Need To See Movie - Food Inc.

FOOD INC.

Robert Kenner, producer/director

Eric Schlosser, co-producer

In this day of highly mechanized food production and factory farming, we all should be aware of how our food is created, manufactured and presented. This is a great eye opening movie to let us peak inside this big bad world of food and see what we are really eating.

An excerpt from their website -

"In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, herbicide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won't go bad, but we also have new strains of E. coli—the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults."

If you eat, you need to watch it!

You can rent it on Netflix Or visit their website

5th Day of Christmas

On the 5th Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me....
Yummy Christmas Sweets!

HR 875 - No more Farmers Markets?

(Photo of Rochester farmers Market)
I been notified of a new Bill that was introduced, HR 875. If it passes it could cause the death of farmers markets, most CSAs, farmstands and even small family farms . HR 875 or the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009 seems to fail in promoting food safety. It seems to create greater problems for already struggling small farms and farmers markets. It says that anyone who produces food of any kind - meat, milk, fruit, vegetables and transports that food for sale would be subject to warrant less government inspections of their farms and food production records.

"These random inspections can be conducted at the whim of federal agents without regard to farmers rights or property rights. Further, the law would allow federal agents to confiscate records, product as they see fit as part of the inspection process." They could also state restrictions on regarding how farm animals can be fed, how fields are managed and the end result could mean the end of organic, biodynamic and sustainable agriculture practices as these practices are deemed "unsafe."

Farmers refusing to comply would be subject to penalties. "The penalty for not denying federal agents unlimited, random access to a farm's fields, properties, products and records is $1,000,000. The penalty for not registering is $1,000,000." "This law would affect every farmer or food producer who must transport his goods to sell them - in effect, every single farmer. That means that an orchard that sells fresh fruit at a roadside stand would be affected; a farmer who delivers CSA boxes would be affected, even a home gardener who brings excess harvest to a farmers market's community booth would have to register or be subject to $1,000,000 fines and that garden plot would be subject to inspection by federal agents. Ridiculous, isn't it? But it's true."

-Exerpts in quotes directly taken from http://vinlands-volva.blogspot.com

To read more visit HERE
To read the law visit LAW
More info at Slow food blog
Sign the petition online at Sign the petition