Thread: Pushback Against FDA Growing

Push Back Against FDA Growing
by Bernie LaForest and Michael Boldin

A county assembly in Washington State has just passed a food freedom ordinance which would punish federal agents with up to ten years in prison and $20,000 fines.

On July 20th, the Stevens County Assembly finalized the ordinance. They are now in the process of collecting signatures from the residents of Stevens County – urging them to to claim his/her natural right to grow, produce, purchase, and consume the foods of their choice.

Beyond that, the passed ordinance would make it unlawful for agents of either the State or Federal government to execute laws that interfere with the ordinance.

Already four towns in Maine have passed similar measures, and others around the country have indicated they’re looking at the same.

REGULATIONS, REGULATIONS, AND MORE REGULATIONS

Last year, Congress introduced the Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510) which opponents say will lead to crushing regulations on local food production – at the benefit of the big corporate farming interests that backed passage of the law. Local food ordinances appear to be a direct response to the new regulations. The Stevens County Ordinance states, in part, that:
WHEREAS, We find the history of government regulators, even with hundreds of food regulations on the books, shows they are incapable of protecting citizens from exposure to food poisoning events from foods produced by corporate farming

What exactly have all of these regulations given you? For example:

–The year-long raw milk sting operation that resulted in a raid consisting of two US Marshals, two State Troopers and two FDA officials on a SWAT like assault on an Amish farm in Pennsylvania at 5 a.m.

–In the first half of 2008, there was an epidemic of human salmonella poisoning that afflicted 1,294 people in 43 states, the District of Columbia and Canada. The FDA immediately sprang into action and after a hasty investigation they proclaimed that tainted tomatoes may be the source of the epidemic. Several varieties of tomatoes were withdrawn from markets and restaurants across the country. Several weeks later, the FDA proclaimed that it may indeed be jalapeno peppers and cilantro that could be contributing to the outbreak. All of these ingredients are commonly used to make salsa which is a staple when eating Mexican food. Surprise! Finally the FDA pinpointed the peppers and cilantro that were imported from Mexico because it had traced contaminated irrigation water. The American tomato industry lost millions of dollars because of these errant recalls.

–Last year, FDA “Investigatorsâ€

I can only hope this grows (no pun inteded, well, maybe).

I am in Oregon, and there has always been a lot of local produce, and not too many big ag farms, so I would have to wonder if their push here would be less? I can say with assurance that this was pushed in Congress by the big ag business because the recent uprising of local food campaigns, farmers markets becoming quite popular and of course the local little farms springing up everywhere, notwithstanding the whole organic issue in the background all along....is the big ag industry feeling so threatened that they had to push for this?

People need to fight back against excessive government, especially when it comes to things like this. People should be able to drink raw milk if they want to (as kids we were subjected to it, and never got sick).

I grew up on a farm and part of our income was from selling fresh milk,eggs,butter,cheese (schumerkase),fresh dressed chickens and garden vegetables.

I guarantee it was cleaner,fresher, truely organic,better tasting and better for you then anything you can buy in any supermarket today.

The only requirements then was your cows must be tested for TB and you were good to go.

USPatriot...people raised on farms, out in the country, exposed to farms, farm animals, fresh produce and fresh meat, eggs and milk, all have better immunity than those raised right in huge metropolitan areas. Really, how can your immune system know what to fight off, and how to fight it off, if it is never exposed to it?

My mother used to get a good deal on milk by buying it from a local dairy. The milk was "unprocessed" sold as a deal, also was not skimmed, so the bonus was cream (for whipped cream to top local berries with). We ate produce from gardens, right out of the dirt by simply wiping it on our jeans (carrots), berries unwashed straight from the bushes.

I get viruses, maybe about every three years, occassional sinus infections that I do not take antibiotics for, and have only ever had one bad case of food poisoning, I am 44. Some might say genetics, but I think it is having grown up living close to the sources of our food. The FDA seems to want to take that from people.

Elizabeth there is noting like fresh farm food and I really,really miss it. Fresh cream mmm good.... : )

You are right even Doc's will tell you we need to eat a few germs to build our immune system. Kids would not be so fat today if they could eat fresh from the farm instead of the hormone,chemical laden crap sold at fast food & supermarkets today.

I never eat at fast food anymore and after you are away from it for awhile your body does not tolerate eating that junk very well at all.

I can't believe what I saw this morning. On TV there was an ad for the FDA - how we should support the FDA for all their good work on our behalf. And we paid for this!!!!!

Ridiculous, isn't it Reggie?

USPatriot, I found that with our family and sodas. I liked Coke, we all did, but stopped ordering it when we went out to dinner or lunch, just asked for water, stopped having it at home, and then my 13 year old daughter mentioned how sickeningly sweet it was! She lost her taste for it, we all have. Same will go for anything you take yourself off of. Goes to show how much of an addiction some of these foods and beverages are to us.

No more fries, chips, etc...now they are too salty for us as well.

It also applies to portions. I started cutting things in half, then I feel less obligated to sit there and eat it all out of guilt for wasting it. Then suddenly I just cannot eat as much. So much of our diet woes these days is about our own mindset of what we think we like and want and can eat. Mind over matter.

This goes for our perception of what we thought was good. My kids have never eaten things like broccoli any way but plain, not even butter, and NO cheese sauce to cajole them into eating it. To this day (they are teens and one adult) they eat it just fresh steamed.