There were segments about sheep being seized from a farm in Vermont because the USDA thought that the animals were infected with Mad Cow Disease since they had been imported from Europe, after the mad cow disease scare in the UK, and from New Zealand. However, the flocks they were imported from were disease free. The sheep were quarantined for 2 months in Europe before being imported to this family farm in Vermont and then subsequently quarantined for more time after arrival because the USDA feared contamination. The sheep were eventually seized and put down but each animal was tested for Mad Cow Disease and the results were negative all the animals were healthy. The USDA lied to the media and hid results of these tests for years.
A different farm in New York near Cornell university was doing a community dairy project where they sold raw milk and yoghurt products from their family farm to locals in their community. Raw milk is milk straight from the animal that has not been pasteurized. All of their products were declared unfit for human consumption by state agricultural inspectors. The family was practising safe food practices on their farm and selling their product to like minded people. They lost their court cases and appeal based on the grounds that the New York state agriculture and markets department has "the right to regulate articles of food given to another person."
But the KING of all my beefs with the USDA comes from the next clip. Where they're talking about how there is a federal law from 1930's that prohibits the sale of raw milk across state lines. A group of local growers in Athens, Georgia had purchased some raw milk from a dairy in South Carolina and thus transported that milk across state lines. At a surprise inspection the milk was discovered. The USDA came back the next day and made the people in the locally grown group dump out all of the milk, it looked like over 100 gallons, of raw milk, onto the ground because it was considered a health hazard in the state of Georgia. Keep in mind people had already paid for this milk, the milk was searched for and seized with no warrants and the people were forced to dump it on the ground.
After that clip a man from the Farm-to-consumer Foundation spoke a bit and then this text displayed across the screen. It took 2 screen grabs to get it but I've condensed it down to make it fit better. I have no removed any text just empty black space around the words.
I'm shocked speechless at that. I seriously cannot believe that the FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION!!! The organization that is supposed to regulate to ensure that the food and drugs are safe for human consumption could say things like that in a court case and there is not rioting in the streets?!?!
Food concious friends and readers of this blog, please, please go and watch this documentary and start fighting for your rights to have healthy food instead of food produced by agri-business that is full of things you don't know how to pronounce and don't want in your bodies.
