The industry’s reliance on mass culling, vaccines and “biosecurity measures” fails to address the root cause of so many food safety and food security crises: an unnatural, high-stress, squalid system.
I have looked at the factory farming system for years, and have even written about it (https://substack.com/@wayneteel513055). Elizabeth Kucinich is correct in her analysis of the system. This does not imply the farmers are bad people, it is a systemic problem, and the farmers are coerced into participating. We need to change the system, and that will start from the bottom up, not from the corporations. The same corporations that give you bland, badly raised chickens, are also deforesting the Amazon - JBS and Cargill. Might as well name names.
Absolutely. Look into HJR 54, the We The People amendment successfull introduced into the 118th congress by Rep Jayapal, now looking again for cosponsors to reintroduce into this 119th session. It removes ALL corporate rights as persons from the constitution, not only Citizen United.
Unless/until government regulations are changed, it's up to the individual consumer to find local farms that practice pastured/regenerative ag and support those farmers directly. Our money as consumers is worth more than we think it is.
These alternative forms of exploitation require more land, and more input over longer periods of time, making them less efficient and worse for the environment. They cannot be scaled up to meet demand. They're still breeding grounds for diseases.
And this when animal-based protein production is already inefficient by default.
Why are we so attached to dominating, exploiting and killing other beings when not only is it unnecessary, but grossly unethical and harmful to everyone involved? Respect, dignity and humanity can't be reconciled with exploitation and violence.
Pasture/regenerative ag is little more than an exercise in green- and humane-washing.
"It is the position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics that appropriately planned vegetarian, including vegan, diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits for the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. These diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, adolescence, older adulthood, and for athletes. Plant-based diets are more environmentally sustainable than diets rich in animal products because they use fewer natural resources and are associated with much less environmental damage. "
When I was a ranch hand, I lived close by on my own property (I used the ranch's equipment to farm my plot). I bought a dozen Rhode Island Red chicks, raised them, built a pen where they lived with my brood sow and her piglets, and had such an abundance of eggs that I traded them to neighbors for milk and vegetables. They ate the wheat I grew, as did the pigs (as did I).
My experience cannot be widely duplicated, but it speaks to the need to de-energize and de-centralize our current system. Every city dweller could have a small flock of poultry as well as kitchen gardens, and organic agriculture could supply what else people need.
You are so right. If you ever tasted our eggs, our chickens run free in a huge pen, and are loved, you would for sure know the difference. They are healthy chickens. Why people don't scream about the way these animals are treated.
Thank you, Mrs Kuvinich for addressing something vital to all of us. With ignorant steps chosen by ignorant people, we would be left with no food at all. Nieves are allowed to choose animals that may have induced illness if they are injected with any of the mRNA vaccines. It is acknowledged by almost everyone that the PCR test us a protein assay if done sort and is not a valid test for any disease. How can we get rid of all reliance on the “test” and prevent any future use of a process unsuited for disease testing? Thank you do very much for addressing this matter.
I was with you right up until you wrote that our public health measures against Covid were a mistake. I hate how farming works, but if you wanted informed people to join your crusade against farm cruelty, you wouldn't be blending in your crazy notions about past public health measures. You are thereby filtering us out, and I have to attribute this to stupidity, rather than intent, since you seem to care genuinely about animals.
Clearly you have never read a medical study or done anything but listen to your favorite corporate talking head. It has long been established that SCIENCE did not support one thing in the COVID response. Those of us who were informed, including thousands of medical school professors, spoke up about the COVID idiocy from the beginning. There was never one bit of science behind any of it--lockdowns, masks, school closings, social distancing, 'preferred' hospital treatments--the whole lot. That is why the pandemic response plan which was already in place before COVID recommended NONE of those things. Furthermore, the response led to far more deaths than would have happened without it--which is why the US had one of the worst death rates in the world, worse than some third world countries. Even so, the worldwide death rate from COVID, which is probably an overcount because many people never reported their illness, stands at .2%. In my own county it was .004%. Dr. John Ioannides, the foremost world expert on pandemics, reported this very early in the pandemic--in other words, it wasn't even a pandemic to start with. The death rate among children stands at statistical zero, so there was never a reason to close schools or mask children. Oh, and incidentally, I am a leftist, so before you start your bullshit about "the science" or "right wing," I'm here to tell you that you don't know what the hell you're talking about.
Mrs Kucinich and others who know the PCR ”test” is phony and being used to cull valuable food. If you think her studies and stance is incorrect, what are you doing here? You should find a Soros follower and write to them.
"Stupid" is far more applicable when people refuse to consult both sides of an issue, stubbornly insisting their side is true, so true that they need not expose themselves to competing arguments.
People like David won't even spend 30 seconds listening or reading the other side's arguments. They have absolutely no clue what they are disagreeing with, and their hubris suggests they will never know. They smugly chuckle thinking they are so much smarter than those other idiots, when their smug chuckle reveals their own ignorance and cruelty.
Thank you for this!!! So sensible. Will we address the demise of the family farm, now overrun by corporations? Please support the We The People amendment (HJR 54) which removes ALL constitutional rights of corporations as people, not just Citizens United. It lies at the root of so many of our issues today.
Remember the adage? “You are what you eat”? Well today, “You are what the animal you eat, has eaten”, would be more accurate. What do you think is of more importance to Trump Republicans? The health and very lives of America’s Children or their top 1% tax breaks? Not only is food costing more with upcoming tariffs it will become more & more toxic as love of money Musk & company deregulate more agencies!
Financial inflation is the driving force behind the centralization of business, whether it be Primary or Secondary. It continues as managers look to 'economies of scale' and 'factory farming' to reduce costs but to no avail! Finance is also a world-wide phenomena that destroys all and sundry ... this must be attended to with 'The Fed's' money creation POWER curbed!
Excellent Elizabeth, thank you. Yes we need to change the system and harness tax incentives for small farms. Here are ten key points from the summary of a paper I presented to the PA Legislative Committee on Agriculture that will get us going in the right direction. Removing taes from labor and production and shifting the tax based to the commons rent aka land value taxation will:
• Discourage speculation in land
• Reduce the price of land to equate with its value for production
• Enable new entrants to more easily obtain land
• Limit farm sizes to those of the most productive units
• Enable the reduction of taxation on earnings and capital
• Reduce interest rates as land became more affordable
• Prevent rural depopulation
• Discourage urban sprawl on farm land
• Encourage owner-occupation rather than absentee ownership
This is the kind of truth that’s impossible to unsee. Factory farming isn’t just an animal welfare crisis—it’s a public health disaster, an environmental catastrophe, and a betrayal of real nutrition. Your breakdown of the systemic failures is brutal, necessary, and deeply compelling.
With so much industry resistance to real change, what do you think is the most effective action individuals can take right now to push for a better food system?
Elizabeth - From my research paper presented to the PA State Legislative Agriculture Committee on why shifting taxes off of farm income and buildings and onto the "commons rent" (aka land value taxation) , ten points on how this will give incentives to small farms and regenerative agriculture:
• Discourage speculation in land
• Reduce the price of land to equate with its value for production
• Enable new entrants to more easily obtain land
• Limit farm sizes to those of the most productive units
• Enable the reduction of taxation on earnings and capital
• Reduce interest rates as land became more affordable
• Prevent rural depopulation
• Discourage urban sprawl on farm land
• Encourage owner-occupation rather than absentee ownership
I have looked at the factory farming system for years, and have even written about it (https://substack.com/@wayneteel513055). Elizabeth Kucinich is correct in her analysis of the system. This does not imply the farmers are bad people, it is a systemic problem, and the farmers are coerced into participating. We need to change the system, and that will start from the bottom up, not from the corporations. The same corporations that give you bland, badly raised chickens, are also deforesting the Amazon - JBS and Cargill. Might as well name names.
Absolutely. Look into HJR 54, the We The People amendment successfull introduced into the 118th congress by Rep Jayapal, now looking again for cosponsors to reintroduce into this 119th session. It removes ALL corporate rights as persons from the constitution, not only Citizen United.
Unless/until government regulations are changed, it's up to the individual consumer to find local farms that practice pastured/regenerative ag and support those farmers directly. Our money as consumers is worth more than we think it is.
These alternative forms of exploitation require more land, and more input over longer periods of time, making them less efficient and worse for the environment. They cannot be scaled up to meet demand. They're still breeding grounds for diseases.
And this when animal-based protein production is already inefficient by default.
https://ourworldindata.org/agricultural-land-by-global-diets
Why are we so attached to dominating, exploiting and killing other beings when not only is it unnecessary, but grossly unethical and harmful to everyone involved? Respect, dignity and humanity can't be reconciled with exploitation and violence.
Pasture/regenerative ag is little more than an exercise in green- and humane-washing.
"It is the position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics that appropriately planned vegetarian, including vegan, diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits for the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. These diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, adolescence, older adulthood, and for athletes. Plant-based diets are more environmentally sustainable than diets rich in animal products because they use fewer natural resources and are associated with much less environmental damage. "
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27886704/
"Eating a Vegan Diet Reduces Grocery Bill 16%, a Savings of More Than $500 a Year, Finds New Research"
https://www.pcrm.org/news/news-releases/eating-vegan-diet-reduces-grocery-bill-16-savings-more-500-year-finds-new
This is of critical importance. Every person in Congress and the Senate needs to be harassed about this issue until it has penetrated their brains.
When I was a ranch hand, I lived close by on my own property (I used the ranch's equipment to farm my plot). I bought a dozen Rhode Island Red chicks, raised them, built a pen where they lived with my brood sow and her piglets, and had such an abundance of eggs that I traded them to neighbors for milk and vegetables. They ate the wheat I grew, as did the pigs (as did I).
My experience cannot be widely duplicated, but it speaks to the need to de-energize and de-centralize our current system. Every city dweller could have a small flock of poultry as well as kitchen gardens, and organic agriculture could supply what else people need.
You are so right. If you ever tasted our eggs, our chickens run free in a huge pen, and are loved, you would for sure know the difference. They are healthy chickens. Why people don't scream about the way these animals are treated.
How can you exploit those you love?
That light ✨️ yous are shining is getting brighter. Please keep on shining.
With me, those big farms are going down big time!
Thank you, Mrs Kuvinich for addressing something vital to all of us. With ignorant steps chosen by ignorant people, we would be left with no food at all. Nieves are allowed to choose animals that may have induced illness if they are injected with any of the mRNA vaccines. It is acknowledged by almost everyone that the PCR test us a protein assay if done sort and is not a valid test for any disease. How can we get rid of all reliance on the “test” and prevent any future use of a process unsuited for disease testing? Thank you do very much for addressing this matter.
Turley Thornton
35 Kit Carson LN
Lubbock, TX 79404
I was with you right up until you wrote that our public health measures against Covid were a mistake. I hate how farming works, but if you wanted informed people to join your crusade against farm cruelty, you wouldn't be blending in your crazy notions about past public health measures. You are thereby filtering us out, and I have to attribute this to stupidity, rather than intent, since you seem to care genuinely about animals.
Clearly you have never read a medical study or done anything but listen to your favorite corporate talking head. It has long been established that SCIENCE did not support one thing in the COVID response. Those of us who were informed, including thousands of medical school professors, spoke up about the COVID idiocy from the beginning. There was never one bit of science behind any of it--lockdowns, masks, school closings, social distancing, 'preferred' hospital treatments--the whole lot. That is why the pandemic response plan which was already in place before COVID recommended NONE of those things. Furthermore, the response led to far more deaths than would have happened without it--which is why the US had one of the worst death rates in the world, worse than some third world countries. Even so, the worldwide death rate from COVID, which is probably an overcount because many people never reported their illness, stands at .2%. In my own county it was .004%. Dr. John Ioannides, the foremost world expert on pandemics, reported this very early in the pandemic--in other words, it wasn't even a pandemic to start with. The death rate among children stands at statistical zero, so there was never a reason to close schools or mask children. Oh, and incidentally, I am a leftist, so before you start your bullshit about "the science" or "right wing," I'm here to tell you that you don't know what the hell you're talking about.
Mrs Kucinich and others who know the PCR ”test” is phony and being used to cull valuable food. If you think her studies and stance is incorrect, what are you doing here? You should find a Soros follower and write to them.
TRT in Texas
"attribute this to stupidity"
"Stupid" is far more applicable when people refuse to consult both sides of an issue, stubbornly insisting their side is true, so true that they need not expose themselves to competing arguments.
People like David won't even spend 30 seconds listening or reading the other side's arguments. They have absolutely no clue what they are disagreeing with, and their hubris suggests they will never know. They smugly chuckle thinking they are so much smarter than those other idiots, when their smug chuckle reveals their own ignorance and cruelty.
Thank you for this!!! So sensible. Will we address the demise of the family farm, now overrun by corporations? Please support the We The People amendment (HJR 54) which removes ALL constitutional rights of corporations as people, not just Citizens United. It lies at the root of so many of our issues today.
Remember the adage? “You are what you eat”? Well today, “You are what the animal you eat, has eaten”, would be more accurate. What do you think is of more importance to Trump Republicans? The health and very lives of America’s Children or their top 1% tax breaks? Not only is food costing more with upcoming tariffs it will become more & more toxic as love of money Musk & company deregulate more agencies!
You are what your burger ate!
It looks like it is a world-wide phenomena! See here,too.
https://alternativesx.substack.com/p/in-defense-of-the-family-farm
Financial inflation is the driving force behind the centralization of business, whether it be Primary or Secondary. It continues as managers look to 'economies of scale' and 'factory farming' to reduce costs but to no avail! Finance is also a world-wide phenomena that destroys all and sundry ... this must be attended to with 'The Fed's' money creation POWER curbed!
Go Elizabeth!
Excellent article and important ideas.
Excellent Elizabeth, thank you. Yes we need to change the system and harness tax incentives for small farms. Here are ten key points from the summary of a paper I presented to the PA Legislative Committee on Agriculture that will get us going in the right direction. Removing taes from labor and production and shifting the tax based to the commons rent aka land value taxation will:
• Discourage speculation in land
• Reduce the price of land to equate with its value for production
• Enable new entrants to more easily obtain land
• Limit farm sizes to those of the most productive units
• Enable the reduction of taxation on earnings and capital
• Reduce interest rates as land became more affordable
• Prevent rural depopulation
• Discourage urban sprawl on farm land
• Encourage owner-occupation rather than absentee ownership
• Promote more responsible use of land.
for more go to theIU.org/resources/books
This is the kind of truth that’s impossible to unsee. Factory farming isn’t just an animal welfare crisis—it’s a public health disaster, an environmental catastrophe, and a betrayal of real nutrition. Your breakdown of the systemic failures is brutal, necessary, and deeply compelling.
With so much industry resistance to real change, what do you think is the most effective action individuals can take right now to push for a better food system?
Elizabeth - From my research paper presented to the PA State Legislative Agriculture Committee on why shifting taxes off of farm income and buildings and onto the "commons rent" (aka land value taxation) , ten points on how this will give incentives to small farms and regenerative agriculture:
• Discourage speculation in land
• Reduce the price of land to equate with its value for production
• Enable new entrants to more easily obtain land
• Limit farm sizes to those of the most productive units
• Enable the reduction of taxation on earnings and capital
• Reduce interest rates as land became more affordable
• Prevent rural depopulation
• Discourage urban sprawl on farm land
• Encourage owner-occupation rather than absentee ownership
• Promote more responsible use of land.
for more go to theIU.org/resources/books