Frequent readers of this blog know my appreciation for government over-reach into the lives of American citizens can be measured in negative light years. This can be easily seen in the use of drones to surveil the innocent, harassment of law abiding citizens, abuse of the legal systems, the “war on drugs” and other places.
Few places may this over-reach be more evident than in regulations of family farms and co-ops. The federal government, embodied in the activity of the Food and Drug Administration, has, on multiple occasions, sent armed SWAT teams onto small farms, inhabited by children, to confiscate raw milk, cheese and yogurt. This all happens under the auspice of public health. The greater likelihood, though, is these regulations prevent a fully competitive marketplace, allowing the upper hand to remain with “Big Ag.” Big Ag is the industrialized farming system that has expanded over the last several decades in the U.S. as family farms have gone under. One estimate holds the total number of U.S. farms has decreased from 7 million to 2 million from 1935 until today.
Kristin Canty is the Director/Producer of Farmageddon; The Unseen War on American Family Farms. She is a first-time film maker, small farm advocate, fresh milk drinker and a mom. One of her children was ridden with multiple allergies and asthma as a pre-schooler, and when medications couldn’t help him, she found that raw milk helped him recover. Since then, she has tried to buy most of her family’s food directly from local, organic farms. When Kristin learned that farmers and co-ops all over the country were increasingly getting raided by the government, she set out to make a film about it. She hopes that when people see it, it can change the tide of public pressure so that our government stops harassing and adding costly burdens to our small, organic farmers. Kristin lives in Concord, Massachusetts with her husband, four children, two dogs, two cats and 11 chickens.
The documentary is just shy of 1.5 hrs, but really worth the time. If you can’t watch today, bookmark this for your weekend catching up. Buy “Farmageddon” from Amazon.
