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Spies in the Farmers Market
By Kimberly Hartke | Published: July 3, 2009
Guest Contributor: Robert Burns, Farmer & Aikido Instructor
http://hartkeisonline.com/2009/07/03/spies-in-the-farmers-market/
Guest Contributor: Robert Burns, Farmer & Aikido Instructor

Robert Burns was a reluctant farmer, he grew up on a Connecticut dairy farm
and fled the farm life as a young man by going into the Marine Corps.
Influenced by a radical organic farmer he worked for in California, Robert
has returned to his family farm and now heads the progressive farmers in
his local Farm Bureau. Burns is an Aikido master and 5th degree black belt,
and his farm has a dojo where he does martial arts training. Today is the
second in a series of posts from this farmer, turned farm food activist.

Connecticut Department of Health Descends on Prosperous Market with Ill
Intent
by Guest Contributor, Robert Burns, Aiki Farms

The drums were sounding, and in the year 2007, after seven glorious years
of happy profitable farmers markets, a retired Army General who has the
title of Commissioner of the Department of Health in Connecticut (DPH) sent
some of his soldiers into the fray of Connecticut Farmers Markets.

Local farmers markets had been operating for over 200 years in the State of
Connecticut. During this time there was never a report of one single case
of food disorder with the exception of two false alarms AFTER the
appearance of the State health officials.

Farmers markets are unique. While there is a lot of rhetoric about
“privatizing,” the bureaucrats eventually wanted more control. The
farmers market, is by nature a private enterprise, led by a market master,
with a bevy of farmers with their displays, all holding itself together
with little or no need for outside forces to control this rich
self-sustained dynamic. Initially, the Connecticut Department of
Agriculture assigned one person, Richard Macsugas, to oversee this well
organized privatized nutritional industry, and document as well as promote
the Farmers Market. Richard  had an uplifting positive spirit and even was
a pioneer in bring the government’s WIC program into the market, to
enable the poor access to farm fresh foods. This soon influenced farm
markets nationwide, enabling those less fortunate to buy real food instead
of junk food with their government aid.

Because the farmers markets were growing, both in attendance, and in
numbers, the General and the DPH decided to “involve themselves” after
200 years of healthy functioning tradition.  They sent out staff members
who were allegedly, “just on vacation and happened to visit farmers
markets”. The pattern was to cite alleged violations (I use the term
alleged as NONE  of their findings had, nor has ever caused illness, nor
did VIOLATE EXPLICIT CODE). We do not know how many “vacationers” were
sent out from the DPH, but we do know of four similar cases, wherein the
State inspectors notified the local inspectors about the violations. Most
local inspectors observed, talked to farmers about health and safety, and
left the farmers market to it’s own. Ironically, there were only two
actual cases of disruption and one was at my market, and without this
disruption, neither my involvement in this farm food movement, nor this
article on this blog would have transpired.

The local inspector in Stonington, after bring briefed by the
“vacationing” State health official, took her briefing so literally she
shut the market down for the following alleged “violations”: 1) The
market master brought coffee from a local restaurant in thermos bottles,
and served hot coffee to raise money for the market; 2) I was cited  for
serving wheat-grass juice at my stall (although I was cleared by Consumer
Protection) 3) Local youths and their lemonade stand, who were actually
paying their college tuition with their highly successful and brilliant
idea to serve lemonade, a stand which had been operating for over three
years. 4) Each and every farmer who offered samples of product.

Thus, in one fell swoop our prosperous farm market was closed by orders of
an official appointed by the Governor.

Over 2,000 ANGRY consumers signed a petition that was immediately
circulated statewide. As a direct result, the market was reopened.

The petition read: WE THE UNDERSIGNED DEPLORE THE PRESENCE OF STATE AND
LOCAL HEALTH OFFICIALS WHO WILLFULLY AND WITH INTENT INTERFERE WITH THE
FLOW OF AGRICULTURAL COMMERCE……………..

Armed with this community support, we began our battle against the forces
who are trying desperately to win both money, via grants,and approval of
huge corporate chemical-agribusiness outfits like Monsanto, DUPONT,
NORVARTIS, Cargill, and so on, and  whose lobbyists, and their state and
federal allies, clamor for approval by attacking small farms, farmers, and
farmers markets.

However, with respects to Barbara Walters, Mr. Polan, Mrs. Obama, and the
citizen ranks now swelling with the support of small farmers,the need for
good fresh healthy produce, we need to REALLY sharpen our teeth and with
the fierceness, and love of self, and our children need to fight harder
than ever to thwart this greedy set of  “CARING HEALTH OFFICIALS,” who
explicitly, instead of doing their job, feel it is “easier” to destroy
a small farm than to take on the real bad guys.

Is the peanut CEO who, with knowledge, gave the OK to process tainted
peanuts being prosecuted quickly? Of course not, let’s wipe out a few
more small farmers, like the Stower family’s Manna Storehouse Food
Cooperative, in Lorain County, Ohio. Let’s attack them with the police,
hold them at gun point, while huge food producers go unscathed. After all,
they are nothing but small farmers.

To this I say, we farmers are the most sacred of the human race. We are
loved by the best, and hated by the worst. We stand between heaven and
earth, have been given the sacred skills to feed our brothers and sisters.
We do our work with love and compassion, and give thanks for the role that
God has bestowed upon us.

Therefore it is both our duty and our obligation to defend this sacred
right, as we defend our own families, our crops, and all that surrounds our
farms. Farmers are to reach out, into our churches, our communities, and if
need be, launch into the sea of the political realm to carry on this fight.

We must gain the allegiance of the entire human race, all those who eat our
food, and share in this wonderful gift of life we have together on this
earth. We need to realize clearly, that some who are alive because we feed
them have a contempt and hatred for us,and who we are. They have neither
understanding nor compassion for either the gift of life, nor the role of
the farmer.

It is these ones we must identify, objectively, and expose to mankind as
the enemies of the human race, and if not defeated, will, as they do now,
seek to destroy us all by a pure and clear absence of COMMON SENSE.
Robert Burns and Ed Begley, Jr.

Robert Burns and Ed Begley, Jr.

A Special Invitation to Hartke is Online! Readers:

Robert cordially invites you to attend a Victory Garden Seminar and Local
Chef’s Feast at his Connecticut Farm on July 12, 2009. Ed Begley, Jr.
will be the celebrity guest for the event. Tickets are $40.00. Please
contact Kimberly at kim.hartke at gmail.com for a pdf invite to the event.

This post is part of Fight Back Fridays on the Food Renegade blog.