Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
House Bill 2749 Must Be Stopped! Take Action Today
Do you enjoy farmer's markets? Do you ever envision yourself as a small entrepreneur of artesian breads or gourmet cheeses from your homestead kitchen? How about providing fresh herbs or vegetables to a local restaurant...or buying such things from a local, small time farmer? Well heads up...AGAIN! A new bill, HR 2749 is being fast-tracked in Congress to alter all that. You may ask, Why would "they" do that? It's called money...big money from big agri-business...and it WILL affect you one way or the other. Please read excerpts from a great article, which you may read in full, at Food Freedom
HR 2749: Totalitarian Control of the Food Supply
June 16, 2009 ·
A new food safety bill is on the fast track in Congress-HR 2749, the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009. The bill needs to be stopped.
Alarming Provisions:
HR 2749 would impose an annual registration fee of $500 on any “facility” that holds, processes, or manufactures food. [isn't this every home in the US, every garden?]
HR 2749 would empower FDA to regulate how crops are raised and harvested. It puts the federal government right on the farm, dictating to our farmers.
* HR 2749 would give FDA the power to order a quarantine of a geographic area, including “prohibiting or restricting the movement of food or of any vehicle being used or that has been used to transport or hold such food within the geographic area.”
* HR 2749 would empower FDA to make random warrantless searches of the business records of small farmers and local food producers, without any evidence whatsoever that there has been a violation.
HR 2749 charges the Secretary of Health and Human Services with establishing a tracing system for food. Each “person who produces, manufactures, processes, packs, transports, or holds such food” [Is this not every home in the US?] would have to “maintain the full pedigree of the origin and previous distribution history of the food,” and “establish and maintain a system for tracing the food that is interoperable with the systems established and maintained by other such persons.” The bill does not explain how far the traceback will extend or how it will be done for multi-ingredient foods.
HR 2749 creates severe criminal and civil penalties, including prison terms of up to 10 years and/or fines of up to $100,000 for each violation for individuals.
Please take action and contact your Congressman! Here's how:
Contact your Representative now! Ask to speak with the staffer who handles food issues. Tell them you are opposed to the bill. Some points to make in telling your Representative why you oppose HR 2749 include:
1. The bill imposes burdensome requirements while not specifically targeting the industrial food system and food imports, where the real food safety problems lie.
2. Small farms and local food processors are part of the solution to food safety; lessening the regulatory burden on them will improve food safety.
3. The bill gives FDA much more power than it has had in the past while making the agency less accountable for its actions.
HR 2749 needs to be defeated!! Please take action NOW.
To contact your Representative, use the finder tool at www.Congress.org or send a message through the petition system (the petition will be on our website this evening) athttp://www.ftcldf.org/petitions_new.htm. Or call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.
To check the status of HR 2749, go to www.Thomas.gov and type “HR 2749″ in the bill search field
To read a detailed account of the bill, go to: http://www.ftcldf.org/news/news-15june2009.htm
HR 2749: Totalitarian Control of the Food Supply
June 16, 2009 ·
A new food safety bill is on the fast track in Congress-HR 2749, the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009. The bill needs to be stopped.
Alarming Provisions:
HR 2749 would impose an annual registration fee of $500 on any “facility” that holds, processes, or manufactures food. [isn't this every home in the US, every garden?]
HR 2749 would empower FDA to regulate how crops are raised and harvested. It puts the federal government right on the farm, dictating to our farmers.
* HR 2749 would give FDA the power to order a quarantine of a geographic area, including “prohibiting or restricting the movement of food or of any vehicle being used or that has been used to transport or hold such food within the geographic area.”
* HR 2749 would empower FDA to make random warrantless searches of the business records of small farmers and local food producers, without any evidence whatsoever that there has been a violation.
HR 2749 charges the Secretary of Health and Human Services with establishing a tracing system for food. Each “person who produces, manufactures, processes, packs, transports, or holds such food” [Is this not every home in the US?] would have to “maintain the full pedigree of the origin and previous distribution history of the food,” and “establish and maintain a system for tracing the food that is interoperable with the systems established and maintained by other such persons.” The bill does not explain how far the traceback will extend or how it will be done for multi-ingredient foods.
HR 2749 creates severe criminal and civil penalties, including prison terms of up to 10 years and/or fines of up to $100,000 for each violation for individuals.
Please take action and contact your Congressman! Here's how:
Contact your Representative now! Ask to speak with the staffer who handles food issues. Tell them you are opposed to the bill. Some points to make in telling your Representative why you oppose HR 2749 include:
1. The bill imposes burdensome requirements while not specifically targeting the industrial food system and food imports, where the real food safety problems lie.
2. Small farms and local food processors are part of the solution to food safety; lessening the regulatory burden on them will improve food safety.
3. The bill gives FDA much more power than it has had in the past while making the agency less accountable for its actions.
HR 2749 needs to be defeated!! Please take action NOW.
To contact your Representative, use the finder tool at www.Congress.org or send a message through the petition system (the petition will be on our website this evening) athttp://www.ftcldf.org/petitions_new.htm. Or call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.
To check the status of HR 2749, go to www.Thomas.gov and type “HR 2749″ in the bill search field
To read a detailed account of the bill, go to: http://www.ftcldf.org/news/news-15june2009.htm
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
BIGGEST CHICKEN EGG LAID? Check This Out!
No! Your eyes aren't scrambled, and this could not have been "over-easy"...please click this link to view the biggest chicken egg I have ever seen! I'll have to find out the feed supplement on this one!
EGG
EGG
Monday, June 15, 2009
Food, Inc.--New Movie...New Motivation To Grow Your Own!
This past weekend, a movie called, Food, Inc. was released. If you have the proverbial "stomach" to go see it, perhaps it may entice you once again to take garden hoe in hand, canning jar to task, and 5 gallon bucket to fill...with whole grains and cereals. Here are a few comments about this lastest release:
New film exposes unsavoury side of US food industry
By Leonard Doyle in Washington
Published: 7:05PM BST 14 Jun 2009
The much-anticipated documentary Food, Inc. opens this week, many may find themselves unable to finish their snacks as the film exposes some unsavoury realities about how food reaches the dinner table.
Major food producers would not agree to be interviewed for the movie and they tried to ban the filmmakers from their stock yards, pig farms and chicken barns.
The documentary claims cows are fattened up on heavily subsidised corn, even though they cannot digest the grain properly and their guts become breeding grounds for deadly E. coli strains as a result.
It also says chickens with oversized breasts are grown to maturity and are ready to be slaughtered twice as quickly as they would be naturally, thanks to chemicals in their feed.
There is also stomach-churning footage of conveyer belts packed with little yellow chicks being pushed around like mechanical parts; a cow, barely alive, being dragged around by a forklift; and herds of squealing pigs being forced onto a factory "kill floor".
Food Inc is being released as America is finally starting to wake up to the public health crisis fuelled by its eating habits and food industry
In the film, the best-selling food writer Michael Pollan says: "The way we eat has changed more in the last 50 years than in the previous 10,000. You go into the supermarket and you see pictures of farmers, the picket fence and the 1930s farmhouse. The reality is, it's not a farm, it's a factory. That meat is being processed by huge multinational corporations that have very little to do with ranches and farmers."
The film addresses the country's epidemics of obesity and diabetes. Among young Americans born after 2000, one in three will contract early onset diabetes. For blacks, Hispanics and American Indians a staggering one in every two will contract the disease.
"The industry doesn't want you to know the truth about what you're eating because if you knew, you might not want to eat it. We've never had food companies this big and this powerful in our history."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/film-news/5533075/New-film-exposes-unsavoury-side-of-US-food-industry.html
Fast-Food Nation Kills Kids, Sickens Corn-Fed Cows: Interview
June 12, 2009
By Rick Warner
Bloomberg
Food is like air, an essential ingredient of life that most of us consume daily without much thought. “Food, Inc.” may change your attitude.
The new documentary dramatically shows how the U.S. food industry is controlled by a handful of conglomerates that churn out products that can make us -- and their workers -- sick.
“It’s all about producing food that’s cheap and plentiful,” Michael Pollan
Warner: Monsanto, Tyson, Smithfield, Perdue. Why are so few companies producing most of our food?
Pollan: Fast-food franchises have a lot to do with it. They need huge quantities of beef for hamburgers and huge quantities of chicken for chicken nuggets. And they want their food to taste the same everywhere in the country. So they’d rather deal with one producer instead of 50.
Warner: Cows are now being fed corn instead of grazing on grass because it makes them grow bigger and faster. How does that affect the health of the cows and the quality of the meat they produce?
Pollan: Cows aren’t designed to eat corn, so it makes them sick and their guts become a breeding ground for E. coli. Forty percent of the animals on feed lots are carrying it. It gets into the food supply through manure. And when you’re slaughtering 400 cows an hour, the way some of these places do, it’s very easy for the manure to get into the meat.
The government can recall toys and cars, but it doesn’t have the power to recall meat. That’s left up to the companies. Which tells me the government can’t ensure the safety of our food supply.
Revolving Door
Warner: Isn’t part of the problem the revolving door between the industry and government agencies? The movie documents how industry officials end up running the agencies that are supposed to regulate their former businesses.
Pollan: People go back and forth all the time. The food industry is one of the most powerful lobbying forces on Capitol Hill. They usually get what they want
Warner: What can the average person do to change the system?
Pollan: They can do a lot. Never underestimate the power of the consumer. Wal-Mart listened when consumers said they didn’t want milk from cows treated with (artificial growth) hormones. And McDonald’s stopped using genetically modified potatoes after consumers complained. People can vote with their pocketbooks.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i9lvgmYFkJHFOGOpJbIb5xfmnGuwD98O27A82
Instead of spending money to go see the movie, maybe you should invest in a couple packages of seeds...
New film exposes unsavoury side of US food industry
By Leonard Doyle in Washington
Published: 7:05PM BST 14 Jun 2009
The much-anticipated documentary Food, Inc. opens this week, many may find themselves unable to finish their snacks as the film exposes some unsavoury realities about how food reaches the dinner table.
Major food producers would not agree to be interviewed for the movie and they tried to ban the filmmakers from their stock yards, pig farms and chicken barns.
The documentary claims cows are fattened up on heavily subsidised corn, even though they cannot digest the grain properly and their guts become breeding grounds for deadly E. coli strains as a result.
It also says chickens with oversized breasts are grown to maturity and are ready to be slaughtered twice as quickly as they would be naturally, thanks to chemicals in their feed.
There is also stomach-churning footage of conveyer belts packed with little yellow chicks being pushed around like mechanical parts; a cow, barely alive, being dragged around by a forklift; and herds of squealing pigs being forced onto a factory "kill floor".
Food Inc is being released as America is finally starting to wake up to the public health crisis fuelled by its eating habits and food industry
In the film, the best-selling food writer Michael Pollan says: "The way we eat has changed more in the last 50 years than in the previous 10,000. You go into the supermarket and you see pictures of farmers, the picket fence and the 1930s farmhouse. The reality is, it's not a farm, it's a factory. That meat is being processed by huge multinational corporations that have very little to do with ranches and farmers."
The film addresses the country's epidemics of obesity and diabetes. Among young Americans born after 2000, one in three will contract early onset diabetes. For blacks, Hispanics and American Indians a staggering one in every two will contract the disease.
"The industry doesn't want you to know the truth about what you're eating because if you knew, you might not want to eat it. We've never had food companies this big and this powerful in our history."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/film-news/5533075/New-film-exposes-unsavoury-side-of-US-food-industry.html
Fast-Food Nation Kills Kids, Sickens Corn-Fed Cows: Interview
June 12, 2009
By Rick Warner
Bloomberg
Food is like air, an essential ingredient of life that most of us consume daily without much thought. “Food, Inc.” may change your attitude.
The new documentary dramatically shows how the U.S. food industry is controlled by a handful of conglomerates that churn out products that can make us -- and their workers -- sick.
“It’s all about producing food that’s cheap and plentiful,” Michael Pollan
Warner: Monsanto, Tyson, Smithfield, Perdue. Why are so few companies producing most of our food?
Pollan: Fast-food franchises have a lot to do with it. They need huge quantities of beef for hamburgers and huge quantities of chicken for chicken nuggets. And they want their food to taste the same everywhere in the country. So they’d rather deal with one producer instead of 50.
Warner: Cows are now being fed corn instead of grazing on grass because it makes them grow bigger and faster. How does that affect the health of the cows and the quality of the meat they produce?
Pollan: Cows aren’t designed to eat corn, so it makes them sick and their guts become a breeding ground for E. coli. Forty percent of the animals on feed lots are carrying it. It gets into the food supply through manure. And when you’re slaughtering 400 cows an hour, the way some of these places do, it’s very easy for the manure to get into the meat.
The government can recall toys and cars, but it doesn’t have the power to recall meat. That’s left up to the companies. Which tells me the government can’t ensure the safety of our food supply.
Revolving Door
Warner: Isn’t part of the problem the revolving door between the industry and government agencies? The movie documents how industry officials end up running the agencies that are supposed to regulate their former businesses.
Pollan: People go back and forth all the time. The food industry is one of the most powerful lobbying forces on Capitol Hill. They usually get what they want
Warner: What can the average person do to change the system?
Pollan: They can do a lot. Never underestimate the power of the consumer. Wal-Mart listened when consumers said they didn’t want milk from cows treated with (artificial growth) hormones. And McDonald’s stopped using genetically modified potatoes after consumers complained. People can vote with their pocketbooks.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i9lvgmYFkJHFOGOpJbIb5xfmnGuwD98O27A82
Instead of spending money to go see the movie, maybe you should invest in a couple packages of seeds...
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Raising Chickens: Scaly Legs Got You Down? Get Your Chorus Line Kicking and Scratching Again!
Have you noticed that your chicken legs....oops, your chickens' legs have developed a scaly appearance? Scaly legs on chickens is caused by mites. To get rid of these tiny pests, dip the affected limb/limbs of your poor poultry into a mixture of 2 parts linseed oil and one part kerosene. Make sure you dip the extremity right up to the drumstick feathers. This should take care of the problem, and get your "girls" back into action doing what they are supposed to do...scratching, kicking high and laying lots of delicious eggs!
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Preserving Eggs with Water Glass...and other egg things
If you have fresh farm eggs and want to make boiled eggs...let me give you a quick piece of advice...plan ahead. Pick a dozen or so eggs that you want to boil and set them aside in your refrigerator, at least 1 week. Otherwise, your eggs are SO fresh (such a problem to have!) they will be a real pain to peel! Also, for every 3 quarts of water used to boil the eggs, add 1 T. of salt. And, rinse the eggs in cold water as soon as they are boiled...if you do the above, the shells should slip off nicely.
I wrote an article on preserving eggs with water glass...you can find the article on http://ezinearticles.com/ or http://goarticles.com/ and type in the title of the article: You Can Preserve Eggs Without Refrigeration! Here's the Secret! You can get water glass, or sodium silicate, at your local drugstore...but it is very expensive this way. However, the best source for water glass I have found is Lehmans!
Find thousands of unique products for a simple lifestyle from Lehmans.com. Click here.
Not only can you find water glass, but a bunch of other very cool and practical homestead type tools! You'll be hooked!
I wrote an article on preserving eggs with water glass...you can find the article on http://ezinearticles.com/ or http://goarticles.com/ and type in the title of the article: You Can Preserve Eggs Without Refrigeration! Here's the Secret! You can get water glass, or sodium silicate, at your local drugstore...but it is very expensive this way. However, the best source for water glass I have found is Lehmans!
Find thousands of unique products for a simple lifestyle from Lehmans.com. Click here.
Not only can you find water glass, but a bunch of other very cool and practical homestead type tools! You'll be hooked!
June 3, 2009: WHO Close to Declaring Swine Flu Pandemic
I know we have all heard it before, but this was in today's headlines, so I wanted you to have a heads-up:
"The World Health Organisation is close to declaring a global flu pandemic after a surge in cases around the world, including the first Briton to fall critically ill solely because of the virus.
Keiji Fukuda, the official overseeing the WHO's flu strategy, said the virus had now reached 64 countries and was spreading fast outside Mexico and the US, the most heavily affected countries.
Fukuda said the organisation was now "getting closer" to declaring the outbreak had reached phase six, the highest level on their alert scale. Overnight, Chile became the latest country to declare its first swine flu death."
With that, I still would like to reiterate the importance of boosting your immune system naturally and getting healthy to resist this strain of flu. Please read my other posts and infomation on the flu. As I get more information, I will post. But, here are a couple of items to consider. This on Tamiflu and Relenza:
"Tamiflu is worse than worthless. It kills people. Japan has banned it. Even the FDA—after review of nearly 600 cases of neuropsychiatric events reported by patients on Tamiflu and 115 cases of neuropsychiatric events by patients taking Relenza—has warned that Tamiflu’s label be strengthened to note: “In some cases, these behaviors resulted in serious injuries, including death, in adult and pediatric patients.
The FDA staff said Relenza, a drug in the same class as Tamiflu, should have a warning label of “reports of hallucinations, delirium and abnormal behavior” observed in some patients taking the drug."
http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/flu_remedies_177.html
Also, this on the proposed swine flu vaccine:
"The only problem is (as in regards to a vaccine) that to date neither the WHO nor the US Government’s Center for Diseases Control (CDC) have succeeded to isolate, photograph with an electron microscope and chemically classify the H1N1 Influenza A virus. Even more bizarre is the admission by the US Government’s Food & Drug Administration, an agency responsible for health and safety of its citizens, that the ‘test’ is approved for premature release to test for H1N1 is not even a proven test. More to the point, there is no forensic evidence in any of the deaths reported to date that has been presented that proves scientifically that any single death being attributed to H1N1 Swine Flu virus was indeed caused by such a virus. European epidemiologists believe the deaths reported to date are ‘coincidental’ or what are called opportunistic infections."
http://www.infowars.com/sarkozys-secret-plan-for-mandatory-swine-flu-vaccination/
Do you need some good news? I sure do....read this headline, and then plant a garden...if not for yourself, for someone in need!
Urban gardens ease bills, brighten cityscape
By Kathleen Gray, USA TODAY
With the help of Urban Farming, a Detroit-based non-profit group, this 20-foot-by-20-foot lot and more than 600 others like it across the USA are being turned into gardens filled with fresh vegetables for hungry families.
Hey, what a way to kill two birds with one stone...help a neighbor and eat healthy yourself so you develop your immune systems against the flu!
"The World Health Organisation is close to declaring a global flu pandemic after a surge in cases around the world, including the first Briton to fall critically ill solely because of the virus.
Keiji Fukuda, the official overseeing the WHO's flu strategy, said the virus had now reached 64 countries and was spreading fast outside Mexico and the US, the most heavily affected countries.
Fukuda said the organisation was now "getting closer" to declaring the outbreak had reached phase six, the highest level on their alert scale. Overnight, Chile became the latest country to declare its first swine flu death."
With that, I still would like to reiterate the importance of boosting your immune system naturally and getting healthy to resist this strain of flu. Please read my other posts and infomation on the flu. As I get more information, I will post. But, here are a couple of items to consider. This on Tamiflu and Relenza:
"Tamiflu is worse than worthless. It kills people. Japan has banned it. Even the FDA—after review of nearly 600 cases of neuropsychiatric events reported by patients on Tamiflu and 115 cases of neuropsychiatric events by patients taking Relenza—has warned that Tamiflu’s label be strengthened to note: “In some cases, these behaviors resulted in serious injuries, including death, in adult and pediatric patients.
The FDA staff said Relenza, a drug in the same class as Tamiflu, should have a warning label of “reports of hallucinations, delirium and abnormal behavior” observed in some patients taking the drug."
http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/flu_remedies_177.html
Also, this on the proposed swine flu vaccine:
"The only problem is (as in regards to a vaccine) that to date neither the WHO nor the US Government’s Center for Diseases Control (CDC) have succeeded to isolate, photograph with an electron microscope and chemically classify the H1N1 Influenza A virus. Even more bizarre is the admission by the US Government’s Food & Drug Administration, an agency responsible for health and safety of its citizens, that the ‘test’ is approved for premature release to test for H1N1 is not even a proven test. More to the point, there is no forensic evidence in any of the deaths reported to date that has been presented that proves scientifically that any single death being attributed to H1N1 Swine Flu virus was indeed caused by such a virus. European epidemiologists believe the deaths reported to date are ‘coincidental’ or what are called opportunistic infections."
http://www.infowars.com/sarkozys-secret-plan-for-mandatory-swine-flu-vaccination/
Do you need some good news? I sure do....read this headline, and then plant a garden...if not for yourself, for someone in need!
Urban gardens ease bills, brighten cityscape
By Kathleen Gray, USA TODAY
With the help of Urban Farming, a Detroit-based non-profit group, this 20-foot-by-20-foot lot and more than 600 others like it across the USA are being turned into gardens filled with fresh vegetables for hungry families.
Hey, what a way to kill two birds with one stone...help a neighbor and eat healthy yourself so you develop your immune systems against the flu!
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