So God Made a Farmer

This was by far the best commercial I've ever seen. It was so amazing to me for two reasons: 1) It's a tribute to God. When was the last time you heard God used in a commercial? Ever? I can't remember one time. And to have a commercial that said "God" many times during the most-watched event in television history? That was very courageous of Dodge and I applaud that. 2) It's a tribute to farmers, you know, those unsung heroes who toil with their hands and hearts day in and day out enduring countless trials to put food on our tables. It warmed my heart and I hope those urban and suburban folks out there who complain about smells from fields and mud on roads from farm equipment understand a little better about what it is farmers do. For those of you who missed it or want to watch it again, I've embedded it below. Enjoy, and next time you see your local farmer, shake his or her hand and say "Thank you."  

"So God Made a Farmer"

 

Food Fight Update

Hello fellow pure food lovers! We have been deciding the best way to re-launch Food Fight and we are just about there. I've missed giving you all updates and news, so we're anxious to get back to it. We are hoping to make our podcasts available through iTunes, and we are reformatting the show to incorporate more guests and interviews rather than just me and Engineer Jorge blathering on amongst ourselves. That said, we'll have a special GMO episode on the front burner. Hope you all enjoy your Thanksgiving with family and friends! Stay away from those commercially produced turkeys, splurge and get a heritage bird or at least an organic/pastured/free-range one from a small family farm, hopefully semi-local. Check back here SOON for more updates! Our goal is to be at least one podcast in before the end of 2012, assuming we're all still here after December 21.

VA Farmers Planning Pitchfork Protest--Spread the Word!

A Fauquier County, VA "Zoning Administrator" (ooooo, such an impressive title!) has decided to fine a farmer for selling farm products on her farm. Seriously. I only wish I was making this up. Listen, folks. The food fight is heating up, and for anyone out there in or near Fauquier County, please make plans to support your right to local food as well as this farmer and all the others that will be at the August 2 hearing. Read the article and TAKE ACTION NOW. Our food freedoms are under attack more and more everyday. Tyranny is alive and well in America.

Minnesota Farmer Illegally Raided, Faces Charges

BREAKING--Calling food freedom advocates in Minnesota! If you live in Minnesota and want to preserve food freedom, then make plans NOW to help Alvin Schlangen, a small family farmer who is facing four misdemeanor charges for providing healthy food to co-op members. I know it's ghastly; how dare he! Take a few minutes to learn about Alvin's story. Also learn/read more about the Raw Milk Freedom Riders, many of whom are under attack as well.

The government's attack on small family farmers and our food freedoms is picking up pace. We need to stand up and defend these farmers. We need to form coalitions that will protect them, their property and their rights, thereby protecting our own rights before the government has striped them all away. When they are raided, we need to drop what we are doing and physically go to their farms and support them. In droves. In large, peaceful groups. It's getting to a fever pitch, it's almost now or never. Here's an inspiring story about one Canadian farmer who got by with a little help from his friends. 40 of them. If you stand for nothing, you will fall for anything, including being completely striped of your right to fresh, wholesome, non-GMO, unadulterated food.

Drop the (Money) Bomb on Monsanto!

Yes, we are referring to a Money Bomb, not a real one which some of you may be disappointed by.  For those of you who want access to pure, unadulterated food and feel that you have the right to know what you are ingesting, this Money Bomb is for you regardless of where you live--cuz you know, us cool folks in Cali set the precedent for the rest of the country often times (/sar).  We're not that cool in Cali but we are certainly on the right track with this issue.  I digress...

The nuts and bolts are: so many people across the nation have become aware of genetic engineering and it's hazards.  Monsanto tells us they don't have to label foods containing GMOs (genetically modified organisms) because they are equivalent to non-GMOs, which begs the question: if they are the same, then how can you patent them??  Ha--gotcha evil corporation!  A bunch of folks in CA got together and started gathering the signatures needed to put mandatory labeling of GMOs on our state ballot in November.  Lo and behold, we got the required number if signatures so we'll be voting on this in a few months.  This also means that Monsanto is launching a $100 million ad campaign extolling the greatness and virtues of GMOs ("we can feed the world," "we reduce pesticide use," both of which are patently and proven false).  Monsanto has boundless resources so this Money Bomb has been devised so that we can bolster the ad campaign in favor of labeling GMOs.  We need everyone's support, not just CA folks because if this passes here, you folks in other states will have a really good shot at getting this passed as well.  We have the right to know what we are eating, what we are feeding our kids, what we are feeding our elderly and sick.  No matter how much propaganda Monsanto puts forth (remember the whole "corn sugar" commercial with the dad and his kid in the (I'm guessing) GMO corn field?!), we have to be able to battle that and wars take money.  And lots of it. Please donate today, anything helps even if it's just one dollar.

Is it just me, or...

Does time seem to be flying by at an exponentially fast pace?  Somehow it's been three weeks since my last post, but I swear it's only been three days (or so it seems).  I have a bazillion notes scribbled in random places of all the things we need to cover but just can't seem to in a timely fashion, which is why I'm left with no choice but to believe that time is passing by more quickly than normal.  For instance, the Dept. of Labor's (DoL) sad attempt at telling us what farm kids can and can't do.  Clearly, no one at the DoL has any remote clue of what it's like to grow up on a farm.  For those of you who don't know what happened, just Google "Department of Labor farm child regulations" or something to that effect to get the full story (I'll post links in the next day or two).  Many people are reducing it to a democrat v. republican issue which is just ridiculous because it has nothing to do with either party.  The brass tacks of the matter is that once again the government is trying to dictate how we as Americans can and can't raise our children.  Those in the dem or "progressive" camp want the nanny state to intervene by regulating farm chores that they deem "dangerous," but have no first-hand knowledge of.  In short, they want to impose regulations on other people's children based on only half the story because they think that having kids work on farms is cruel and unusual punishment.  They are reading left-leaning articles that leave out many important facts, such as the attempted restriction of farm kids having any contact with raw farm materials including produce and eggs, to removing safety training and certification programs from independent organizations such as FFA and 4-H.  Those programs would be replaced with a 90-hour federal safety training course.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME??  Anyone who has ever dealt with the feds knows where this is going.  If this type of information is new to you, let me break it down plain and simple: the government is doing it's darndest to put small family farms out of business because with the current surge in food awareness and the burgeoning and growing food revolution, agribusiness (which controls the USDA and FDA) is feeling the heat and is losing the market share.  The only way agribiz can retain their monopoly and control over the food system is to rid itself of the annoyance of small farmers whose market share is growing by leaps and bounds.  This leads to my next blogpost which addresses one of the most evil corporations on the face of the Earth, Monsanto.  Read on, my fellow good food fanatics!

We're back!!

Supporters of good food, food freedom and farmers' rights: after a very long hiatus, Food Fight Podcast is back! We fell off the map for over a year but are now able to get back to it. It's hard to recap all of the downright crazy, completely sinister and totally bizarre goings-on that have happened in the world of food and farming over the last fifteen months, and things are getting crazier by the day.

Take this bizarro story courtesy of the Department of Natural Resources in Michigan.

Confirmed: Michigan pig ban will eliminate all heritage breeds, destroy thousands of small-scale farms

At least one farmer is fighting this ridiculousness...



As you'll hear, this whole mess has been started by the Michigan Pork Producers Association, a.k.a. mammoth factory farming, animal abusing, huge lobbying group with millions of dollars at their disposal raising thousands and thousands of pigs in horrible conditions every day of every year. This is the same thing that the factory dairy farms are trying to do to small family farms producing organic and raw milk: demonize and drive them out of business because they want that market share. We'll get in to that later.

Folks, small family farms are our last defense against the corporate "food" system that is being foisted on us, and if you're reading this you probably want no part of the factory farming, GMO forcing system. It's not really "No farms, no food." It's more "No farms, no choice." I for one do not want to be forced to be part of the corporate food system. We must fight together and raise our voices in support of every small family farmer out there who is facing this same problem.

That's it for now. More to come soon.