Veteran Prosecuted for Keeping Chickens in Backyard

A town in Iowa prosecuted a veteran who was keeping a few chickens in his back yard, trying to raise healthy food for his family. He was censored during the trial from testifying about the health benefits of home-grown food, or testifying to the fact that all his neighbors supported him. Learn more about why there is a growing movement around the U.S. by American families who want to raise their own fresh healthy food, and are fighting city ordinances for the right to do so.

FDA Moves to Eliminate Medical Foods

There’s still a small window to make the FDA listen to reason. “Medical foods,” by the federal government’s definition, aren't simply a diet plan prescribed by a doctor. They are foods that are specifically formulated and processed for a sick patient and are intended to meet specific nutritional requirements for the management of a disease or condition. The FDA has recently issued an updated draft guidance that drastically limits the number of conditions that medical foods can be used to manage. Under the new guidance, producers of medical foods will either have to reformulate their products to go through the drug approval process (which can cost billions of dollars) or market them as dietary supplements (which would severely limit the claims their products could make, depriving practitioners and consumers of valuable health information). By making the “buy-in” for the medical industry affordable only to Big Pharma, small businesses and start-up innovators will be kicked out of the industry, drug companies will reap the rewards of yet another FDA-sponsored monopoly, and consumers will be left to deal with the ramifications of limited, more expensive options.

Is Trans Fat “Ban” Paving Way to Promote New Monsanto GMO Product?

The recent "ban" on trans fats may actually be a way to promote a Monsanto GMO product. It’s important to note that since this is a proposed rule, and not a final one, there’s still a chance it could be changed or dropped. In the rule, the FDA mentions that the agency is open to alternate approaches to addressing partially hydrogenated oils in food, such as the setting of acceptable trans fat threshold levels. The timing and intent of the FDA’s rule is suspect for two reasons. First, it was announced only after most companies had already eliminated trans fat—it’s currently only in a handful of foods. Second, the ban will promote market demand for two new GMO soybeans by Monsanto and DuPont, which are engineered for trans fat free oils.

A GMO “Frankenapple” Might Be Coming Soon to a Store Near You!

Consumer backlash against genetic engineering is growing. In response, biotech companies are attempting to woo consumers by repositioning and shifting their GMO products from “helping” farmers to appealing to consumers. Sometimes the appeal is even made on completely specious “health grounds.” Surprised? Don’t be. While supplement producers are generally subject to severe government advertising gag rules, GMO producers are actively supported by the government. Paired with the GMO producers’ PR ploy is a disturbing trend: increasingly, Big Business is claiming that processes involving genetic manipulation are “natural.”

Florida Couple Files Lawsuit Over Ban on Front-Yard Vegetable Gardens

May the government prohibit you from peacefully and productively using your own property to feed your family? For 17 years, Hermine Ricketts and her husband Tom Carroll used their front yard to grow food for their own personal consumption. And for 17 years, nobody had a problem with it . . . until now. In May 2013, Miami Shores Village, Fla. amended its ordinance to make clear that front-yard vegetable gardens were prohibited. Only vegetables are explicitly banned—trees, fruit and garden gnomes are just fine. A few days later, the Village’s code enforcement department served Hermine and Tom with a notice informing them they were in violation of the front-yard vegetable ban. The department threatened them with fines of $50 per day if they did not destroy their beautiful garden. Unable to bear the cost of such hefty fines, Hermine and Tom had no option but to surrender to the government’s demands and uproot the garden. The battle, however, is far from over. Hermine and Tom are part of a nationwide movement of small-scale food producers and consumers who are tired of the government dictating what foods they can grow, sell, and eat. On November 19, 2013, they joined with the Institute for Justice to challenge Miami Shores’ senseless front-yard vegetable garden ban. Their case aims to vindicate the right of all Americans to peacefully use their own property to support their own families.

Farmer Fights Back: Sues State of Oregon For Ban on Free Speech in Advertising Raw Milk

An Oregon raw milk farmer is fighting back against Big Dairy and the state of Oregon for limiting her free speech. The state of Oregon allows limited sales of raw milk from the farm. Based on a law passed in 1999, if a farmer has 3 or less dairy cows, with no more than two lactating, they can sell raw milk directly to the public. Yet, in spite of these tight restrictions, the Oregon Dairy Farmers Association pushed for even more restrictions last year. So while it is still currently legal to sell raw milk from a 2-cow dairy farm, it is a criminal offense if you advertise your product. If a raw milk dairy farm even publishes the cost of their product online, they can face a year in jail and $6,250 in fines. All Oregon farmers who sell milk on the farm directly to consumers are prohibited from advertising the milk online, in fliers, via email or on signs. Being faced with the possibility of going out of business, Christina decided to fight back, with the help of the Institute for Justice, a civil liberties law firm based out of Alrington Virginia. This week they filed a suit against the Oregon Department of Agriculture in U.S. District Court in Portland, claiming farmers' Constitutional rights to free speech are being violated.

Mother Fined by School for “Not Balanced” Home Lunch – Ritz Crackers Added to “Balance” Child’s Lunch

A mother who thought she was sending her children to school with a decent homemade, whole-food lunch was shocked to find a penalty note from school officials informing her that the lunch of roast beef, potatoes, carrots, oranges and milk she provided was "unbalanced" and therefore had to be supplemented with Ritz crackers.

Over 85 Scientists Release Statement: No Consensus on GMO Safety!

There is no scientific consensus that genetically modified foods and crops are safe, according to a statement released by an international group of over 85 scientists, academics and physicians. The statement comes in response to recent claims from the GM industry and some scientists and commentators that there is a “scientific consensus” that GM foods and crops are safe for human and animal health and the environment. The newly released statement calls such claims “misleading” and states, “The claimed consensus on GMO safety does not exist.” Decisions on the future of our food and agriculture should not be based on misleading and misrepresentative claims that a “scientific consensus” exists on GMO safety.

Raw Milk: A Key Ingredient in Some of the World’s Finest Cheeses

Based on their vehement warnings to the public, as well as their raids on small farms, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) want you to believe that raw milk is unsafe. And if you listen to them, you would come away believing that raw milk is a filthy, disease-causing beverage that is virtually guaranteed to make you and your family sick… Yet, this very same ingredient – raw milk – is used to make some of the world’s finest cheeses, from the Italian Parmigiano Reggiano to the famous French-made Camembert. The traditional cheese-making process has been crafted over centuries in many cases, and is truly an art form, with each cheese carefully aged and ripened to develop a complex taste and texture that mass-produced cheeses cannot replicate – thanks, in large part, to their raw milk content.

Toxicology Expert Speaks Out About Roundup and GMOs

There are NO peer-reviewed scientific papers establishing the safety of GMO crops. There are, however, both clinical and peer-reviewed scientific papers showing the hazards of GMO crops, including harmful secondary effects. Epidemiological patterns show there’s an identical rise in over 30 human diseases alongside our increased usage of glyphosate and the increased prevalence of genetically engineered proteins in our food. Glyphosate is not “just” an herbicide. It was originally patented as a mineral chelator. It immobilizes nutrients, making them unavailable for your body. It’s also patented as a potent antibiotic that can devastate human gut bacteria. The EPA recently doubled the amount of glyphosate allowed in food. Soybean oil is now allowed to contain a whopping 4,000 times the limit at which it can impact your health.