Recently, two of the giants of genetically modified plant organisms have been charged with substantial fines over their products. The first one to make it across my radar was the criminal charges against Syngenta for covering up cattle death attributed to their “wholesome” product, BT Corn. BT is an insecticide and when it is consumed, it is widely reported that it continues to produce the insecticide within the consumer’s body. Animals fed exclusively on genetically modified crops are developing serious disease issues or simply falling over dead at a terrifically high rate. You can read about the Syngenta case here.

Then, on the very heels of the news about Syngenta, word came from Brazil that Monsanto, arguably one of the most hated corporations in all of America, may be on the line for 7.5 billion dollars to Brazilian farmers and affected workers! Here is an excerpt from the article that points to many more legal issues the Monsatan Corp is facing:

“Lawsuits and criminal charges continue to hit Monsanto, scratching away at the financial foundation of the agricultural behemoth. Monsanto has been found guilty of chemical poisoning in France after their weedkiller product led to neurological problems, and the company has even dished out 93 million to victims of toxic dioxin. As Monsanto continues to be slammed with lawsuits, many of which are from multitudes of affected farmers and individuals, awareness spreads among the general public regarding the corporation’s true acts.”

It is apparent that people are actually catching on and a great deal of people are learning the differences between, GMO versus hybrids versus open-pollinated/heirloom seeds. These developments are excellent, but not likely enough to stave off the massive consolidation in agriculture that has benefitted the predatory practices in the market side of agricultural products.

Meanwhile, we continue in drought here in the Midwest and pray that it rains good and long for us so we can continue to feed ourselves and those in the nation who get that if there aren’t any farmers, there isn’t any food!

Norman Davis

The NDAA has been enjoined, which is an excellent shot in the arm for freedom fighters everywhere. Linked below the excerpt is a rather in depth article on this inspriring event!

MANHATTAN (CN) – A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction late Wednesday to block provisions of the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act that would allow the military to indefinitely detain anyone it accuses of knowingly or unknowingly supporting terrorism.
     Signed by President Barack Obama on New Year’s Eve, the 565-page NDAA contains a short paragraph, in statute 1021, letting the military detain anyone it suspects “substantially supported” al-Qaida, the Taliban or “associated forces.” The indefinite detention would supposedly last until “the end of hostilities.”
     In a 68-page ruling blocking this statute, U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest agreed that the statute failed to “pass constitutional muster” because its broad language could be used to quash political dissent.
     “There is a strong public interest in protecting rights guaranteed by the First Amendment,” Forrest wrote. “There is also a strong public interest in ensuring that due process rights guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment are protected by ensuring that ordinary citizens are able to understand the scope of conduct that could subject them to indefinite military detention.” (read it all here)

We are in the last week of state legislative session here in Missouri. Then we have the primary in August, and since the races that are of largest concern in my area are really being held in the primary, things should mellow out a little bit then.

I just wanted to share the happy news about the NDAA! Please pass it around and let folks know that while it isn’t dead, it is in a state of suspension for now!

This came across my radar earlier this week. I am finally getting it posted here, and I truly hope people will cross post this everywhere. It’s just more ammunition against one of the most corrupt organizations in existence. Please read and share:

Cassandra Anderson
& Anthony Gucciardi
NaturalSociety
May 2, 2012

Did Monsanto actually plant genetically modified alfalfa before it was deregulated by the USDA? There is some shocking evidence that, until recently, was withheld from the public showing that Monsanto’s genetically altered alfalfa may have been set free in 2003 — a full two years or more before it was deregulated in 2005. In a letter, obtained by NaturalSociety with permission to post for public viewing, it becomes clear that the USDA may have turned a blind eye to the entire situation, allowing widespread GMO contamination of GMO-free crops.

Amazingly, the letter actually proves that the USDA was fully aware of the situation. In order to fully understand the intricate details of this event, it is first important to understand a few key factors regarding alfalfa and its connection to the entire food supply.

I really don’t think it’s just me. The nasty things, the tyrannical things, the fearful things, and the even worse things, are coming to light at seemingly the speed of light. In just the very recent past, we have had a full scale implosion in the industrial meat sector because the general public found out about “pink slime” or “soylent pink” and just lost their marbles.

The downside is it cost 650 people jobs.

The upsides are much more numerous, and more difficult to enumerate. First is more people know and people have shown that they actually can get upset and effect the market.  The anonymous corporatized, industrialized, consolidated and concentrated meat sector got a big black eye….maybe even a broken rib. A really solid wallop. Mac D’s, Taco Bell, all the grocery stores, and even the USDA heard the people when they said, “We will not be fed garbage and told that it is “leanly textured fine beef”.

It’s really funny to see the propagandists still trying to pump pink slime at us. They don’t get that no means no.

Then, the illustrious USDA, ever mindful of the US Constitution and Tax Payer’s dollars, announces they are offering a giant contract for data mining the internet for people who my be in violation of the AWA or the HPA. That means you may be selling pets without a license or moving horses without the proper documents.

The USDA, who was dubbed “the people’s department” is really bringing the communistic overtones of their nick name into high relief. Yes, they are Uncle Sam Destroying Agriculture, and I am sure they will be paying someone to read my comments about them as well. At any rate, you can read the offer that is open to anyone, particularly smaller businesses, right here.

Then, the EPA, the same intelligence agency that decided to regulate milk like oil, is expanding their definitions and control of “waters of the United States”. The rule is being finalized now.

Then, in the happiest news of the day, farmers in Canada have grown a back bone and formed the “Farmers Peace Corps”. They removed forty one extremely rare sheep that the Canadian CFIA  had slated for destruction into protective custody!

Here is a short synapses, of the issue. Two years ago, a sheep that Montana Jones had sold three years earlier tested positive for scrapies. The CFIA put Jones under quarantine in 2009. Now they have decided the sheep she has must be killed. The Farmers Peace Corps has stepped in and taken the sheep away. The story is growing and highly interesting. I intend to dig into this quite a bit.

Like I said, there is a lot going on. And in the meantime, spring has arrived and the garden will not plant itself.

This is the first I have been able to get online at all to update anything on Vernon Hershberger’s hearing today. Here is the word from:

Channel 3000 in Madison, Wisconsin

Farmer Accused Of Selling Raw Milk Stays Free

Judge Declined To Revoke Bond

Updated: 7:48 pm CST March 2, 2012

BARABOO, Wis. — A Sauk County farmer accused of selling food and dairy products without a license, including raw milk, appeared in court on Friday while his supporters rallied nearby against the prospect of him facing jail time.Vernon Hershberger said he came to court prepared to go to jail because of a bond violation as he faces several misdemeanor counts, but Judge Guy Reynolds declined to revoke his bond.Prosecutors had sent a letter to the judge saying that they believe Hershberger had violated terms of his pre-trial release by continuing to sell raw milk and other products on his farm, based on a recent state Department of Agriculture visit.During Friday’s proceedings, Hershberger represented himself. He said that he didn’t violate any terms and doesn’t sell raw milk. He said he simply cares for animals and procures their food for members of a private club.”I have no jurisdiction about what happens. The food belongs to the other people, and I do not have jurisdiction to tell them what happens with that food. (I) just wanted you to know,” Hershberger said.He said he’s prepared to go to jail, and that the Department of Agriculture visits trespassed on his privacy.”We don’t sell milk. I want to get that clear. We don’t sell milk. All we have is a big pantry on the farm where the owners can come in and get their milk,” he said.Reynolds said that he wasn’t going to take any action on Hershberger’s bond. He said that the state must file a formal motion before he could.”The court isn’t going to respond to letters. The court takes action on properly served and filed motions,” he said. “And that’s true for both sides to this controversy.”However, the judge did have a message for Hershberger.”I admonish you, Mr. Hhershberger, that you are to follow my bond conditions, he said. “And I expect you will. And if you don’t, you can be separately prosecuted for that.”Attorneys with the state Department of Justice who are prosecuting the case, declined to say why they didn’t file a formal motion with the judge to revoke Hershberger’s bond.Meanwhile, Hershberger’s supporters rallied on the steps of the Sauk County courthouse before the farmer’s Friday afternoon appearance. Some said that they’d be willing to go to jail in defense of their freedom to drink raw milk. The protesters signed a “declaration of food independence,” and said that they’re prepared to fight.Canadian farmer Michael Schmidt said that they’re mustering support.”Who is willing to go to jail for your food rights? Hands go up, friends. We all count on you,” he said.The judge tentatively scheduled a trial on the four misdemeanor charges for Sept. 25.Prosecutors still have to file responses to Hershberger’s claim that a judge has no constitutional authority to hear the case.

In Baraboo, on March 2nd, there will be a rally outside the courthouse where the State of Wisconsin intends to prosecute Vernon Herschberger for distributing food to members of his cooperative. This man, who they paint as a criminal for providing food, faces over $10,000 in possible fines, and up to three years in jail for allowing his partners in food production to access their food.

Now one has to wonder, why is it that a country, truthfully beyond the point of bankruptcy, with massive issues with illegal immigration and serious drug smuggling, problems would care to spend so much time and energy on the persecution and prosecution of farmers supplying food to people who want food outside of the anonymous consolidated corporate food system?

Food is a controlled substance. Growing food that isn’t approved by the powers that be is deemed an act that is dangerous for all concerned. The time when people could decide for themselves what they wish to eat is simply archaic, and evidently, now a revolutionary act.

On March 2nd, there will be an opportunity for people to stand up and show their support for not only Vernon Herschberger, but every individual, in their right to eat food of their choice, from sources of their choice, without the intervention of agencies and tyrants.

If you are nearby, or far away and able to do so,you should be at the Sauk County Court House at 11:am on March 2nd. This could well be viewed as the Lexington Concorde of the food freedom movement. The entire freedom movement should be supportive of Mr. Herschberger, and anyone who thinks they are smart enough to decide for themselves what they want to eat should take this opportunity to stand for justice and the most basic of human rights.

Please support Vernon Herschberger and help bring the insanity of the current regime into the light of public awareness by adding your presence to the rally.

If we cannot decide what we want to eat, we cannot pretend that we are free.

©National Independent Consumers and Farmers Association 2012

On February 1, 2012 Paul Pierce, agent of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP), told Mennonite farmer and butcher Arlin Bender that DATCP is charging him as a criminal for professionally butchering meat belonging to his friends and neighbors. A lifelong butcher, Bender moved to a Mennonite community in Wisconsin in the summer of 2010 from New York, where he had owned a butcher shop with several employees for decades. Bender, who has a heart condition, wanted his wife to be near their children in Wisconsin should anything happen to him. Following is Bender’s story, in his words, of events after he settled in Wisconsin.

In the summer of 2011 I called the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to ask about processing deer. They told me there were no restraints, so I placed an ad in the local shopper paper to process deer; I didn’t include anything else in the ad. After I placed the ad other butchers told me that was a big mistake, “You’re gonna be in trouble,” they said. Two days later I got a caller who said, “You cut up beef?” I asked him where he got my name and number, and he said, “From the ad, I figure if you do deer you do beef also.”

I am getting older and I don’t want to handle the big stuff [like large beef animals]. The man said he had four beef, but I was suspicious when he did not identify himself, and I assumed he was from the government. The local butcher told me that if someone does anything, like sell a side of beef, they get a phone call wanting to know who’s processing the beef, where is it coming from, and more questions.

Around the beginning of November a man pulled in at our house one day when I wasn’t home. He asked my wife, Sharon. where I was, but he would not identify himself, and then said he’d be in touch. A week or so later he called back, identified himself as Patrick Cherek, an investigator with DATCP, and told us a specific day and time he would be coming out, and I said I would be there. He didn’t come when he said he would, and we were in the house eating when he finally arrived. We invited him in and said we’re going to finish our dinner. He told me I had to stop any butchering beef and other non-deer animals and asked me about my history as a butcher, which I told him. He referred to the ad I had placed and said it was the first indication he’d had. I said I wasn’t planning to stop – I only cut up meat for friends and neighbors, not for the public. He said he would notify the District Attorney’s office, and that he, Patrick, had never lost a case, then he rattled off some sections of code. “I am ordering you to cease and desist,” he said, and added that he would mail me something, but I never got anything in the mail.

Cherek came back on January 5 [2012]. He just pulled in, he hadn’t given prior notice, he had someone with him, and he walked into my butchering shop without knocking. He told me I could not mix someone’s pork and spices with their venison. I told him that back in New York as long as we used USDA approved ingredients it was o.k., so I was surprised at that. The other guy, who had identified himself as Timothy Eddy, was trying to tell me what I had to do to be legal with the shop. A whole list of things. I said I would check into it. Cherek wanted to see everything I had there. I told him, “You aren’t touching a thing until you have papers.” He looked at me like “how dare you talk to me like that,” then went outside and called someone on the phone. He came back in, told me they weren’t going to seize the meat that day, but I could not release the meat in the freezer – that belonged to other people – unless he, Cherek, was there to see them pick it up. I replied, “I don’t think so, how are we supposed to work out for you to be here when they get it?” He answered, “That’s the way it is,” and left.

I started calling around. I called Countryside Magazine to get some information about the law, and they referred me to the University of Wisconsin in Neillsville, who referred me to someone in Madison, Dr. Jeff Sindelar [Assistant Professor /Extension Meat Specialist, Univeristy of Wisconsin]. I called Sindelar that Friday morning and left a message. He called me back Friday evening and told me the men from DATCP had given me wrong information; they were trying to tell me I had to be like a federally licensed processing plant, and that there is an exemption for custom processing. Since that conversation, he would not give any further information when the attorney I later hired called him, saying that it was a DATCP issue and he did not want to be involved any further.

After speaking with Sindelar, I called a neighbor who told me to “call this lawyer” who, for a couple hundred dollars, can get this all straightened out. The neighbor told me to come over and he would take me to the lawyer’s house, which we did, that Friday evening. The lawyer, Alan Billings, told me, “I’ll make a couple calls and get it all worked out.” He told me to go home and not worry about it. He didn’t call back till Tuesday. While I was on phone with Billings on Tuesday, January 10, up came Cherek with a man later identified as Paul Pierce [Chief, Regulatory and Technical Services, DATCP] and a county deputy Sheriff. I have a daughter, 21, who was outside and they asked her where I was. She pointed to me through the door’s window, and the officer approached the door. I went outside to meet him and he asked where is Arlin Bender? I said, “I am he,” and he looked startled, saying he was there with the others. I handed him the phone – the lawyer told me not to make any confrontation. The officer spoke with the lawyer on the phone, I don’t know what was said, then the officer handed the phone to Paul Pierce. Again, I did not know what was said. Then they handed the phone back to me and Billings told me he had told the two men that “we” did not want to have any confrontations, and we ended the phone call. Then I asked the men, “I thought you needed a search warrant to be on private property,” and they said, “Not when there is contraband involved.” I did not know, and still do not really understand what “contraband” is. When they said they wanted to come in to the shop again without a warrant I hesitated. They said, ” We will give you five minutes.” I said I wanted to talk to someone from my church. Pierce said, “We will give you five minutes or we will take this to the District Attorney.” I went into my shop and tried to call my church. I was not able to reach anybody from church. I tried to call my neighbor and left a message on his machine that these men were here, and I thought they going to confiscate his half a beef that was hanging in my walk-in cooler.

I let them into the shop then. They went into the walk-in freezer first and put red tags on all the meat. I said all the meat in the freezer is mine and my son’s. They said it didn’t matter, that they were seizing it all. I said that meat is my son’s. Cherek said it doesn’t matter, he doesn’t live here and he can’t keep his meat here, and Pierce agreed.

They came out of the freezer and went into the walk-cooler and put red tags on all the meat in there as well and told me there was a $5000 fine for each tagged piece of meat that gets disturbed. Two of the lambs that were hanging in the cooler were mine. I figured we would be shutting the freezer and cooler off soon; I was planning to have all the meat cut up that week then shut them both down. I told them the two lambs were mine, and they said, “It doesn’t matter, how do we know it’s yours?” I told them the guts and hides were still out there in the barrel.

They did give me permission then for me to cut up my lambs. The next day, on the 11th, I had a collapse, passed out, not responding to the family, because of the stress. My family took me to the doctor who put me on anti-anxiety and anti-depressant medication. After I stabilized from the medication, I realized I would not be able to get the other people’s meat cut up before it spoiled, because of DATCP putting the tags on it and my health condition. I called the attorney, Alan Billings and told him to get the meat out, because I did not want to be responsible for it spoiling.

On Friday January, 13th Billings and someone from a licensed butcher came onto the property, with my permission, and took the meat that belonged to other people to the licensed butcher. They took a small beef that was another Mennonite family’s, two hogs, that were someone else’s, and a half beef that was the neighbor’s, and took it all to another butcher. The people picked them up from the other butcher, as far as I know. The attorney had told us they were coming on the 13th and that we should not be there, so we weren’t. We learned what had actually happened from a neighbor who recognized the other butcher’s vehicle. Billings later mailed me a paper that showed it had been signed for by the other butcher.

I called my neighbor to see if he got his meat back He asked me if Billings was working for me or not; Billings had told him that if the place where his meat was taken charges more than I charged I’d have to pay the difference, as though Billings had been working for Cherek and Pierce instead of for me. [Billings declined to comment on this, citing confidentially].

After that we did not hear anything from DATCP for almost three weeks. During that three weeks, I spoke to people active in the food rights movement, called the District Attorney myself, and considered dismissing our attorney. However, before I could contact Billings, he sent me a letter stating that because of me contacting the District Attorney and others that he would no longer provide his legal services for me.

On February 1, we received a call from Paul Pierce that he was going to contact the District Attorney to ask him to file criminal charges against me. He also reminded me that if I removed the tags from the meat I would incur further charges. I responded that he did not need to come back, that the meat was mine and my son’s and he has no jurisdiction over it and that some of the meat they tagged was venison over which they have no control.

We heard nothing further until February 8, when a deputy sheriff again showed up, this time with a notice for me to appear in court on February 13 for a hearing about a temporary restraining order.[End of Arlin Bender’s statement].

Information about farm raids at www.FarmFoodFreedom.org

Should you wish to express yourself, here is the phone number for Ben Brancel, the Wisconsin Secretary of Agriculture: 608.224.5015

Below is an article describing a potentially new bacteria that is causing methane back up and blowing up giant hog barns….To me, it is just one more reason to farm small and diversified and stop this factory food production.

Anyway, in light of Huber’s revelation about a new pathogen linked to glyposphate, the 40% mortality rate in animals fed this GMO stuff, the corn ethanol insanity and feeding of distillers grains with who knows how much genetically modified corn, etc, this seems like yet another indictment of the system.

Here’s the article with the link to the news source underlined:

 A team is investigating foam that has caused Midwest swine barns to unexpectedly explode. 

2012 / 02 / 07 by Kali Dingman

A few years ago, hog farmers throughout the Midwest noticed foam building on top of their manure pits. Soon after, barns began exploding, killing thousands of hogs while farmers lost millions of dollars. A team of University of Minnesota researchers is looking to find a fix for the foam that is plaguing hog farms.

The foam traps gases like methane and when a spark ignites it causes an explosion. About a half dozen barns in the Midwest have exploded since the foam was discovered in 2009. In mid-September 2011, a barn in Iowa was added to the growing number of barns taken down by the foam. In the explosion, 1,500 pigs were lost, and one worker was injured.

Not only does the foam cause explosions but it also reduces manure storage volume and dirties the hogs. The foam can reach heights of 4 feet. Farmers are encouraged to knock it down with water. The researchers conduct their studies on commercial farms in Minnesota and surrounding states.

Chuck Clanton, a bioproducts and biosystems engineering professor, said the team’s current approach is targeting how different microorganisms — primarily bacteria — developed in the manure pit. They think that a new set of species has formed in these pits in the last few years.

Larry Jacobson, another professor in the department, and his team haven’t found a solution for the foam but have discovered ways to curb its growth. “We’re treating the symptoms but not getting to the cause,” he said.

The researchers still aren’t sure what causes the foam. But they have noticed a correlation between adding dried distillers grains in soluble — a product of the ethanol production process increasingly used in livestock diets — to the hogs’ diets and the foam, although that solution is too simplistic, Jacobson said. “It’s very frustrating when you have two identical buildings sitting next to each other with same management, genetics, diets, etc. One foams, and the other does not,” Clanton said.

Pork production is an important source of income for Minnesota farmers and a billion-dollar industry in the state. According to data from the Minnesota Pork Board, the state’s pork farmers earned $2.1 billion in gross income from hog sales in 2010.

The state’s farmers have a lot at stake when this foam starts developing on their hog farms. The average pig production building holds 2,000 or more pigs and costs about $600,000 to build. A heavier pig weighs about 250 pounds, and, within a few weeks of market, a barn filled with heavy pigs would be worth about $300,000.The cost of cleanup after an explosion combined with disposing of the dead hogs could easily cost a farmer up to $1 million, Jacobson said.

Not only will this research benefit the pork producers and their hogs but also the insurance companies of the facilities, Clanton said. Funding for this research came from the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station, Rapid Agriculture Response Fund and the Minnesota Pork Producers Association.

The researchers will continue to search for a solution to the foam. “So far, we are still working hard to understand the new phenomenon,” said assistant professor Bo Hu. “We’re trying to provide suggestions for farmers.”