FDA declares it no longer needs credible evidence to seize food that may be contaminated

Thanks to Self Sustained Living for the heads up on this one.

From Prison Planet:

A few hours ago, the Food and Drug Administration declared it no longer needs credible evidence to seize food that may be contaminated. Ignoring the Fourth Amendment entirely, the FDA claims that based on mere suspicion that a food product has been contaminated or mislabeled, and that serious illness or death will result, it can hold the food for 30 days while it then looks for evidence. It claims this power under the Food Safety Modernization Act, which President Monsanto, I mean, Obama, signed in January.

On May 4th, the FDA stated:

Previously, the FDA’s ability to detain food products applied only when the agency had credible evidence that a food product presented was contaminated or mislabeled in a way that presented a threat of serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals.

Beginning July, the FDA will be able to detain food products that it has reason to believe are adulterated or misbranded for up to 30 days, if needed, to ensure they are kept out of the marketplace. The products will be kept out of the marketplace while the agency determines whether an enforcement action such as seizure or federal injunction against distribution of the product in commerce, is necessary.

Credible evidence no longer applies, it seems.

The Fourth Amendment states:
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

Please read the entire story here>>>

Remember this is the same agency that says that You have no natural right to food in legal documents.

This means that private family farms and CSA will be seeing even more raids. We have changed the past before with consumer outrage, remember the USDA organic standards when they said that GMO's and sludge were ok for organics. The USDA had more letters and calls about that then anything else they have done in history. We changed the standards. Let's change our food rights.

Those of you that support local farms, those of you selling your eggs, and don't forget their stance on raw milk. This pretty much assures that those that sell raw milk, even though legal in your State, will get raided. . . all of us will be affected badly in this.

Please pass this info along

I had a Small Stroke Yesterday

At first I thought it was a migraine. But it was all wrong. The pain felt like an echo, as if the pain was originating from another area and merely bouncing off the eyeball. Unfamiliar pains in my head scare me, as I know that I am a high risk of death by stroke.

I was scared.

Medium decided he wanted to talk, I didn't understand him. He was confusing. Wood and children. I tried to remember F.A.S.T that my doctor taught me. I couldn't. All I could remember was to smile in the mirror. Medium was still talking and I remember walking away from him. The mirror told me nothing. I had lost sight in my right eye. This is not strange to me as my migraines do the same thing.

My face began to melt. Just before Husband got home, I could feel the right side of my face sliding off. My cheek seemed to have been dosed with Novocain. The edge of my eye lid felt as though it had slide past my cheekbone. The pain in my temple increased, pushing my right eyeball to feel as though it was bulging from the socket. I became dizzy and tumbled up the porch stairs. I just wanted to sleep.

Husband came home, and I bawled. I was unable to tell him when it had started. I had tried to tell the children that something was wrong, but it isn't on them to remember. I had no idea if we were still in the important 3 hour mark. I needed to take the clot buster meds.

I am home and somewhat comfortable this morning. My face isn't as droopy as it had felt. I was told it wasn't noticeable to those that didn't intimately know me. It is no longer on fire. I am not as confused, though am still a bit lost at times. Words keep disappearing. I am very sore in the eye. A shadow of a migraine.

My boys did well. Large is old enough to keep the other 2 at peace when a migraine strikes. Now I need to teach them all on what to do if this happens again. I wasn't prepared for it. I know that I will have strokes. There is no question on that. It is part of having severe migraines your entire life. Luckily this was a very small one. I'm only 33, I wasn't expecting them until later in life. I have had micro-strokes for years, but nothing remotely like this.

Food, pesticides, hormones and you (if you're male)

From Scientific America

Many agricultural pesticides – including some previously untested and commonly found in food – disrupt male hormones, according to new tests conducted by British scientists.

The scientists strongly recommended that all pesticides in use today be screened to check if they block testosterone and other androgens, the hormones critical to a healthy reproductive system for men and boys.

“Our results indicate that systematic testing for anti-androgenic activity of currently used pesticides is urgently required,” wrote the scientists from University of London’s Centre for Toxicology, led by Professor Andreas Kortenkamp.

Thirty out of 37 widely used pesticides tested by the group blocked or mimicked male hormones. Sixteen of the 30 had no known hormonal activity until now, while there was some previous evidence for the other 14, according to the study, published online last Thursday in the scientific journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

Most of the newly discovered hormone disruptors are fungicides applied to fruit and vegetable crops, including strawberries and lettuce. Traces of the chemicals remain in foods.

“This study indicates that, not surprisingly, there are many other endocrine disruptors that we have not yet identified or know very little about,” said Emily Barrett, a University of Rochester assistant professor in obstetrics and gynecology who was not involved in the study.

“This underlines the glaring problem that many of the chemicals that are most widely used today, including pesticides, are simply not adequately tested and may have serious long-term impacts on health and development,” said Barrett, who studies how environmental chemicals affect human reproduction. Read entire article here>>>>

Monsanto Takes Center for Food Safety Legal Victory to Highest Court

From The Center of Food Safety;

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to hear a first-time case about the risks of genetically engineered crops. Named Monsanto v. Geertson Seed Farms, No. 09-475, the case before the high court will be yet another step in an ongoing battle waged by the Center for Food Safety to protect consumers and the environment from potentially harmful effects of genetically engineered (GE) crops. The modified alfalfa seed at the heart of the dispute has been engineered to be immune to Monsanto’s flagship herbicide Roundup. Monsanto intervened in a 2007 federal district court ruling that the Department of Agriculture’s approval of GE alfalfa was illegal. The Center for Food Safety (CFS) filed a 2006 lawsuit on behalf of a coalition of non-profits and farmers who wished to retain the choice to plant non-GE alfalfa. CFS was victorious in this case – in addition CFS has won two appeals by Monsanto in the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit: in 2008 and again in 2009. Now, upon Monsanto’s insistence, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case.

Read the entire story here

To view the recently completed EIS on GE alfalfa, supplementary documents and comment on the EIS, click here

A 2009 study showed that the use of genetically modified crops, the vast majority Monsanto’s “roundup ready” crops, has caused over the last 13 years a dramatic increase in herbicide use, by 383 million pounds, and concomitant harms to the environment and human health.

The U.S. Department of Justice has undertaken an investigation of Monsanto regarding violations of anti-trust and monopoly laws and is set to hold public hearings in spring 2010.

Another 2009 study showed that, despite decades of promises and hype, GE crops do not increase yields

Monsanto's Newest Problem

You need to read this post over on Freedom Food.

Turns out that 3 of their Approved GMO corn has now been linked to organ damage in mammals.

I said it before. When you mess with nature you have no idea what monster you will create.

I wonder what will turn up with their terminator seed. Mass sterilizations?

Are you Paying Attention?

Two posts in one morning? Why yes, yes there is.
Myself and many other homesteading blogs you see on my sidebar live in a strange activism world. Strange to the majority of activist, but not to us. We live in a world full of genetic modifications, calling USDA certified organics, junk food, and being pro meat, trying to inform people that the only way to save a heritage barn animals is by eating them. We say these things, and most the time we are ignored or bashed. We believe in responsible farming and child raising. From time to time we speak out, telling you what is going on the affects us, and soon you. You choose to listen to what you want, just as we all do. We try not to be in your face about anything that means so much to us, some times our emotions can get in the way of facts, but we do not threaten people and we tend to let things slide more then most. But Monica over at Small Meadow Farm has brought something to our attention, some thing I had not heard of and apparently neither has most of the media.

With virtually no fanfare, President Bush signed into law a plan ordering the government to take no more than six months to set up a "national contingency plan" to screen newborns' DNA in case of a "public health emergency."
The new law requires that the results of the program – including "information … research, and data on newborn screening" – shall be assembled by a "central clearinghouse" and made available on the Internet.

What!?! nonononono! This goes way beyond tracking animal movements. This is leaning towards a Logan's Run society. Is this what will makes us feel safe? DO you feel safe knowing that your child's DNA will become government property?

"Soon, under this bill, the DNA of all citizens will be housed in government genomic biobanks and considered governmental property for government research," said Twila Brase, president of the Citizens' Council on Health Care. "The DNA taken at birth from every citizen is essentially owned by the government, and every citizen becomes a potential subject of government-sponsored genetic research."

I believe there was a thriller based on this subject,

"In England they decided they should have doctors looking for problem children, and have those children reported, and their DNA taken in case they would become criminals,"

In case? Children with social problems, something that they may just grow out of are now becoming guilty before a crime is even committed?

In fact, published reports in the UK note that senior police forensics experts believe genetic samples should be studied, because it may be possible to identify potential criminals as young as age 5.

I. . . I just don't know what to say about this. I feel for anyone that is about to have a baby. I worry for the safety of my grandchildren. Now might be a good time to become a midwife. I foresee many secret births in our future.

You can read the entire article over at Small Meadow Farm. Thank you for bringing this to our attention Monica.

Just Thinking Out Loud

Robbyn, author of The Back Forty, left a comment for me

You've likely already been given this, but I'm passing along the Thinking Blogger award to you from my site. Yours was one of THE original homesteading sites I first read EVER, and it always make me think.

Thanks so much, Phelan!

Actually no, Robbyn. No one has ever accused me of being a thinker. Thank you for the award Robbyn!

Talking about thinking, I think another discussion of NAIS is in order. Oh stop the grumbling, this is important. If you have any type of animal that could possibly be edible, including horses, this effects you. I realize that I have gone over and over about what NAIS means to us, but something you might have missed is

An incident at the Colorado State Fair in Pueblo last week has spawned a firestorm of controversy related to the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). NAIS is a program which seeks to register premises and livestock for the purpose of traceability and is administered by USDA.

Two young 4-H’ers, who were qualified for the livestock sale, were ejected from the fair and prevented from showing their livestock in the market show because their families had not registered their premises with NAIS. The families were given the opportunity to either register their livestock and premises on the spot, or be removed from the fair.
The ejection stems from a new rule created by the Colorado State Fair Board of Authority which stipulates that entrants in a livestock show much register their premises prior to participating in the fair. The two families involved allege that they had consulted fair officials and were allowed to list their local fairgrounds as the premises of origin for their livestock in lieu of personally registering with NAIS. Story Continues

NAIS is not yet mandatory, but the USDA is working with states to make it so.

Monica over at Small Meadow farm has two wonderful posts on NAIS. One is Help is Needed and the other is The Consequences of our {governments} actions. The later tells the story of a man that refused to allow the mandatory (for the state of Michigan) NAIS officials onto his property to test and tag some cattle for TB. Not only did they come back with warrants but he was forced to have his cattle RFID tagged.

And let's not forget your tax dollars are hard at work.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 19, 2007--The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced contracts with three manufacturers to produce 1.5 million radio frequency identification ear tags that are compliant with National Animal Identification System standards. The combined cost of the contracts is $1.7 million. Press release found here.

How far are you willing to allow the government, one that was voted in by you, to dictate your life? They cannot protect us from lead tainted toys from China, they can not protect us from tainted foods that are imported, nor are they willing to simply inspect and test the mass producers that are local. Instead of testing they are willing to wait until the public gets sick and then trace it back to the original owner, someone who could be innocent of any wrong doing. How many stock yards and slaughter houses will be held accountable for their actions? From the many stories I have read and heard, we, the simple homesteaders, the small family farmers and Amish will and are suffering from their decisions. I implore you to think about NAIS, do your own research and decide for yourself.

On my side bar there are links to other websites, including the USDA.

I oppose both Real ID and NAIS.

Speaking of sticking foreign objects into animals for the purpose of tracking and slaughtering in the off chance that said animal might get sick and or might leave the property to infect other animals, so that the other animals might be slaughtered without testing and no compensation to the owners. . . what do you think of my Trina? I got my goat. {new header picture}

USDA and organics

If you missed the 7 day period that they {USDA} allowed to voice your opinion on allowing 38 inorganic ingredients to organic food, you now have a chance to be heard. Thanks to The Back Forty: Over the hill homesteading, who linked out to this article, you now have a little less then 60 days to tell them what you think about this.

Read the article then you can make a statemenat at the USDA website.

Now this is just sneaky

This couldn't wait until tomorrow. Our governement is trying to sneak in some new organic standards and today is the last day to have a voice. {They only had it open for 7 days} The USDA's proposal is to allow certain products {beer, sausage, fish oil and others} to be labeled as organic even when they contain conventionally-raised ingredients.

If you want to keep your organics, well. . . organic, please read this and sign.

Power tends to corrupt

and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men. ~quotation by Lord Acton


I just recieved this in my e-mail, through the Kansans against NAIS group.

Don't let Congress stifle its critics

The legislation that Congress calls "lobbying reform" will really target small grassroots groups like DownsizeDC.org — groups that citizens use to communicate with Congress. ~click here for the entire article from DownsizeDC.org

My oh my. So the government that is for the people and by the people, want the people to shut up? How quickly we forget.


Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
November 19, 1863

Read in entirety here

It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

But now it seems to be perishing. We work hard, and try not to complain. Our government is voted in by us, they represent what we as a people want. But how long has it actually been since our government has done anything that we truly wanted? How long has it been only those with extreme amounts of wealth were not placed before those that don't? It has been a long while, I cannot recall seeing such an act {besides something coming from a first Lady} in my lifetime. I am sure it has happened, but not on the noticeable level and not without induced fear and lack of understanding by the people. They seem to have forgotten that we make the choices, their decisions should be based on what we desire, what the majority of well informed people deem necessary. Not on how scared and ill informed they can make us, and having us blindly follow them. They are not to be our leaders. They should be our companions, friends. Friends make suggestions, will tell you if you are wrong, but allow you to make your own decisions, not shut you up with force and do whatever they like in your name. We are the leaders, we chose them to make our overlapping words a cohesive symphony.

I fear it will take another Depression to get some to understand that their monetary gain is not that important. Comfort is a wonderful thing, money can at times pay you happiness, but what is the true expense of this bought happiness? Why should I push my fears onto other's on a mass scale. How much loyalty and devotion would I really receive by telling everyone we are all going to die unless we take these measure that mean the loss of your freedoms, the freedoms that other's lost their lives believing could out survive their families?

But then again, my above statement could be perceived as doing just that, scaring other's into thinking as I do. This is clearly my opinion of what I see around me. I am scared, but not scared of what my elected officials want me to be scared of. I am worried, but not worried about what my government tells me I should be worried about. I cherish and faithfully listen to my friends, I take their words into account before I make a decision that will affect me and other’s around me. If my decision is wrong, I take the responsibility for my actions and suffer the consequences and do my best not to drag the innocent down with me.

~removing the soapbox

Interesting

Merry brought up an interesting article the other day. Putting Nutrients back into wheat. Looks as though back in the day when we first tried to alter our foods to make them more edible, erm, appealing, we screwed up and took some of the wrong things out. Now some scientist want to put them back. And the catch is, they don't want to do it by genetically modifying it, they want to cross pollinate, excuse me, have successfully cross pollinated wild wheat with the domestic kind. {yes, I do understand that this is a genetically altered food, it was done naturally} Yet they did discover this by using RNA interference. So should ethical dilemmas come into play?

Advanced technologies do have a wonderful place in our lives. These researchers found what was missing from our food by using it, and were able to fix our mistake by naturally correcting it. Some people could argue that forced cross pollenation is not natural, but if you would like to come out and look at the volunteers that will pop up in my garden, say like my corn, you will see that cross pollination does come naturally. It was forced by being planted too close together in a wind swept field.

I feel that using the technology to discover instead of modify is a wonderful use. I do not like the idea of unnatural genetic tampering. Monsanto’s sterile food scares me. How much testing will be done before it makes its way into the public. What types of side effects will result in eating genetically engineered sterile crops? The terminator seed will do nothing to enhance our lives, only Monsanto’s pocketbooks. Yet the forced pollination of wheat seems like a quality idea to me. Am I a hypocrite?

What say you?

I wrote a letter a month ago, asking things. . .

like, where my State Senator stood on NAIS. And about forcing the Amish and other religious communities to use the GPS Chips in their cattle/livestock/horses and pets. And what about use homesteaders that can't afford to pay this soon to be mandatory program, and who's livestock never leaves the farm, the response. . .


Dear Ms. Phelan,

Thank you for your recent correspondence regarding the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Animal Identification System (NAIS). I genuinely appreciate your taking the time to share your thoughts with me on the important issue.

Growing up near Parker, Kansas, I participated in the day-to-day operations of our family farm and learned how the livestock industry contributes to a safe food supply and a robust economy for the State of Kansas and for the nation. Like my own family, farmers and ranchers in the United States today are among our most innovative citizens. They understand that technology can be harnessed to raise our standards and production to even higher levels of excellence, allowing the U.S. to compete in new markets, facilitate domestic growth, and create new jobs.

Currently a voluntary program, the NAIS is a cooperative State-Federal-industry partnership to standardize and expand animal identification programs and practices to all livestock species and poultry. The NAIS integrates three components-premises identification, animal identification and animal tracking. The long-term goal of the NAIS is o provide animal health officials with the capability to identify all live stock and premises that have had direct contact with a disease of concern within 48 hours after discovery.

It is important that we protect our food supply, but equally important that we protect the privacy to those who work hard to produce our food supply. Guaranteeing this privacy and ensuring effective dialog between producers, consumers, lawmakers and regulators will be critical for the continued growth of the agriculture industry. As I continue to monitor the progress of the NAIS, I assure you that I will keep your concerns in mind.

You are the reason that I am here, and I appreciate your contacting me regarding this important issue. I encourage you to visit my website brownback.senate.gov for information on the issues on which I am working. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future.

Sincerely,

Sam

Sam Brownback
United States Senator

~~~~~~
I have a few thoughts about this letter, but first, tell me what you think. Does any one here speak newspeak?

if you want to call him and ask why his form letter did not acknowledge any of the issues I brought up, the number is {202} 224-6521

NAIS and You

This is my second post of the morning, if you want to laugh at me, scroll down. This post however is about NAIS and what it means to you. This is from the website NONAIS.org and it should help you understand more about what it will cost you as a tax payer and food consumer;

Your tax dollars at work:

In order to monitor and protect the health of animals that are used for human consumption, the federal government and leading agribusinesses in America have come together for a major joint effort. The National Animal Identification System (NAIS) will cost around half a billion dollars by 2009. The recurrent expenses include the cost of tags and system upgrades. These could be as high as $122 million each year.
-RFID Gazette

This does not include the cost to livestock owners which will be orders of magnitude higher than that. While tags cost only about $3 in large quantities, there is also the cost of applying them, failed tags, labor, computer systems, readers, applicator equipment, etc. The Australian NLIS experience has shown that while the promised cost was $3 per head the real cost is more like $37. Everything the government does gets delivered late, doesn’t work as expected and costs more than expected.

A typical small livestock owner such as a Micro-farmers, horse owner or homesteader will see a cost of $500 to $5,000 per year over and over every year. Read more >>>

If you own a horse, even a pet rabbit, you will be required to register your home or apartment as a farm. You will have to tag you pet and report to the USDA every time your pet leaves your "farm". That includes trail rides and vet visits. Please take some time to look through the NoNAIS.org website and think about what this program will mean to you as a tax payer, as a pet owner, as a food consumer and as an American citizen. Part of the problem is that the Government is passing this off as a way to prevent agi-terrorism. But think about it, if you want to attack the nations food source, would you go after a small farmer that only sells to family and friends, or after the National herd? This issue is very important, to all of us, not just those of use that raise our own food and own pets.

This program does not prevent diseases, what it does is creates scape goats. The problems don’t come from the way farmers raise their livestock, the problems come from the slaughter houses and the way food is prepared. With this legislation, fast food chains will not be responsible for keeping your meat at room temp, causing food poisoning, nor will the slaughter house be held responsible for the unsanitary conditions that cause food borne illnesses, no it will go back to the rancher or farmer that sold his livestock at auction or directly to the slaughter houses. And that’s when the government will come in a kill, yes kill all the ranchers animals, healthy or not. No, there is no compensation. {fromwhat I understand}

The comany that will be suppling the USDA promotes chipping your children as well.

Digital Angel

Flinging about wildly

As a child, there was a game we use to play. Adults taught us this game as a way to become empathetic to others, while we enjoyed the game due to it's cruel side. I give the game credit to teaching us that the world can be hard, and that you could never completely trust anyone, and what it would be like if you were suddenly struck blind.

More than a simple game to teach the young about the world of darkness, it was a game that opened our eyes wider to see that while we needed others to help us along, it was ultimately up to our own instincts and experiences to guide us through life.

Yet once you find yourself, once again a neophyte, you feel as though you have donned that blindfold and your guide is withholding few, yet important directions/instuctions and you end up smacking a street sign post with your face. So what does one do about that? You can't remove the blindfold because you have thoughtful stitched it to yourself, per your dedication and pride. Your only choice now is to wipe the blood from your mouth, dry up those tears and carefully move around that post. Then you find yourself a new friend. ALAS! You are still blindfolded. Here is where you begin flinging about wildly, groping at the air, in the hopes that your desperate hands land on someone that will not be so ambivalent to your needs. Only to find yet another friend that will lead you in the correct direction of your destination, but neglect to inform you that the sidewalk you are on, is under construction ,and you break your ankle in an unfilled hole. And we start the process over.

Welcome to the world of a neophyte. But not just any neophyte. This is the land of the dangerous. Where one mistake can mean failure by death or illness, not just re-stitching something and moving forward. Even the "experts" can find themselves into trouble. A child being killed by a swather, a tractor turning over on grandpa, an arm being amputated by farm equipment, or a tornado picking you up along with several of your livestock, and disposing of you miles from home. Those examples are the extreme side of homesteading, but when you know the families that these things happen to, it is always in the back of your mind, especially when you attempt something new.

Yet on the other side, there comes a point where you can take that blindfold off to see what you have accomplished. And it is indeed a wonderful sight. You begin to enjoy your new found skills, and joyfully you are convinced to replace the blindfold so you can march blindly and bravely into the next obstacle, no matter what the possible consequences are. That's where I am. The blindfold only comes off for a brief moment when I have been successful more than once in the same feat. Yet it is stitched on so well that I am soon a bloody faced mess as I repeatedly hit that post. Call me masochistic, but I love it. You wouldn’t believe the amount of pride, self worth and happiness comes out of living like this.

Just makes you want to come out here and homestead, doesn’t it?

Kansas Farm Accident Facts

I need to let off a little steam

As if things in the small town that I am close too weren't bad enough, Wal-mart has been allowed to buy 200 acres of farm land, just so people in the town no longer have to drive 20 minutes out of their way. It is a sad day indeed for the small business man. Tomorrow I will be going into town and spending some of my money in the locally own stores. I need more knick knacks and movies, while I am at it, I think a take out order of home made burgers from the small dinner are in order.

And why did I say "as if things weren't bad enough". Monsanto has a research facility here. You can read about Monsanto and the evil they wish to release into the world here; Ban Terminator.

~sigh~ I really wish people would understand what they are allowing into their lives.