(snip)*
Food Fascism in the Land of the Free*
The food industry is no longer a free market. In fact, I'd go as far
as saying it's becoming the most glaring example of
corporate-government fascism in America.
Actual monopolies fully control the basic building blocks of the food
that makes up the majority of the American diet -- and no one seems to
care. Simply put, those who control the corn, wheat, and soybeans
control all food, since all livestock and all processed foods are
dependent on those food resources. These monopolies place their
cronies in government regulatory agencies like the FDA and USDA to
weed out their competition through excessive regulation. Currently
proposed legislation are textbook examples of their methods.
There once was a time when free markets existed for food. Back when
local food ruled the day, if a farmer sold milk that was bad, he would
not get return customers unless he adjusted his practices to make a
healthier product. This free market was self-regulating. In other
words, in a truly free market we shouldn't need the FDA. However, as
mentioned before, we are light years from a free market.
Subsidies rain down on big agribusinesses that grow what the
government tells them to grow. Industry leaders like Cargill,
Monsanto, and Tyson essentially turn farmers into indentured
sharecroppers. The food engineers at General Mills and others weave
corn, wheat, and soybeans into chemical concoctions that end up in
brightly colored packages -- some even come with free Chinese-made
toys. The finished product develops from a Genetically Modified base,
using multiple poisons to glue it together, demonstrating that the
monopolies and their regulatory lapdogs care not for our health."
This bill does nothing to change the actual practices of factory
farming and the way the food for animals is grown and delivered. It
does give the FDA draconian powers to force inspections
<http://www.activistpost.com/2010/08/food-safety-act-more-government-without.html>
to be paid for by the farmers themselves. This can be an effective
tool for the big multinational agri-corporations to further squeeze
out their competition and gain near complete control of food resources
in America. Furthermore, S.510 essentially hands much of the FDA's
duties over to the liberty-smashing Department of Homeland Security --
which is mentioned 41 times in the bill
<http://www.activistpost.com/2010/08/control-of-food-supply-to-be-handed.html>.
One way or another, our corrupt politicians and their corporate
overlords will see to it that there is more regulation over our food.
If this bill passes, we can expect more consolidation in agriculture
and more police-state raids of private health-food cooperatives
<http://www.activistpost.com/2010/08/raiding-and-regulating-new-enemies-in.html>.
Worse yet, this bill may just be the primer for the even more
egregious bill HR.759 Food and Drug Administration Globalization Act
<http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-759>, which fully
restricts local food producers and natural health remedies.
--