Post by Hobbyfarmer on Aug 29, 2011 6:28:49 GMT -5
Jeff Carter
Big Government Kills the Family Farm
Big government isn’t just bad because it is so costly. Big government is toxic because it becomes an over reaching nanny state that tries to protect us from ourselves. Eventually, government reaches its tentacles into our lives and curbs our freedom.
I am going to see this movie, Farmageddon. I am always interested in the plight of the family farmer. One of the reasons I enjoy going to Europe is to eat their fabulous raw milk cheeses. If you haven’t had one you are missing something. America could have a new vibrant industry of raw milk cheese making if we got better and smaller regulation.
Consider it a jobs program!
We have lost a lot of family farmers over the past twenty years in all kinds of farming because government regulations make it too expensive for them to farm. The organic farming movement is NOT the way to feed the world. However, shouldn’t we as citizens be free to choose what we put into our mouths?
I appreciate Michelle Obama’s advocacy on eating good food, but I am very uncomfortable with the new regulations and laws that regulate what we can eat. The Food Pyramid is just another chance for different constituencies to lobby. It has no bearing on how healthy you are. In the past number of years, I have avoided eating what the food pyramid recommends. In the past year, I have cut back on my carbohydrates, cut back on my sweets and alcohol consumption, worked out once a week at CityWideSuperSlow and dropped 30 pounds. Being healthy isn’t rocket science.
It seems whenever the government gets a hold of idea that’s good, it takes it to a level that infringes on your freedom to actually act upon that idea. I love Michelle Obama’s vegetable garden at the White House. But, I don’t like the USDA and their all out attack on farmers. Government regulation is always a slippery slope.
One thing that is consistent about government regulation no matter what the industry. It kills smaller players and favors the big guys. The more government tries to remedy family farms, the less of them we have. The more government fiddles with the banking industry, the less local banks we have. These smaller players develop local markets that fill niches the big guys ignore. Government regulation will kill off niche markets, and destroy the jobs that come with them. Intense government regulation eliminates your freedom. This is all in the name of protecting us from ourselves.
My assumption is that most of the “organic locovores” that shop at farmer’s markets are big time supporters of the Democratic Party. If they really wanted family farms to survive and create new niche markets that create new niche jobs, they might want to vote for candidates that support small government. Right now, that means crossing over and becoming a Tea Partier.
Big government is killing the family farmer. It’s killing off whole potential industries.
Big Government Kills the Family Farm
Big government isn’t just bad because it is so costly. Big government is toxic because it becomes an over reaching nanny state that tries to protect us from ourselves. Eventually, government reaches its tentacles into our lives and curbs our freedom.
I am going to see this movie, Farmageddon. I am always interested in the plight of the family farmer. One of the reasons I enjoy going to Europe is to eat their fabulous raw milk cheeses. If you haven’t had one you are missing something. America could have a new vibrant industry of raw milk cheese making if we got better and smaller regulation.
Consider it a jobs program!
We have lost a lot of family farmers over the past twenty years in all kinds of farming because government regulations make it too expensive for them to farm. The organic farming movement is NOT the way to feed the world. However, shouldn’t we as citizens be free to choose what we put into our mouths?
I appreciate Michelle Obama’s advocacy on eating good food, but I am very uncomfortable with the new regulations and laws that regulate what we can eat. The Food Pyramid is just another chance for different constituencies to lobby. It has no bearing on how healthy you are. In the past number of years, I have avoided eating what the food pyramid recommends. In the past year, I have cut back on my carbohydrates, cut back on my sweets and alcohol consumption, worked out once a week at CityWideSuperSlow and dropped 30 pounds. Being healthy isn’t rocket science.
It seems whenever the government gets a hold of idea that’s good, it takes it to a level that infringes on your freedom to actually act upon that idea. I love Michelle Obama’s vegetable garden at the White House. But, I don’t like the USDA and their all out attack on farmers. Government regulation is always a slippery slope.
One thing that is consistent about government regulation no matter what the industry. It kills smaller players and favors the big guys. The more government tries to remedy family farms, the less of them we have. The more government fiddles with the banking industry, the less local banks we have. These smaller players develop local markets that fill niches the big guys ignore. Government regulation will kill off niche markets, and destroy the jobs that come with them. Intense government regulation eliminates your freedom. This is all in the name of protecting us from ourselves.
My assumption is that most of the “organic locovores” that shop at farmer’s markets are big time supporters of the Democratic Party. If they really wanted family farms to survive and create new niche markets that create new niche jobs, they might want to vote for candidates that support small government. Right now, that means crossing over and becoming a Tea Partier.
Big government is killing the family farmer. It’s killing off whole potential industries.