Bernadette Barber is one of Virginia’s small farmers, and a great soul at that. Disappointed over the recent lapses of judgement in the RNC Platform, Barber adds some rather intensive and well-formed thoughts of her own [1] as to how the RNC Platform mishandled food freedom:
It never occurred to me that food was discussed on the national level at political conventions. I found that it is by many very power hungry individuals. The Great American Farm Luncheon was hosted by major agribusiness firms and organizations to pitch their platform desires to the convention delegates. CropLife America president and CEO, Jay Vroom, was the Master of Ceremonies, at this event. Many commissioners of Agriculture from various states attended. Current and past members of Congress attended as well as the Agriculture Committee Chairmen from both the House and Senate and the House Agriculture Appropriations subcommittee chairman.
Those that sponsored the luncheon included the usual suspects of corporate welfare vultures, many of whom are some of the world’s largest privately held corporations.
For those of you who are small farmers and truly interested about the nature of food (and what Big Ag does), this will be a great read from the perspective of the small farmer.
Moreover, the regulations imposed on small farmers are beyond onerous, and we’re talking foods that one might feel iconic at any farmstead or county fair from yesteryear. To wit:
I don’t believe that most of the rank and file Republicans at these conventions realize that many simple food products are illegal to purchase anywhere in America. A simple pumpkin pie made from ingredients fresh on her own farm is illegal to sell unless a government agent deems it safe by requiring expensive regulated kitchens that most small family farmers cannot afford. There is no free market when it comes to food in America. So amidst the talk of limiting regulations that stifle economic progress and liberty, the reality is that the corrupt congressmen and the corporate cronies who bought their lunch promote policies for farm and food in this nation that do nothing but harm the small family farmer and food artisan and limit our economy. (emphasis added)
This goes right back to a property rights argument. The idea that small farmsteads cannot operate as farms is ludicrous. That many small farmers — Martha Boneta among them — are staring down conservation easements designed to protect small farmers but in reality are being bent back against farmers is an outrage that is finally capturing the imaginations of many Americans who are either farming themselves or considering a return to the soil.
Bernadette is one of the good guys, and if this feedback is even remotely true (and there’s no reason to question it otherwise) then RNC needs to work on food freedom.
Give this a read [1].