GMO’s and Effects

04 Sep 2010 Leave a comment

by truthfarmer in GMO's

The following article can be found here

I think this is an excellent piece for getting info into people’s hands that are not generally too concerned about ag or food in general. The issue is terrifically important as things continue to head to further consolidation and destruction of truly healthful food.

More on that later!

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India Monsanto farmer in a fieldIndia is in the midst of a flood of suicides among farmers. A new feature film written and directed by Anusha Rizwi and produced by Bollywood megastar Aamir Khan, called Peepli Live, takes a look at this grim topic.

The vast majority of people in India still farm for a living, but are caught between deep debt and the erratic nature of seasonal change.

Indian farmers are pressured into mortgaging their farms to purchase genetically modified seeds, pesticides, and fertilizer from American companies like Monsanto.

According to AlterNet:

“Since GM seeds are patented by Monsanto, their repeated use each year requires constant licensing fees that keep farmers impoverished. One bad yield due to drought or other reasons, plunges farmers so deep into debt that they resort to suicide. One study estimates that 150,000 farmers have killed themselves in the past ten years.”

Meanwhile, in the U.S., District Judge Jeffrey White, a federal judge in California, has banned the planting of genetically modified Roundup Ready sugar beets created by Monsanto. The beets are engineered to withstand Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer.

White said he was “troubled by maintaining the status quo that consists of 95 percent of sugar beets being genetically engineered while [the USDA] conducts the environmental review that should have occurred before the sugar beets were deregulated.”

The ban does not affect crops already planted and harvested for sugar.

The St. Louis Business Journal reports:

“Environmental groups … filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in January 2008 to challenge the deregulation of Roundup Ready sugar beets by the USDA … Opponents say the beets promote superweeds, weeds that cannot easily be killed because they have developed a tolerance to weed killer. They also raise concerns about the contamination of conventional and organic crops.”

Sources:
AlterNet August 16, 2010
St. Louis Business Journal August 16, 2010

Dr. Mercola’s Comments:

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I believe genetically modified plants and foods are one of the most significant threats against humanity and life on this planet, for a number of reasons.

Biotechnology has changed the face of farming as we know it, and with each passing year, we move further away from the ancient farming practice of saving the best seeds for replanting the following season – a method that is both inexpensive and proven successful for optimal crop quality.

Now, the increased use of genetically modified seeds that must be purchased anew each year are starting to take its toll. A mere 15 years into commercial GM seed use, we’re now seeing GM crops contaminating conventional and organic crops; different GM varieties combining with each other in the wild, creating unintended GM hybrids; and farmers driven to desperate acts due to financial devastation.

Genetic Engineering May Sterilize Nature. Then What?

Consider this: Monsanto’s “suicide gene” has not only been inserted into certain food crops, rendering them sterile in order to force farmers to buy new seeds. This technology is now spreading to other industries, such as forestry.

Scientific American reported on this in January. Two paper industry giants are planning to replace the native pine in the forests of southwestern US with genetically engineered, sterile, eucalyptus. By making the trees unable to reproduce naturally, they propose there’s no need to worry about the GM eucalyptus turning into an invasive species…

Really?

Earlier this week I wrote about two GM varieties of canola spreading into the wild, and cross-breeding with each other, creating a third hybrid that is resistant to not one but two herbicides. Science has already discovered that the genome is more “intelligent” than previously thought, and by planting non-native trees that have been gene spliced to reduce proliferation does NOT make me rest easy.

On the contrary. I believe there are plenty of indications that the introduction of sterile plants of various kinds may allow this genetic ability to “turn off” reproductive capability to spread into other parts of nature, in ways that none of us can predict.

For an eye opening look at the genetic engineering now overtaking the forestry industry, I highly recommend watching the documentary film “A Silent Forest,” available in full on MEFEEDiA.com.

How are GM Crops Provoking Farmers to Commit Suicide?

According to the National Crime Records Bureau of India, more than 182,900 Indian farmers took their own lives between 1997 and 2007. It estimates 46 Indian farmers commit suicide every day. That equates to roughly one suicide every 30 minutes!

Some will argue that natural events are to blame, such as lack of rain, but crop failures have occurred before, and it didn’t push thousands of farmers to end their lives by drinking pesticide.

No, the increased desperation can be traced directly back to the use of patented, and therefore expensive, seeds, and the unconscionable tactics of Monsanto.

Monsanto has been ruthless in their drive to use India as a testing ground for genetically modified crops. Over the past decade, millions of Indian farmers have been promised radically increased harvests and income if they switch from their traditional age tested farming methods to genetically modified (GM) Bt cotton seeds.

So, they borrow money to buy GM seeds, which need certain pesticides that were previously unnecessary, which requires even more money. When rain fall is sparse, the GM crops actually fare far worse than traditional crops – a fact that these farmers oftentimes don’t learn until it’s too late and they’re standing there with failed crops, spiraling debts, and no income.

And by next season, they have to do it all over again because the GM seeds cannot be saved and replanted. They must be purchased again.

In addition, GM crops have spawned:

* Bt resistant pests
* New pests
* Superweeds

For example, the evolution of Bt resistant bollworms worldwide have now been confirmed and documented, and what used to be minor pests are now becoming major problems – such as mirid bugs, which have increased 12-fold since 1997 in China, and can be directly linked to the scale of China’s Bt cotton cultivation.

In addition, the promise that GM crops would reduce pesticide/herbicide use has turned out to be entirely false.

The use of Roundup herbicide has increased dramatically since the GM Roundup Ready crops were introduced. In the first 13 years, American farmers sprayed an additional 383 million pounds of herbicide due to these herbicide-tolerant crops. And now the repeated exposures have given Mother Nature all she needs to stage her comeback in the form of devastating superweeds.

Since 1996, when GM crops were first introduced, at least nine species of U.S. weeds have developed resistance to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup herbicide, which means farmers must use additional herbicides, some of them even more toxic than Roundup.

In the end, we’re left with all of the downsides and none of the intended benefits.

Bollywood Brings Indian Farmers’ Plight to the Big Screen

AlterNet.com reports on a new Indian film called Peepli Live that grapples with this topic:

“The story is set in an Indian village named Peepli where one young debt-burdened farmer named Natha is talked into taking his own life after he learns that his family will be financially compensated through a government program created to alleviate the loss of farmers taking their own lives.”

The film features Bollywood megastar Aamir Khan. An interview with him about the film and the plight of Indian farmers can be found here.

Hopefully this film is successful in raising awareness about the destructive power of this technology.

US Judge Halts Deregulation of Roundup Ready Sugar Beets – For Now…

Meanwhile, the US has been granted a temporary reprieve from yet another GM food.

The U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White, a federal judge in California, recently banned the planting of Monsanto’s GM Roundup-resistant sugar beets. The ruling, which can be read here, does not affect any crop that has already been planted or harvested, however, so GM sugar will still reach the market place.

The GM sugar beet is called Genuity, and was introduced during the 2008-2009 season.

Although considered a victory, the judge’s ruling did not grant plaintiffs’ motion for a permanent injunction against GM sugar beet plantings.

The St Louis Business Journal recently reported:

“White ruled in September 2009 that the USDA will have to complete an Environmental Impact Statement for the sugar beets. The USDA has estimated that an EIS may be ready by 2012.

Monsanto has said in court papers that revoking regulators’ approval of sugar beets would cost the biotech giant and its customers approximately $2 billion in 2011 and 2012.”

Roundup Residue Causes Cell Damage

The increasing use of Roundup on crops engineered to survive being doused in the herbicide has its own set of health consequences.

Residues of Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide found in GM food and feed has been linked to cell damage and even death, even at very low levels. Researchers have also found it causes membrane and DNA damage, and inhibits cell respiration.

So not only are you exposed to foods that contain built-in toxins, you’re also consuming larger amounts of toxic residues on the food, for the simple fact that more is now being used.

Pesticide and herbicide residues are very difficult to remove from grains, fruits and vegetables. Even meticulous washing cannot get rid of it all.

What Can You Do to Affect Change?

Did you know that genetically modified foods are so prevalent in the US that if you randomly pick an item off your grocery store’s shelves, you have a 75 percent chance of picking a food with GM ingredients?

It’s true. At least seven out of every 10 food items have been genetically modified, and there’s more to come.

The potential health ramifications of these world-wide experiments with our food supply are frightening to say the least. If you care about the health and future of your family, I strongly urge you to refuse to participate in this destructive trend.

How?

It’s actually simpler than you might think… By buying only non-GM foods.

Must-Have Guide to NON-GMO Foods

The True Food Shopping Guide is a great tool for helping you determine which brands and products contain GM ingredients. It lists 20 different food categories that include everything from baby food to chocolate.

Additionally, here are four simple steps to decrease your consumption of GM foods as much as possible:

* Reduce or eliminate processed foods in your diet. The fact that 75 percent of processed foods contain GM ingredients is only one of the many reasons to stick to a whole foods diet.
* Read produce and food labels. Conventionally raised soybeans and corn make up the largest portion of genetically modified crops. Ingredients made from these foods include high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), corn flour and meal, dextrin, starch, soy sauce, margarine, and tofu.
* Buy organic produce. By definition, food that is certified organic must be free from all GM organisms, produced without artificial pesticides and fertilizers and from an animal reared without the routine use of antibiotics, growth promoters or other drugs. Additionally, grass-fed beef will not have been fed GM corn feed.

An Obvious Criminal Enterprise

11 Aug 2010 1 Comment

by truthfarmer in Uncategorized

Oregon Health Department Food Nazis Assail Lemonade Stand!

Seven-year-old Julie Murphy of Oregon City still smiles about her enterprise despite running afoul of county inspectors for an unlicensed lemonade stand at Last Thursday.

UPDATE: Multnomah County chairman tells inspectors to stand down and apologizes to Julie and her family.

It’s hardly unusual to hear small-business owners gripe about licensing requirements or complain that heavy-handed regulations are driving them into the red.

So when Multnomah County shut down an enterprise last week for operating without a license, you might just sigh and say, there they go again.

Except this entrepreneur was a 7-year-old named Julie Murphy. Her business was a lemonade stand at the Last Thursday monthly art fair in Northeast Portland. The government regulation she violated? Failing to get a $120 temporary restaurant license.

Turns out that kids’ lemonade stands — those constants of summertime — are supposed to get a permit in Oregon, particularly at big events that happen to be patrolled regularly by county health inspectors.

“I understand the reason behind what they’re doing and it’s a neighborhood event, and they’re trying to generate revenue,” said Jon Kawaguchi, environmental health supervisor for the Multnomah County Health Department. “But we still need to put the public’s health first.”

Julie had become enamored of the idea of having a stand after watching an episode of cartoon pig Olivia running one, said her mother, Maria Fife. The two live in Oregon City, but Fife knew her daughter would get few customers if she set up her stand at home.

Plus, Fife had just attended Last Thursday along Portland’s Northeast Alberta Street for the first time and loved the friendly feel and the diversity of the grass-roots event. She put the two things together and promised to take her daughter in July.

The girl worked on a sign, coloring in the letters and decorating it with a drawing of a person saying “Yummy.” She made a list of supplies.

Then, with gallons of bottled water and packets of Kool-Aid, they drove up last Thursday with a friend and her daughter. They loaded a wheelbarrow that Julie steered to the corner of Northeast 26th and Alberta and settled into a space between a painter and a couple who sold handmade bags and kids’ clothing.

Even before her daughter had finished making the first batch of lemonade, a man walked up to buy a 50-cent cup.

“They wanted to support a little 7-year-old to earn a little extra summer loot,” she said. “People know what’s going on.”

Even so, Julie was careful about making the lemonade, cleaning her hands with hand sanitizer, using a scoop for the bagged ice and keeping everything covered when it wasn’t in use, Fife said.

After 20 minutes, a “lady with a clipboard” came over and asked for their license. When Fife explained they didn’t have one, the woman told them they would need to leave or possibly face a $500 fine.

Surprised, Fife started to pack up. The people staffing the booths next to them encouraged the two to stay, telling them the inspectors had no right to kick them out of the neighborhood gathering. They also suggested that they give away the lemonade and accept donations instead and one of them made an announcement to the crowd to support the lemonade stand.

That’s when business really picked up — and two inspectors came back, Fife said. Julie started crying, while her mother packed up and others confronted the inspectors. “It was a very big scene,” Fife said.

Technically, any lemonade stand — even one on your front lawn — must be licensed under state law, said Eric Pippert, the food-borne illness prevention program manager for the state’s public health division. But county inspectors are unlikely to go after kids selling lemonade on their front lawn unless, he conceded, their front lawn happens to be on Alberta Street during Last Thursday.

“When you go to a public event and set up shop, you’re suddenly engaging in commerce,” he said. “The fact that you’re small-scale I don’t think is relevant.”

Kawaguchi, who oversees the two county inspectors involved, said they must be fair and consistent in their monitoring, no matter the age of the person. “Our role is to protect the public,” he said.

The county’s shutdown of the lemonade stand was publicized by Michael Franklin, the man at the booth next to Fife and her daughter. Franklin contributes to the Bottom Up Radio Network, an online anarchist site, and interviewed Fife for his show.

Franklin is also organizing a “Lemonade Revolt” for Last Thursday in August. He’s calling on anarchists, neighbors and others to come early for the event and grab space for lemonade stands on Alberta between Northeast 25th and Northeast 26th.

As for Julie, the 7-year-old still tells her mother “it was a bad day.” When she complains about the health inspector, Fife reminds her that the woman was just doing her job. She also promised to help her try again — at an upcoming neighborhood garage sale.

While Fife said she does see the need for some food safety regulation, she thinks the county went too far in trying to control events as unstructured as Last Thursday.

“As far as Last Thursday is concerned, people know when they are coming there that it’s more or less a free-for-all,” she said. “It’s gotten to the point where they need to be in all of our decisions. They don’t trust us to make good choices on our own.”

— Helen Jung

US Senate Candidate Chuck Purgason… the Longest Missouri Filibuster!

14 Jul 2010 Leave a comment

by truthfarmer in Uncategorized

The State Senator who has already proven that he will stand against immense political pressure to compromise freedom principles, is taking a tremendous stand right now. He ran the NAIS constraining legislation in Missouri and took unbelievable flack from proponents of NAIS and would not back down. Now he won’t back down on a deceptively named bill that has had a lot of political intrigue behind it.

The “Manufacturing Jobs Act” is a bill that tries to bribe Ford Motor Company to stay here, even though Ford hasn’t asked for a bribe, nor have they testified for the bribe. This is a Missouri attempt at following Federal economic policy, and Purgason is filibustering in this special session “till he drops” to stop this bill. What that means, is he went for more than 20 hours.

A little history on this bill indicates that there must be some push from on high in the Republican leadership in Missouri. In regular session, this bill was filibustered and dropped. At nearly the end of session, Missouri’s Democratic Governor, Jay Nixon visited the President Pro Tem of the Senate at his office for a 45 minute closed door meeting with armed guards stationed outside. After that meeting, there was a Special Session called by the Governor.

Now,I am not clear on all the rules regarding irregular legislative processes, but I know enough to recognize untoward party and leadership pressure. Purgason was removed from his Chairmanship of the Government Accountability and Fiscal Oversight Committee by the President Pro Tem of the Senate because Purgason wouldn’t bring the bill to a vote…..Remember this bill died in regular session.

Prior to removing Purgason as Chair and installing himself as Chair, the President of the Senate, Charlie Shields had a 45 minute meeting at the end of regular session with Democratic Governor Jay Nixon, who really wants this bill….Neither one of them, nor the armed guards outside of Shields’ office, said what transpired in the meeting. But a Special Session was agreed upon.

During the Special Session, on the House side of things, House President Pro Tem, Bryan Pratt (who referred to the bill as a bail out bill) and Representative Kraus were removed and replaced from the Committee the bill had to go through to make it to House floor.

So, strong arm tactics with leadership in both parties pushing hard for the same legislation that is highly questionable, seems indicative of something seriously wrong in the General Assembly at least…..It would be my guess that if one were able to follow the money, it would go back to the powers behind the parties. It would take a good long while to chase that bunny down the trail, but the behaviour of the leadership strongly suggests that there is a bunny to run down.

Farmer’s Killing Themselves —

03 Jul 2010 Leave a comment

by truthfarmer in Uncategorized

The article below brushes the surface of the problems faced on the farm. Farmers are the most pro-life bunch of people you will encounter. The hopelessness resulting from market control and lack of access to viable markets is multiplying….Be a revolutionary and buy direct from a farmer. ….


Need a Real Sponsor here

July 26, 2009, 8:17 AM ET
The Human Toll: Farmer Suicides on the Rise

Fluctuations in oil prices over the last couple years have received no shortage of headlines, but they’re not the only commodity that has seen an increase – followed by a collapse – in prices. The same has happened in agriculture, and the impact of sharply lower prices combined with weak demand and tight credit is taking a devastating toll on farmers.

http://online.wsj.com/media/dairy_D_20090726081231.jpg

In Colorado, for example, 14 farmers and ranchers took their lives last year, double the rate five years ago, according to the Denver Post. In Maine, the Bangor Daily News has reported of at least three known farmer suicides so far this year. Two dairy famers in California have taken their lives in the last six months. The Iowa-based “Sowing the Seeds of Hope” hotline, which serves farmers in seven Midwest states, has fielded about 11,000 calls through April, a 20% increase from the same period a year ago, according to the Post and the Iowa Independent.

“The increase in calls really started with the change in dairy prices, as they fell last fall,” Mike Rosmann, a clinical psychologist and farmer who heads the hotline jointly sponsored by AgriWellness and Iowa State University Extension, told the Post.

Scott Hoese, a Minnesota dairy farmer, described the industry’s struggles in testimony before the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy & Poultry on Tuesday.

“Dairy farmers of all sizes and across all regions of the country are enduring an unprecedented disaster,” he said. “Equity is rapidly disappearing, market prices remain at 1970 levels, creditors are cutting off producers – yet there is no relief in sight.”

“As quickly as dairy prices peaked last year, they have just as quickly collapsed and have been well below the cost of production,” he said. “Our latest data shows consumers paying $4.99 for a pound of cheddar cheese while the farmer receives less than $1.00; farmers receive $0.97 out of the $2.99 consumers pay for a gallon of fat free milk. At a time when more consumers are eating at home, thereby increasing retail dairy product sales, producers are losing money on every gallon of milk sold.”

The global nature of the current downturn has also taken a toll, he said, wiping out other nations’ demand for U.S. agricultural exports. “Time is of the essence for dairy producers. Many continue to lose $100-$200 per dairy cow per month with no immediate increase in the market on the horizon,” he said. “As a producer, it has been frustrating, to say the least, to weather one of the worst economic periods in 30 years yet it seems as though our society as a whole has not grasped how desperate our situation is.”

Copyright 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Agreeing to be Run by Trade-Not logic

29 Jun 2010 Leave a comment

by truthfarmer in Uncategorized Tags: , , ,

Below you will find another case of an organization, possibly in ignorance, agreeing to give up the thing it is supposed to be protecting for it’s membership. We have Congress giving away our freedom daily and organizations continually compromising away our rights along with them. The key here is Codex and the OIE. This statement doesn’t say so outright, but agrees to GAP, which are “good agricultural practices”-they aren’t good, they are control mechanisms to engage in business- full traceability, auditing, certifying, verifying, licensing and inspecting every single thing done in the production of food. It’s a recipe for world-wide famine.

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Fort Worth, Texas – The Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA), the state’s largest and oldest livestock association, passed policy regarding the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) new animal disease traceability plan. The policy was passed Friday at the association’s summer meeting.

On Feb. 5, USDA announced a new framework for animal disease traceability in the U.S. USDA will publish the rule which will open it for comment in December. The new framework replaces the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) that was strongly opposed by numerous livestock industries and associations, including TSCRA.

TSCRA supports an animal disease traceability program that adheres to the following criteria:

1. Additional costs to the beef and dairy industries must be minimized.

2. Any information relative to cattle identification information should be under the control of state animal health officials and kept confidential.

3. The system must operate at the speed of commerce.

4. The priority livestock for participation in the framework is the individual identification of adult cattle.

5. Producers must be protected from liability for acts of others after cattle have left their control.

6. The purpose of the animal disease traceability system should be solely animal disease surveillance, control and eradication. The only data required to be collected should be that necessary to accomplish this goal.

7. Support the flexibility of using currently established and evolving official identification methods.

8. Full compliance with the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and Codex Alimentarius Commission international standards for animal identification and traceability.

9. The animal data management system does not replace or impede existing TSCRA brand inspection activities.

TSCRA passed additional policy supporting good surface water quality standards based on sound science, landowner input, an emphasis on voluntary management practices, water quality protection and sustainable economic development.

Policy was also passed that supports removing the 150 mile restriction on livestock and farm operators from federal and state motor vehicle laws. Under current law, livestock or farm operators who operate equipment not for hire and without a commercial driver’s license, for the transport of livestock or farm products, cannot exceed 150 miles.

The Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association is a 133-year-old trade organization. As the largest and oldest livestock association in Texas, TSCRA represents more than 15,000 beef cattle producers, ranching families and businesses who manage approximately 4 million head of cattle on 51.5 million acres of range and pasture land, primarily in Texas and Oklahoma.

TSCRA provides law enforcement and livestock inspection services, legislative and regulatory advocacy, industry news and information, insurance services and educational opportunities for its members and the industry.

Source: Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association

You Will Eat What We Say You Will Eat…And you will enjoy it

10 Jun 2010 Leave a comment

by truthfarmer in Dairy, Enforcement, farm loss, FDA, food, No Food Rights, Right to Contract

This is the wave of the future, folks. You won’t be able to get food without receiving permission and farmers won’t grow it without being licensed, certified, audited and inspected. The FDA says we have no right to any particular food for ourselves or our children, that we have no right to bodily or physical health through our food choices, and that we have no right to contract. They also say that they are carrying out their public health mission within those assertions. This article  shows the state equivalent of the FDA at work in Wisconsin.

FTCLDF has screwed up a number of cases…and there are serious concerns on my part about many of their methods– but Pete Kennedy has been true, and the following article is written by him.

From the Socialist Democratic Republic of Wisconsin:

Wisconsin: DATCP Raids Hershberger Farm
BY PETE KENNEDY, ESQ.  | JUNE 8, 2010

The morning of June 2, 2010 started out like most other busy days on the farm of Vernon & Erma Hershberger and their family of eight boys and one girl, ranging in age from 18 down to 2 years. Shortly before 10:00 a.m., Vernon went to pick up some equipment from a neighboring farm.  Immediately after he left, Cathleen Anderson, Regulatory Specialist from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) along with Sauk County Health Department Sanitarians, Nick Oasen and Mitch Lohr, arrived and entered the farm store building, paying no heed to “Private Property” signs posted on the building.  Erma immediately called Vernon on his cell phone; and she asked the officials to wait for him outside the building, which they did, stepping out into the parking lot.

Vernon refused consent even after they threatened to get a warrant, explaining to the officials that they had no jurisdiction to inspect his farm because he had not applied for a license and he was not selling to the public but merely distri-buting products to members of his private buying club.

Upon arriving at the scene, Vernon was asked by Anderson for his consent to let them do an inspection of his private facility.  Vernon refused consent even after they threatened to get a warrant, explaining to the officials that they had no jurisdiction to inspect his farm because he had not applied for a license and he was not selling to the public but merely distributing products to members of his private buying club.

At 11:45a.m. Jacqueline Owens, Field Service Director from DATCP, showed up with a warrant along with four or five deputies from the local Sherriff’s Department.  Anderson handed Vernon the warrant; Vernon requested a few minutes to look it over which they granted, but when he asked them to wait until he had called his attorney they refused saying that the warrant was valid and they would wait no longer. They then entered the farm store building.

They began the inspection in the storage freezers in what is call the “processing room” and took
inventory of all the items that were in the freezers, also making notes about labels and temperatures.  They did a total inspection of the building including the restroom facilities, the lighting, and anything else that they would typically inspect in a licensed facility.  After they were done in the processing room they went into the grocery storage room and then into the culturing room, taking a basic inventory of everything that was on the shelves. They then moved on into the walk-in cooler.

In the cooler, they wrote down every individual item name and lot number and any other information that they could find.  Next, they went into the store area where there were two chest freezers, a three-glass-door display freezer and approximately twenty feet of shelving.  After they had gone through the whole store, Oasen commented on the cleanliness of the building and processing equipment along with the overall appearance of the facility.

Vernon said he was shocked!  He had dealt with ‘cease and desist’ letters and even went through a long, drawn out lawsuit but nothing quite like this.

Anderson and Owens took a total of twelve samples of various products;  Vernon took a similar sample of each item.  When the sampling was done, Owens said, “Now comes the hard part.”  Owens went on to advise Vernon that they were going to tape shut all the chest freezers and put tags on the doors of the other coolers and freezers and that he would not be allowed to take anything off the shelves without  written approval from DATCP.  She told him the tags would be good for 14 days;  if things were not worked out between DATCP and the farm, the agency could extend them for another 14 days.  She ended saying that they would leave him some food for his family to eat but that everything else must stay intact on the shelves as it was then.

Vernon said he was shocked!  He had dealt with ‘cease and desist’ letters and even went through a long, drawn out lawsuit but nothing quite like this.  His head was going in circles:  How to make the mortgage payments? Would the inventory be left on the shelves to rot?

As all these things were going around in my head, I thought to myself:  As we head into the future we do not know what it holds but we know Who holds it and that’s what counts.

Just as if all that wasn’t enough, after the officials were done with the taping and sealing they headed for the milkhouse.   After taking samples, they gave Vernon a paper demanding that the milk in the bulk tank must be disposed of by dumping it out onto the fields.  In order to make sure that the milk could not even be used by Vernon’s family, they opened the lid and dumped in a large glop of blue dye.  By the time the officials left it was 5:00 p.m.

After the day’s chores were done, Vernon said, “I sat down and went into our business email and WOW!!  Fifty new messages–how’s that for some support?”  He then called the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund to ask a few questions.   He also talked with David Gumpert and then Ted Beals on some sample testing issues.  After looking over the emails, he tried to  get some sleep; it was close to 11:00 p.m.

In Vernon’s words:
Coming from an Amish background, we had been taught the biblical principles of non-resistance and loving and praying for our enemies and those who persecute us.  I slept only a few hours and meditated a long time, seeking the Lord and His will in these troubling circumstances.  What would Jesus do?  Bible passages like: “Blessed are you, when men shall revile you and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake”. (Matt. 5:11)  “But I say unto you, ‘Love your enemies, Bless them that curse you, do good to them which hate you, pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you’.” (Matt. 5:44)  Also Psalms 37 has promises that we can claim for our own if we trust in him.

There is another phrase that is very powerful that I strongly believe in:  There’s no greater love that a man can have than to lay down his life for his friend.  If we become so passionate about something that we are willing to lay down our lives for it, there is a power that kicks in, which is beyond measure.  As all these things were going around in my head,  I thought to myself:  As we head into the future we do not know what it holds but we know Who holds it and that’s what counts.

Update
On June 8, Owens and Anderson returned to the farm without a warrant, attempting to conduct another inspection.  Vernon refused the request for inspection and the officials left his premises.  Before they left, they served Vernon a ‘Summary Special Order’ which would subject him to fines of up to $5,000 per violation if he is not in compliance with Wisconsin food and dairy law.

Patricia Barrett, Esq.
Sauk County District Attorney
Sauk County Court House
515 Oak Street
Baraboo, WI  53913Fax (608)355-3282

patricia.barrett@da.wi.gov

How You Can Help
DATCP has referred Vernon’s case to the Sauk County District Attorney, Patricia Barrett, for potential prosecution.  Everyone is urged to contact Barrett’s office and request that she not prosecute the Hershberger case.  Sauk County residents are especially encouraged to contact the District Attorney and inform her that you will not vote for her the next election if she pursues the Hershberger case.  The District Attorney has already taken so many calls on this case that they are no longer accepting them; but you can still contact the DA’s office by email, fax and/or postal mail.  Here is the contact information:

Here are some points to make:

  1. The County DA should not be spending taxpayer money, pursuing cases like this in which there is no victim or injury.  There has been no complaint filed by anyone against the Hershbergers.
  2. The only injury in a case like this occurs when the farmer or food distributor is prosecuted and consumers who were obtaining foods they deem best for their health and the health of their families have now lost their source of those foods.
  3. The right of consumers to obtain the foods of their choice from the source of their choice is a political issue; cases like this in which there has been no injury do not belong in the courts.  The County DA should exercise her discretion not to take on these cases.
  4. With the tough economic times and all the cutbacks in government spending, the County DA should not be using its remaining enforcement dollars pursuing victimless crimes.
  5. Let the County DA know how food direct from farms has benefitted your health and the health of your family.

DATCP does not respect freedom of food choice nor the right to be left alone.  The agency’s enforcement actions do not protect the public health; they only deny individuals the right to obtain the foods they believe best for their health and the health of their families.

Please help Vernon and Erma Hershberger.

Consolidation GMO’s and Food Control–The Theater we are in

05 Jun 2010 Leave a comment

by truthfarmer in GMO's

Please go to the Center for Responsible Technology and download the non-GMO shopping guide. Jeffrey Smith has done the most work on this and you can benefit from the tremendous amount of work he has done. I don’t agree with him that the Obama Administration is going to ‘do the right thing’ with labeling, or constraint of market control on ag at all—But his work is STILL the best out there. So get the Non GMO shopping guide at the bottom of the linked page.

Also, please support my weekly radio show. As you can tell from reading my blog, I am much more comfortable with duct tape and hammers than internet technology, but that lack of ability in techno crud doesn’t stop me from being able to access information and process it….it just stops me from being able to disseminate that information as well as I would like. I’m going to continue to try to get the info out there, but I’m a little needy and need to know that people are getting it. So please listen to the show when you can and call in with your thoughts from time to time. Here’s the link to my most recent broadcast of Truth Farmer on Liberty News Radio

Tomorrow morning from 8-9 Central I will be on Republic Broadcasting networks Capitol Forum, and Monday at 8pm Central I will be on Devvy Kidd’s show.

I do this stuff full time for free—all in the hope that we may continue to be able to eat and to stand in the gap so that tyrranny has a harder time bringing us to their Brave New World. I like my Brave New World better as fiction. How about you?

Name Games with the USDA (again)

20 May 2010 Leave a comment

by truthfarmer in NAIS, NAIS/ADT, USDA

©Doreen Hannes

On May 11th, the USDA held the first of three public meetings on their “New NAIS” program “Animal Disease Traceability”. The meeting began at 8am with three power point presentations. California State Veterinarian, Dr. Richard Breitmeyer gave the first presentation. This was the same presentation he gave at the mid-March NIAA (National Institute of Animal Agriculture) meeting, also held in Kansas City.

A little history is in order to understand the progression of this idea for animal traceability. In the US, the first notable plan for identifying animals was the NFAIP, along with FAIR, those being the National Farm Animal Identification Program and Farm Animal Identification and Records. Then under the Bush Administration there was the United States Animal Identification Plan, with the NAIS, National Animal Identification System hot on it’s heels. Now, they have “killed” NAIS, but are moving forward with the Animal Disease Traceability plan, the ADT. The main difference here is that the USDA is going to make a rule on the ADT to prescribe the “performance standards” for traceability that the states MUST meet to engage in interstate commerce with the ADT.

Breitmeyer’s presentation focused on the difficulties around tracing the contacts of tubercular (and suspect) cattle in the state of California and other states without the aid of an interoperable database covering all animals and all movements. According to his presentation, the state of California has approximately 57,500 known live cattle imports from Mexico per year. This is significant in that more than 75% of all tuberculosis in cattle is of Mexican origin. Breitmeyer lamented that when he began as a vet 25 years ago, the US had nearly eliminated TB except for in small areas of northern Michigan and northern Minnesota where the soil make up continues to keep TB in the wildlife and therefore occasionally in cattle. Breitmeyer’s presentation was actually quite a good illustration of many of the failed policies of the USDA in disease control, the lack of quarantine at the borders chief among them. Of course, he is a proponent of a NAIS style system because having all that data available would make his job easier…At least on paper.

The second presentation was given by a very soft-spoken APHIS/VS (Veternary Services) representative, Dr. TJ Mayer. He stressed that the “theme” for the development of the “new” program is “collaboration”. Those to be affected must be involved in the process of developing the solution for the lack of traceability that now exists— particularly in cattle. Cattle are the primary focus for this new plan, and the methodology for bringing cattle to 95% traceability back to the point of identification in 2 business days is dependent on “collaboration” in developing the processes in our states. (Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?) Mayer also illustrated that the desired traceability would be implemented gradually through partnerships of stakeholders and building upon the requirements outlined in the rule that is to be developed for criteria that states must meet for interstate commerce.

The third presentation was by Becky Brewer (Oklahoma State Vet) and the apparent lead member of the newly established “Regulatory Working Group”. Dr. Brewer related the thinking of the Regulatory Working Group on the measurable outcomes of the ‘traceability’ standards to arrive at 95% of “all” animals traced back to the ‘traceability unit’ within 2 business days. Sounds just like the NAIS Business Plan, doesn’t it? Brewer stated, “In government speak, “all” doesn’t mean all.” This may explain why the USDA kept insisting that when opponents of NAIS cited documents verbatim, we were “spreading misinformation”. Evidently the English language is a linguistic and statistical anomaly in the hands and mouths of bureaucrats.

There were no question and answer sessions after the presentations. Instead every table was given a USDA facilitator and three segments of questions to answer regarding how we might achieve the desired outcome of getting animals id’d back to the ‘traceability unit’ within their timeframes. The tables were marked with species placards and there were at least five cattle tables, three swine, two poultry, one sheep and goat, and one “other species”.

When I entered the room I noticed that Kenny Fox of R CALF USA was at a cattle table and I failed to notice the “other species” table so I sat at the sheep and goat table. There were no people at the poultry tables. The cattle tables were quite full, and all of the reporters were sitting at the ‘other species’ table, so I thought I would just sit at the empty sheep and goat table.

When the facilitating began, I was blessed with three USDA representatives at my table, where all the other tables only had one. I shared the table with one sheep broker from New Mexico. He deals in 20 to 30,000 head of sheep annually mostly exported to Mexico and was quite content with the Scrapie program. This program identifies breeding animals back to the flock of origin with a number assigned to the flock manager and not the land the animals are held on. It also allows for tattoos as an alternate form of official id for interstate commerce, and does not use RFID tags, although it could in the future.

The USDA representatives at my table were not particularly interested in hearing about how the failed agricultural policies have created a problem that the USDA would now like all of us to ‘partner’ with them to solve. They did take copious notes, and were quite proficient in ‘mirroring’ my statements while slightly adjusting them to fit their desired outcome more handily.

At the end of each of the three segments, a representative from each table stood and gave the ‘report’ from the table on that segment. The consensus of the cattle groups were that only breeders should be identified, RFID tags should be avoided, back tags should continue to be used for feeders and slaughter cows, and a NAIS styled system would not work at all.

The USDA is currently promoting the use of ‘bright’ tags for cattle. These are very similar to brucellosis tags in numbering and appearance. However, when the only question and answer segment of the day took place and Neil Hammerschmidt (one of the main authors of NAIS) gave most of the answers, he made it clear that the USDA still wants to ‘aggressively’ pursue the use of 840 tags.

The bottom line about the entire meeting is that the USDA will try to have a draft rule ready in June from the “Regulatory Working Group”. This rule will define the “performance standards” that are to be met by the states to engage in interstate commerce. The USDA plans to publish this proposed rule in November or December of 2010, allow a 90-day comment period, and finalize the rule (make it law) from 8-10 months after the comment period is complete. There may be different requirements under these performance standards by species, and some potentially exempted sectors or movements. There is admitted concern from the USDA and their friends that incentives and disincentives for states must be expressed clearly and not be too “heavy handed”. In other words, if a state meets compliance levels in hogs and not cattle, the hogs should not be refused access to interstate commerce.

It appears to me that we must proactively engage our state legislators to statutorily define requirements for interstate livestock movement and not allow the Departments of Agriculture the leeway to cooperate with the USDA to achieve the goals of the USDA as those goals are still NAIS oriented. The USDA will not dismantle the National Premises Repository although Hammerschmidt stated that if a state were to want to withdraw all of their participants, they could do so. Also, according to Hammerschmidt, they still want to move ‘aggressively’ to 840 tags as official identification along with electronic Certificates of Veterinary Inspection.

The onus of implementing the graduated Animal Disease Traceability program rests squarely on the individual states. Either the states will define those standards statutorily or the USDA will bring about their final desires incrementally through the regulatory process.==========

And by the way…..

18 May 2010 Leave a comment

by truthfarmer in Uncategorized

Just in case anyone was curious, I write from time to time for News with Views and have a weekly radio show on Liberty News Radio every Saturday from 10 to 11am….In between, I do laundry, garden,dishes, cooking (although I would rather raise the food than cook it!) manage a farm, home school, bake bread, make cheese and fight for truth, freedom and fluffy pancakes.

And in my spare time, I try to figure out how technology can be used for good and not evil!

Missouri Set to Get Ohio’s Issue 2—Act now!

08 May 2010 3 Comments

by truthfarmer in Uncategorized

For those in Missouri, we need to get on this!

We have only a few days left in session at Jefferson City. We have a very, very negative bill looking to go through the Senate and we have got to get active against it or be faced with a myriad of committees acting like the “Milk Board” and telling us all what we have to do, how we must do it, and when in order to remain engaged in agriculture.

SB 795 is the Omnibus Ag Act, and it is compilation of a lot of good intentions gone awry. The good bits cannot be separated from the bad bits at this point.

This bill is a serious affront to anyone who loves freedom…To be ruled by non-elected unaccountable committees is actually a Soviet system of governance, and SB 795 sets that up in agriculture quite succinctly. While there are tremendous concerns with the food supply and it’s safety for consumption, as well as the attempts by the HSUS to control how animals are raised (with their real intent to STOP all animal ownership as the final goal), the oversight to be established by LAW in Missouri via SB 795 is completely unacceptable. Warm fuzzy language aside, the establishment of committees dominated by corporate ag will hasten the destruction to independent agriculture that the policies employed by the USDA for decades have caused.

The bill does the following, with all of the agency authority to promulgate rules and regulations behind it:

Sets up a committee of major agribusiness proponents to establish ‘acceptable’ animal care standards. This is Ohio’s Issue 2, just in Missouri instead.

Sets up a committee to oversee “Urban Agriculture”.

Sets up a misdirected attempt to further local food producers access to market by establishing a “sustainable” “farm to institution” initiative —WITH the authority to promulgate rules and regulations regarding the initiative. There is concern that the committee establishing the guidelines for ‘animal care’ will have oversight of this program as well and the group pushing for this initiative would like the bill killed as it has been ‘adulterated’.

Establishes in law the ‘right to own animals’ so long as they are raised in accordance with ‘standards’ set by the University of Missouri. This section also seriously threatens local control and private property rights.

Establishes licensing requirements for egg selling.

Establishes very complex licensing requirements for ‘blasters’ with a highly specific exemption list that does -NOT- clearly preclude reloaders as exempt from licensing requirements.

It also establishes horse slaughter and provides highly specific requirements for engagement in that activity. One of the requirements is that should someone purchase more than 5 pounds of horse meat, the seller must take their name address and contact information and hold that for disclosure to an interested authority.

It also does a few other things, but overall, this bill is very unfriendly to freedom and it fails to meaningfully address the real issues that cause agriculture to be a difficult field to negotiate a viable living through.

If you love freedom or good food, or farming, you need to oppose this bill and oppose it quickly. The last week of session begins on Monday the 10th and the Citizens of Missouri would be better off with this bill being killed than if it passes.

Please call the Senate and tell them to vote NO on SB795 and stop all these committees and task forces from being established in statute and ruling how independent agriculture can conduct itself. Let’s fight HSUS with facts instead of letting further consolidation of agriculture markets occur because we are afraid of this bunch of Horribly Sadistic Urban Sociopaths.

Find the Senate roster at

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