Food Soveriegnty

I recently read an article about Wisconsin judge Patrick J. Fielder's ruling that Wisconsin citizens do not have a fundamental right to consume the food of their choice. This decision was in a case involving raw milk and Wisconsin's ban of it's commercial sale.


Here are the specifics of his ruling that the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection did not violate the constittutional rights of the plaintiffs:


(1) no, Plaintiffs do not have a fundamental right to own and use a dairy cow or a dairyherd;

(2) no, Plaintiffs do not have a fundamental right to consume the milk from their own cow;

(3) no, the Zinniker Plaintiffs, do not have a fundamental right to board their cow at the farm of a farm;

(4) no, the Zinnikers Plaintiffs' contract does not fall outside the scope of the State's police power;

(5) no, the Plaintiffs, do not have a fundamental right to produce and consume the foods of their choice;

(6) no, the DATCP, did not act in an ultra vires manner because it had jurisdiction to regulate the Zinniker's conduct.


Judge Fielder did not limit his decision to milk alone or to commerce and agriculture regulated by the state.

(Here is a link to the full text of Judge Fiedler's ruling clarification: http://www.thecompletepatient.com/storage/WIorder-clarification9-11.pdf)

If this broad ruling is left to stand, it will set a dangerous legal precedent about all our food choices and the role of government in deciding what we can and cannot eat or grow. It, also, brings into question basic rights of personal property.

Standing alone this ruling is alarming; however, I learned Sunday (from a customer at the Logan Square Farmers Market) that just six weeks after his ruling Judge Fiedler stepped down from the bench to go to work for Axley Brynelson (http://axley.com/services) a law firm whose work includes defending Monsanto (retirment article: http://host.madison.com/news/local/crime_and_courts/article_f25f22b3-4a89-50e3-8d32-06da1adb92f2.html)

If you are unfamiliar with Monsanto, they are intimately involved in the dairy industry with their Posilac product (http://www.elanco.us/products/posilac.htm), recombiant bovine growth hormone (rGBH), a synthetic hormone injected into dairy cows to prolong lactation and boost output. Milk from rGBH cows DOES NOT have to be labeld as such, and Monsanto has fought long and hard to keep it that way - even to the extent of prohibitiing milk from being labeled as rGBHG-free.

But, Monsanto's reach extends far beyond just milk - they have patents on much of the feed and fiber seed planted in the United States (corn, soybeans, cotton, sugar beets, alfalfa), andthey are aggressively expanding expanding into the realm of fruit and vegetables. (http://westernfarmpress.com/agribusiness-monsanto-buying-leading-fruit-vegetable-seed-company)


Most of Monsanto's patents in the feed and fiber arena include genetic modifications. Now they are working hard to transfer that technology into the produce we eat (http://www.monsanto.com/newsviews/Pages/gmo-sweet-corn-variety-coming-soon.aspx).

It is disgusting that the very judge that said food choice is not a constitutional right now effectively works for the same corporation bent on monopolizing the world's food supply for its own control and profit.

It is not much of a stretch to think that Judge Fiedler's decision was influenced (bought) by his current employers.







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Boneless, Skinless, Tasteless!

It’s a little frustrating that most recipes I find for chicken call for boneless, skinless chicken breasts.  Don’t misunderstand; I certainly appreciate the ease of those neat little cutlets.  They cook quickly, they are easy to work with, and they don’t even look like any sort of living animal.  The down side of course is they don’t have much flavor, and the texture is pasty, and if I think about it, even a little bit, I know that they WERE part of a living animal, usually one that had a miserable, drug laden life and was butchered in  appalling nditions.   

Wait, that’s more than one downside isn’t it?  I also know that, as a farmer it’s difficult to provide my customers with boneless, skinless breasts that would be tasty, and humanely raised and butchered.  The processing is significantly more expensive and the chickens we raise are more than just that one part.  We need to make use of, and profit from, as much of the animal as possible.  That’s part of keeping our prices reasonable, and our business sustainable. 

So all of that brings me back to my original complaint, the over abundance of recipes for boneless, skinless chicken breasts!  Here are some ways I’ve found to get around that problem.

Cook a half chicken ahead of time  I often put a half chicken in a skillet with a little bit of water, cover it, and turn it before on starting the rest of the meal.  It takes about 30-45 minutes to cook while I take care of whatever else is going on (homework, food prep, emptying the dishwasher, whatever) and when I’m ready to put the rest of dinner together I can easily pull the meat off the bone and get on with the recipe.   (If I’m using a small whole chicken this way I cut it in half with kitchen shears before putting it in the skillet, this cooks quicker than keeping it whole.)

I can easily add the cooked chicken to pasta or rice dishes.  This has the additional benefit of stretching a smaller piece of meat to feed more people.  Last week I did this with a two pound bird and easily fed four adults and three kids with a Lemon Caper chicken similar to the one in last month’s newsletter.

Crock pot cooking is another easy way to use whole chickens.  Like the above method, I can remove the meat form the bone and add it to other recipes, or I can make the whole meal in the crock pot.   I used to think of  cocrock pot cooking as more suited to wintery comfort foods, but I do love not having to heat up the kitchen in the summer!

Finally, I’ve learned how to cut up a whole chicken.  Julia Child I’m not, but I can get it into recognizable pieces.  I learned by following the pictures in my old Betty Crocker cookbook, but there are lots of resources online now with video and audio instructions to follow. This one from Gourmet Magazine is quite helpful http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zW5BFvCmV7k.  Give it a try!  Don’t forget to save the neck and back.  Keep a zip lock bag in the freezer and throw them in until you’re ready to make a batch of stock.

F is for Farm Bill

Every five years or so, national food, nutrition, and farm priorities are debated and set with omnibus policy and appropriations legislation know as The Farm Bill.

And, the process is already under way as the fiscal year 2011 budget debate rages with a government shutdown barely avoided this past week.

Over the coming weeks, I will be posting more about the current and upcoming Farm Bill debates and sustainable agriculture issues an priorities and ways YOU can get involved. For now, here's a run down of the current Farm Bill.

The farm bill encompasses a lot!

There are currently 15 titles in the Farm Bill:

I. Commodities – wheat, feed grains, cotton, rice, oilseeds, peanuts, sugar, and dairy. Direct payments, counter-cyclical payments, and marketing loans. The government also supports commodities with purchases of dairy and marketing quotas and import barriers for sugar. $8.3 billion per year.

II. Conservation – farmland conservation, preservation, and protection. $4.8 billion per year.

III. Agricultural Trade andFood Aid – Agricultural exports and international food assistance programs. $400 million per year.

IV. Nutrition – Domestic food and nutrition and commodity distribution programs, aka SNAP - supplemental nutrition assistance program. $38 billion per year.

V. Farm Credit – Federal direct and guaranteed farm loan programs. (FARMER-MAC).

VI. Rural Development – Business and community planning and feasibility assessments and coordination activities with local, state, and federal programs, including rural broadband access.

VII. Research – Agriculture research and extension programs including bio-security and response, biotechnology, and organic production.

VIII. Forestry – USDA forest service programs, including forestry management, enhancement, and agro-forestry.

IX. Energy – Bio-energy programs and grants for procurement of biobased products to support development of biorefineries and assist eligible farmers and rural small businesses in purchasing renewable energy systems as well as user education programs.

X. Horticulture and Organic Agriculture – (new title in 2008 bill) Covers fruit, vegetables, and other specialty crops (food) and organic agriculture.

XI. Livestock – (new title in 2008 bill) Covers livestock and poultry production, including provisions that amend existing laws governing livestock and poultry marketing and competition, country-of-origin labeling (COOL) requirements for retailers, and meat and poultry state inspections, among other provisions.

XII. Crop Insurance and disaster assistance – (new title in 2008 bill)

XIII. Commodity futures – (new title in 2008 bill) Covers reauthorization of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and other changes to current law.

XIV. Miscellaneous – Other types of programs not covered by other titles, including provisions to assist limited resource and socially disadvantaged farmers and agricultural security, among others.

XV. Trade and Tax provisions - (new title in 2008 bill) Covers tax-related provisions intended to offset spending initiatives for some programs including those in nutrition, conservation, and energy titles. This title also contains other provisions, including the new supplemental disaster assistance and disaster relief trust fund, and other tax-related provisions such as customs user fees.

What does is Cost?

The estimated 5 year cost of the 2008 farm bill is $284 billion.

An overwhelming amount (97%) of that is spent on four titles:

Nutrition - 67%

Commodity Support payments – 15%

Conservation – 9%

Crop Insurance – 8%