Freedom. This word is used so often I think most of us forget what the true meaning is. Freedom, noun : The power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Absence of subjection to foreign domination or despotic government.

  Knowing that definition would you say you have freedom? What about in what you choose to eat, or grow on your land. If you answered yes, you may want to think again. Did you know it is illegal in most states to sell unpasteurized milk (straight from cow) to your neighbor, best friend, or stranger? When my great Grandmother was growing up, she told us how they would drink the milk minutes after the cow was milked, or how they would take the milk into town and sell it. It doesn’t stop with milk though. Up until recently it was illegal to sell pickles, that you made yourself, at a farmers market. Something my grandmother used to make all the time! Why in the past 50 years have these things all of a sudden become “unsafe”? Honestly, I have never heard of someone dying from eating a pickle. 

  I am going to dig deep now. Some people will get uncomfortable with what I say, but the sad thing is, it’s true. We no longer have freedom in this country we call “Land of the Free”. We are bond servants to our government. Don’t pay the government money to stay on YOUR property (taxes)? Jail. Grow a plant the government deems “unsafe”? Jail. Sell raw milk to your friend? Jail. Our leaders want us to think if they can’t tell you what to do, you aren’t “safe”. We have given up freedoms in the name of “safety”. As a kid I grew up drinking unpasteurized apple cider. You could buy it in the the stores, or at the orchard. Now, it’s very hard to find unpasteurized cider. Go into your grocery store, look at the fruit juices. They heat them until there’s nothing much left.  Now I can see why some people are scared to drink raw milk. But if you know the farmer, you go to the farm and see if they keep their barns clean, and milking stations clean, you might be more inclined to buy milk from them. Have you ever thought that maybe the milk in the store is pasteurized because of how unclean these massive milking farms are? Maybe we should go back to how it was when my great grandmother was alive, where only local farms produced the goods for that area. 

  But why is it important to have farm and food freedom? If you truly want to live in a country that is “Land of the Free” are you willing to make decisions for yourself on whether or not you should eat something, or grow something? Imagine for a moment you have worked for hours on a special meal for your family. You sit down to finally enjoy this meal, and suddenly you are surrounded by police. They tell you that the food you just prepared isn’t safe, take it away, and leave you there with some packaged food made in a factory. Wouldn’t you be a little upset they are saying something you just made isn’t safe? Wouldn’t you question whether or not you have the wisdom to decide for yourself what is safe for your family? We are being told every day what we should and should not eat. Don’t eat butter, eat this chemical substitute for butter instead, Don’t drink that milk, drink this milk like liquid that hardly resembles milk instead. 

If you eat food (which i hope you do), you should be concerned with what is happening with our freedoms. We need to stand up and say “ENOUGH!” when those greedy hands reach for your plate. One way to get started is by joining a group who stands up for farm and food freedom in your state. (If you live in Virginia www.vicfa.org is a great organization that is constantly fighting for these freedoms). The time is NOW to stand up, and fight for your piece of the “Land of the Free”. Let’s not be a bond servant to someone else and obey their orders when it comes to what YOU put in YOUR body. 

What are you going to do? Sit back and watch them take your freedoms away one by one? Or are you going to tell them you have had enough?