'Growing your own food is exciting, not only because you get to see things grow from nothing into ready-to-eat fruits and veggies, but you also don’t have to worry about the pesticides they might contain, and you definitely cut down on the miles they—and you—have to travel. As it turns out, with pretty minimal effort, anyone can be a gardener. My boyfriend and I are essentially first-timers this season and so far have the beginnings of strawberries peeking out, tomatoes are on their way, the basil’s about ready for a big batch of pesto, and once the last frost hits, the peppers, kale, spinach, chard, and mesclun will be on their way, too. All on a tiiiny little terrace (with the help of a little DIY carpentry).'
'The list of things that the government has done or has put in place that would only exacerbate or even cause food shortages are many and they run side by side with policies that prevent ordinary people and especially the poor from growing their own food.
An articlehttp://foodfreedomgroup.com/2012/10/23/alexandria-virginia-stopping-the-poor-from-growing-food-by-ted-brooks/on Alexandria, Virginia, exposes how it quietly removed home gardens from the poor in public housing, while loudly touting access to fresh local food it had itself ended, as well as promoting community gardens, which the city controls, and in what turns out to be extremely limited number and limited space to grow food, and charges a fee.
This sleight of hand has occurred across the US. Cities proudly proclaim community gardens but behind the scenes, they have removed the poor’s access to growing food on the land they live on, including simply growing food in pots.
Primarily using recent corporate “food safety” laws as the weapon to curtail people’s producing or sharing or selling food themselves, laws have been put into place and police actions have been occurring that expose a pattern of.'
'Food Freedom, Free Choice, Private Contract, Food Sovereignty, Local Foods - call it what you will but something big is growing in Maine!
In 2011 five Maine towns passed the Local Food and Community Self-Governance Ordinance and two more passed Local Food Resolutions. A sixth town passed the same Ordinance in early March of 2012. Then on June 13th of this year two more towns, Appleton and Livermore passed Local Food Ordinances.
This brings it to a total of ten towns spanning four counties or 1/4th of Maine's sixteen counties with towns that have put in place some form of legislation regarding Food Sovereignty. Currently, as many as twenty-five additional towns are looking at placing the Ordinance on their warrants which, if passed, would involve almost 2/3 of the counties in Maine.'
'A Tulsa woman is suing the city's code enforcement officers after she said they cut down her garden with no cause. Denise Morrison said she has more than 100 plant varieties in her front and back yards and all of them are edible and have a purpose.
She knows which ones will treat arthritis, which will make your food spicy, which ones keep mosquitoes away and treat bug bites, but she said none of that matter to city inspectors.'
'University of Notre Dame network physicists in collaboration with food scientists have recently published an analysis of the international food-trade network that claims to show a vulnerability to the fast spread of contaminants as well as the correlation between known food poisoning outbreaks and the centrality of countries on the network. The study is causing a new batch of fear mongers to reiterate what many others have already stated--specifically that all food should sterilized by 2030.'
'Can the government throw you in jail for offering advice on the Internet about what people should buy at the grocery store?
That is exactly the claim made by the North Carolina Board of Dietetics/Nutrition. And that is why today diabetic blogger Steve Cooksey of Stanley, N.C. has teamed up with the Institute for Justice (IJ) to file a major First Amendment lawsuit against the State Board in federal court.'
'Japanese pastas have unique characteristics and health promoting properties that are not found in traditional Western-style pasta. For example, buckwheat, the main ingredient of soba, is a primitive grain that is rarely eaten in the United States. However, buckwheat is the best, and in some cases the only, source of some bio-compounds that are vital to the healthy functioning of cells and enzymes. This is why adding soba, particularly 100% buckwheat soba, to your diet can have a positive effect on your health.'
Farmer Charged Criminally for Providing Fresh Food to Mothers
'Minneapolis, MN—Several Minnesota mothers who organize community access to local fresh farm foods plan to risk criminal charges by openly and publicly defying warnings from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA). The MDA has threatened several mothers, conducted investigations against them and sent them warning letters that if they continue helping provide fresh food to their friends and neighbors, they will be subject to criminal charges and prosecution. The MDA alleges the Mothers are violating food-handling regulations.'
'According to the FDA’s legal definition, a drug is anything that “diagnoses, cures, mitigates, treats, or prevents a disease.”
The problem with this definition is that there are numerous substances, as readily available and benign as those found on our spice racks, which have been proven by countless millennia of human experience to mitigate, prevent and in some cases cure disease, and which cannot be called drugs according to the FDA.
How can this be? Well, the FDA has assumed for itself Godlike power, requiring that its official approval be obtained before any substance can legally be used in the prevention and treatment of disease.
The FDA’s legal-regulatory control therefore is totalitarian and Napoleonic in construct; what it does not explicitly permit as a medicine is implicitly forbidden.'
'Madison Ruppert with guest Heather Callaghan, activist and Activist Post writer, discussing food freedom issues and the greater war on our independence along with GMOs, the health benefits of raw milk, what foods to avoid when shopping and so much more!
This is truly a must-listen episode so jam packed with information you might have to listen to it multiple times to absorb it all! This is one you really have to share with friends and family if you care about their health and well-being.'
'The gradual collapse of the world as we know it is inspiring people to come with new ways to share value with each other in a more equitable way than seemed possible under the old system. In the article excerpted below from The Guardian, a U.K. newspaper, Jon Henley describes how farmers and consumers in post-collapse Greece get together to meet each other’s needs without enriching the middle man:'
'Ahh, tomatoes … that summer garden favorite many of us love to grow — and, especially, to eat. Homegrown tomatoes not only taste better than store-bought, but they’re also much healthier. Whether you’re thinking of growing tomatoes for the first time this year, or have been growing them for quite some time, hopefully you’ll find some tips here that you can sink your teeth into.'
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for work surface
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick), melted
2 tablespoons caraway seeds (optional)
1 cup regular or golden raisins (or sultanas)
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
Heat oven to 350°. In the bowl of a standing mixer with paddle attachment, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add butter, caraway seeds (if desired), and raisins. Combine just until incorporated. In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk and egg. Add to dough and mix just until incorporated.
Turn dough onto a lightly floured work surface and fold it over onto itself two or three times, shaping it into a round, 8-inch loaf. Transfer loaf to a baking sheet lined with parchment or Silpat (a nonstick silicone baking mat). Score an "X" on the top of the dough. Bake 45 minutes, until well-browned and a toothpick plunged into the center emerges clean. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing. Serve with butter and your favorite jam or preserves.
ED.Note: For a healthier version of this recipe: You can use organic white, whole wheat flour (King Arthur brand) and skip the white flour. Make sure all your ingredients are organic and if available use pastured eggs,butter and raw milk. As for sugar--have you tried coconut sugar yet? Yummy! Or you can use raw organic cane sugar. Enjoy!
'As articles are written on what is happening to Rawesome Foods owner, James Stewart, one significant connection has been left out.
Monsanto’s former lawyer and VP, Michael Taylor, now Czar of the FDA “food safety” division, ordered the armed attacks on Stewart. He did this at the very same time Monsanto is in a fierce battle in California to stop the labeling of its proven-toxic and fertility-impairing GMOs.
On one hand, Monsanto is working to ensure that its toxic products are kept unlabeled so they continue to be unwittingly eaten, removing people’s choice; on the other, it is working to stop people like Stewart from providing real, nutritious, safe food, removing any option to their toxic products. They are going so far as to used armed force, multiple agencies, charges of felonies, and conditions in jail that are at best, ridiculously out of proportion to anything Stewart did (a missing certification for goat milk?) and health threatening.'
Here's more background about James Stewart, who when incarcerated was questioned by police regarding his assumed 'Sovereign Citizen' status.
Here's a revealing excerpt from the complete patient blog:
'Stewart says he was questioned at one point during the holding-cell experience by officials as to whether he was a "sovereign citizen." "They tried to break me, get me to admit I was a sovereign." He says he never had declared himself such before, and didn't under questioning. Several days later, during a hearing last week, a lawyer from the Ventura County District Attorney's office would, during a bail hearing, once again characterize Stewart as someone who believes himself to be a "sovereign citizen."'
(NaturalNews) 'We've just published a new infographic with an urgent health message for patriots -- and by "patriots" I mean anyone who believes in America as a nation of free people... Constitutional America, with its Bill of Rights intact and respected.
This infographic reveals a recipe for greatly improved health, vitality and longevity by following a few simple guidelines. It covers toxic foods and products to avoid, nutritional sources that boost courage and energy, and even tips on surviving a biological warfare attack.'
'But whatever your personal beliefs about raw milk, it’s important to remember this: The debate is primarily about the right to choose your food, and it’s about Vernon Hershberger, a dairy farmer in Sauk County who is facing up to three years of incarceration for the amazingly criminal act of selling milk.
'When they put a farmer out of business for supplying raw milk or any other food, they’re interfering with the food supply,” said David Gumpert, a journalist and author of “The Raw Milk Revolution:
Behind America’s Emerging Battle Over Food Rights.”
“They’re depriving those people of access to food that they choose to eat. When you start looking at it in those terms, it becomes more than just a concept. There’s real cause and effect." '
'Today at the raw milk / food freedom rally taking place in Wisconsin at the legal hearing for raw milk farmer Vernon Hershberger, organizers unveiled aDeclaration of Food Independence. The document asserts the individual right to grow, trade and access real food without government intervention or control.'
Free Viewing of FRESH until March 3rd at Dr. Mercola's web site HERE
'The "faster, bigger, cheaper" approach to food is slowly draining dry our planet's resources and compromising your health. The Earth's soil is depleting at more than 13 percent the rate it can be replaced. The documentary "FRESH" celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system.
The film demonstrates how we can collectively transform the current "industrial agricultural paradigm" into a healthier, more sustainable way of feeding the world, while restoring the health of our ailing planet. I hope you will set aside the time to watch it, as it will be time well spent.
We have already lost 75 percent of the world's crop varieties over the last century. Over the past 10 years, we've had 100 million tons of herbicides dumped onto our crops, polluting our soil and streams. The agriculture industry now tries to convince us that housing 110,000 to more than one million chickens or 20,000 hogs in a warehouse is a necessary practice to feed the masses.'
