There are two sides to every story and maybe it’s tinfoil hat time, but this would sure seem to be a disturbing trend. Do Agriculture Departments really need police powers, undercover agents, and SWAT teams?
First, a couple of years ago, the powers-that-be of our beloved nanny state decided you can’t drink milk out of the cow. The government is diligently keeping us safe from the deadly threat of the Amish, non-violent farming folk who shun modern conveniences such as electricity and cars as part of their Biblical beliefs. One would think that the government might possibly have something a bit more important on their plate than busting Eli the milk-trafficker, but one would be wrong.
Being an old pig boy, I must confess I’m no expert on dairy cows, but the Terror of Holsteins ranks pretty low on my DEFCON status. Apparently, natural grass-fed cows have almost no risk of producing contaminated milk. But that’s no reason not to bust a few Amish heads. You let those peaceful extremists get their camel’s nose under then tent of the Big Ag Corporate Monopoly and the next thing you know their lobbyists will have to shell out more money to their favorite senators.
I’m too lazy to do further research, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the “laws” being violated are not laws passed by Congress, as mandated in the Constitution, but just regulations made up by bureaucrats but which nonetheless carry the weight of the Rule of Law.
Now, apparently, since the menace of runaway Amish milkmen has been contained, the Ag Cops have moved on to the subversive natural food co-ops.
Gets kind of scary when you think about Henry Kissinger’s little gibe, “Control food and you control the people.”
Rather than a grand conspiracy, at least at this point, I suspect a few other reasons. First, the Big Ag Corporate Monopoly has spared no expense to purchase politicians and by God they’re gonna get their money’s worth. You can’t have these little independent guys nibbling away at that last three-tenths of a percent of the market that’s not (yet) monopolized. Another reason is that since the USDA now has eleven employees for every farmer and rancher left in the U.S., a bunch of chairborne mid-level bureaucrats have to come up with some kind of justification for their useless existence, let alone their fat budgets.
Toss into the mix the National Animal Identification System, patented genetically mutated hybrid terminator seeds, and livestock and poultry crammed full of hormones and antibiotics and altered genes and meat waste products for feed (always good for a herbivore, that last one). All that is fine ‘n’ dandy, as long as it’s done by the country's biggest recipients of corporate welfare.
But don’t worry. It’s for your own good. Nanny knows best. Get rid of that grass-fed ribeye and just shut up and eat your glow-in-the-dark porcuswine drumstick.
First, a couple of years ago, the powers-that-be of our beloved nanny state decided you can’t drink milk out of the cow. The government is diligently keeping us safe from the deadly threat of the Amish, non-violent farming folk who shun modern conveniences such as electricity and cars as part of their Biblical beliefs. One would think that the government might possibly have something a bit more important on their plate than busting Eli the milk-trafficker, but one would be wrong.
Being an old pig boy, I must confess I’m no expert on dairy cows, but the Terror of Holsteins ranks pretty low on my DEFCON status. Apparently, natural grass-fed cows have almost no risk of producing contaminated milk. But that’s no reason not to bust a few Amish heads. You let those peaceful extremists get their camel’s nose under then tent of the Big Ag Corporate Monopoly and the next thing you know their lobbyists will have to shell out more money to their favorite senators.
I’m too lazy to do further research, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the “laws” being violated are not laws passed by Congress, as mandated in the Constitution, but just regulations made up by bureaucrats but which nonetheless carry the weight of the Rule of Law.
Now, apparently, since the menace of runaway Amish milkmen has been contained, the Ag Cops have moved on to the subversive natural food co-ops.
Gets kind of scary when you think about Henry Kissinger’s little gibe, “Control food and you control the people.”
Rather than a grand conspiracy, at least at this point, I suspect a few other reasons. First, the Big Ag Corporate Monopoly has spared no expense to purchase politicians and by God they’re gonna get their money’s worth. You can’t have these little independent guys nibbling away at that last three-tenths of a percent of the market that’s not (yet) monopolized. Another reason is that since the USDA now has eleven employees for every farmer and rancher left in the U.S., a bunch of chairborne mid-level bureaucrats have to come up with some kind of justification for their useless existence, let alone their fat budgets.
Toss into the mix the National Animal Identification System, patented genetically mutated hybrid terminator seeds, and livestock and poultry crammed full of hormones and antibiotics and altered genes and meat waste products for feed (always good for a herbivore, that last one). All that is fine ‘n’ dandy, as long as it’s done by the country's biggest recipients of corporate welfare.
But don’t worry. It’s for your own good. Nanny knows best. Get rid of that grass-fed ribeye and just shut up and eat your glow-in-the-dark porcuswine drumstick.
2 comments:
Reading the linked article about goons busting the Amish milkman, I was amazed by the FDA's reason why this is so important:
"An FDA report on illnesses caused by raw milk over the past five years says there have been 18 outbreaks of bacterial illness involving raw milk or raw milk cheeses in 15 states."
18 illnesses in 5 years! Whoopty shit! Another federal solution in search of a problem.
I'm guessing Amish raw milk producers do not have the kind of lobbyist clout that the American Dairy Association and Dairy Council has. Got money? The meat lobby also ensures that there are a lot of hurdles put up on small farmers selling poultry and meat at farmer's markets. This helps force their prices higher, so that more people end up only being able to buy food produced on factory farms.
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