamental rights. [We've held similar panels at our showings in KY. This blog is our way of continuing the discussion!]
What’s Happening in Minnesota
Minnesota farmer’s delivery van, storage area and farm raided by MN Dept of Agriculture, theft of thousands of dollars worth of food belonging to ordinary people
A family’s home raided in Bloomington, the housewife called in for questioning, and the family traumatized by the invasion of their home, all for being a delivery site for products of a dairy farmer
A private Twin Cities food buying club closed down and tens of thousands of dollars worth of food embargoed and confiscated, despite the absence of member complaints or evidence of illness.
The decisive battle – the Armageddon – to save small family farmers is happening now. Farmageddon is our rallying cry to act now, lest we be left with nothing but industrial food.
Farmageddon has been shown several times in Kentucky and will be shown again. If you’d like to host a screening in your area, let us know. We are buying a copy of the film and will be right over!
Some mothers take their role as parents very seriously, and their focus on local, nutrient-dense foods has been growing in popularity . They invest hours of time preparing special allergy-friendly meals for their children, labor tirelessly growing and preserving their own foods every season, and they diligently seek out foods with the most nutritional value for their families, an ancient practice that lingers still today.
That’s exactly what the first Raw Milk Freedom Ride on November 1st to FDA headquarters was about: Moms who want access to foods they believe to be beneficial to their children’s health. The consumer cannot have access to these foods if food club members and farmers continue to be criminalized by the Federal government. Whether or not you agree with their methods like cow shares, goat shares, or members-only clubs, you have to ask yourself, do you believe in their right to do it?
The Freedom Rider moms rode across the Maryland state line to Pennsylvania in mini-vans with windows covered in tiny handprint smudges and toys rolling around on the floor, and they broke Federal law. From there they drove to FDA headquarters and drank raw milk and ate cookies as close to the building as the Department of Homeland Security would let them. The moms want to be heard. Was the FDA listening? Not really.
Later that day the FDA issued a statement saying that they did not intend to arrest any consumer crossing state lines with milk, which sounds very agreeable to the untrained ear. What they failed to mention actually speaks volumes to those engaged in this behind-the-scenes battle for farm and food freedom. They failed to address their outlandish behavior that’s rarely the subject in the media, and until the recent screenings of the documentary film Farmageddon, the average person had no idea it was even happening.
They never stated that they would stop targeting farmers, buying clubs, and co-ops, which all play important roles in the accessibility of these foods. This is somewhat troubling to those who have experienced the guns-drawn raids, the property theft, and the confiscation of animals and farm equipment.
This brings us to the second Raw Milk Freedom Ride which will be Thursday, December 8th, 2011. The next known illegal transportation of milk (that’s right, I said milk) over state lines will take place from Wisconsin to Chicago’s Independence Park. A Rally will follow at Independence Park from 11:30am to 2pm. For the address and more information visit here.
Food Freedom heroes Max Kane, David Gumpert, Liz Reitzig, Kathy Pirtle, John Moody, Jim Marlowe, Michael Badnarik, and others (to be announced) dedicated to raw milk choice and food freedom will participate in a peaceful demonstration. The Freedom Riders Rally will not only include moms, but also farmers, consumers, and citizens who are concerned about the growing disappearance of the freedom to choose healthy foods. Until the FDA discontinues its criminalization of families, clubs, consumers, and farmers we can expect these Freedom Riders to keep breaking the law.
Please support HR 1830, a bill that would decriminalize the transportation of raw milk over state lines, by requesting that the Subcommittee on Health hear this bill.
Photo: Monte speaking to over 100 of his “Farm to Fork” guests–some of whom drove from as far as away as 600 miles to be at the dinner–to report that the Southern Nevada Health Inspector Mary Cox had just thrown out the organic meats Chef Gio had prepared for guests. Laura stands by his side.
Friday night, October 21, 2011, Quail Hollow Farm, a Nevada CSA with devoted customers and interns, was having a dinner party: the Farm to Fork First Annual Dinner Party, in fact. Food — much of it from the farm and none of it from supermarkets — was being prepared, guests were arriving, all was good until … until a state Health Inspector showed up.
What happened next (and what is continuing to happen) is hard to stomach.
Twenty years ago, it would have been hard to believe this could happen in America. Not now. Especially now that we’ve read too many of stories just like this and seen the movie Farmageddon*. It is happening in America. Far too frequently.
Raids like this are why FFFKy.org came to be.
“He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.”
- Declaration of Independence
*If you’d like us to bring a showing of Farmageddon to you, please contact us.
They are being put out of business, losing long-established farm property — with NO HARM DONE – via arbitrary regulations (illegally) enforced by out-of-control bureaucrats, both state and federal. For example:
We just need to let them hear us roar.
Photo: Monte speaking to over 100 of his “Farm to Fork” guests–some of whom drove from as far as away as 600 miles to be at the dinner–to report that the Southern Nevada Health Inspector Mary Cox had just thrown out the organic meats Chef Gio had prepared for guests. Laura stands by his side.
