Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Food Rights: The Escalating Battle Over Who Decides What We Eat

by David E. Gumpert

Do Americans have the right to privately obtain the foods of our choice from farmers, neighbors, and local producers, in the same way our grandparents and great grandparents used to do? Yes, say a growing number of people increasingly afraid that the mass-produced food sold at supermarkets is excessively processed, tainted with antibiotic residues and hormones, and lacking in important nutrients. These people, a million or more, are seeking foods outside the regulatory system, like raw milk, custom-slaughtered beef, and pastured eggs from chickens raised without soy, purchased directly from private membership-only food clubs that contract with Amish and other farmers. Public-health and agriculture regulators, however, say Americans have no inherent right to eat what they want. In today's ever-more-dangerous food-safety environment, they argue, all food, no matter the source, must be closely regulated, and even barred, if it fails to meet certain standards. These regulators, headed up by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, with help from state agriculture departments, police, and district-attorney detectives, are mounting intense and sophisticated investigative campaigns against farms and food clubs supplying privately exchanged food-even handcuffing and hauling off to jail, under threat of lengthy prison terms, those deemed in violation of food laws. Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Food Rights takes readers on a disturbing cross-country journey from Maine to California through a netherworld of Amish farmers paying big fees to questionable advisers to avoid the quagmire of America's legal system, secret food police lurking in vans at farmers markets, cultish activists preaching the benefits of pathogens, U.S. Justice Department lawyers clashing with local sheriffs, small Maine towns passing ordinances to ban regulation, and suburban moms worried enough about the dangers of supermarket food that they'll risk fines and jail to feed their children unprocessed, and unregulated, foods of their choosing. Out of the intensity of this unprecedented crackdown, and the creative and spirited opposition that is rising to meet it, a new rallying cry for food rights is emerging.

Genres: Food, Nonfiction, Politics

264 pages, Paperback

First published June 5, 2013

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is not very well-written and, despite what the title might lead you to believe, is not about food rights in general, but raw milk in particular. This is all material that has been covered better and more concisely by the documentary Farmaggedon. By focusing on raw milk, and specifically raw milk providers and cases tied to Rawesome foods in LA, the author misses the opportunity to talk about other food right's issues - such as GMOs, bake sale bans, urban/HOA gardening bans, soda bans, etc. Many of the primary people featured in this book are also, frankly, unsympathetic. Paranoid wackadoodles and previously convicted criminals really aren't the people you want as the face of a movement. They are the fringe extreme and it diminishes the power of the argument - since many average Americans want access to raw milk and other foods that bureaucrats want to limit or outright ban. That said, some of the quotes from government documents within this books are very telling in regards to how government agents view the American people. If they believe we have no right to choose even the food we put in our body (an actual quote from a Wisconsin judge, early on in the book) - what other essential rights and freedoms are being curtailed every day? That is very, very, disconcerting.

[Roger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slightly meandering text.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is really an eye-opening book. While I was more than aware of the evils of conventional factory farming, I wasn’t as aware of how much pressure the government tries to put on smaller traditional farms who are trying to operate outside of the conventional factory method. This book focuses on a few cases of smaller traditional farmers and food clubs or herdshares that were targeted and shut down or prosecuted for not following food laws. Many of these stories involve raw milk which has become the catalyst issue for food rights. While the laws on raw milk vary from state to state, many of the stories in this book were of people operating under the radar of the law – or trying to. If the public sale of raw milk is illegal, what about a herdshare agreement or private food club? These issues are being decided across the country right now. What is more of a fundamental right than the right to choose what kind of food goes into your body?! And this is not about food safety – it’s about governmental power and control. Gumpert does a great job exploring this appalling issue through a few examples. This will really make you think and I agree with the author that we need more small farmers and the people who support them and want to buy their food to move into civil disobedience against these ridiculous laws. If you don’t already support your local lunatic farmer and stand up for local food rights in your area!

Some quotes I really liked:

“But, today, the U.S. government denies perhaps the most fundamental right: freedom of food choice. After all, what good is it to possess the right to own guns, assemble, speak, or worship if we can’t choose good fuel for our bodies to propel us to shoot, pray, or preach? Is not food even more basic than religion? What religion can you practice without food?” (p. x from the Introduction by Joel Salatin)

“While most small farms that sell directly to consumers, including Meadowsweet, actively encourage their customers to visit and learn about how their food is produced, large corporate producers often try to keep shocking images of vast crowded animal holding areas off-limits to public scrutiny. After several videos of farm animal abuse were publicized, a number of states with a substantial number of farms owned by major corporations – Iowa, Utah, Florida, Illinois, and Minnesota – actually promoted legislation that would make it illegal for anyone to film CAFO farms undercover.” (p. 31)

“The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund sprang up on July 4, 2007, to protect the rights of farmers and consumers being prosecuted for dispensing foods privately. One of its first cases involved defending Meadowsweet Dairy, which I described earlier in this chapter. In early 2010, it challenged the FDA in a federal court suit on behalf of ten plaintiffs, arguing that the agency’s ban on interstate shipments of raw milk interfered with individual rights to privacy and due process. The case was notable for prompting the FDA, in a motion to dismiss the case, to declare that Americans have ‘no absolute right to consume or feed children any particular food.’ Its rationale? ‘Comprehensive federal regulations of the food supply has been in effect at least since Congress enacted the Pure Food and Drugs Act of 1906, and was strengthened by the passage of the FDCA [Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act] in 1938. Thus, plantiffs’ claim to a fundamental privacy interest in obtaining ‘foods of their own choice’ for themselves and their families is without merit.’” (p. 34-5)

“Despite raw milk being for many centuries one of mankind’s most important foods, its seventy-five-year downfall during the chaos of the Industrial Revolution resulted in it becoming not only the first processed food, but the first food in American history to be banned or sharply limited in its raw form. Because the restrictions occurred gradually (over a period of more than half a century) and the evidence seemed so convincing, the enormity of what happened – that an important precedent had been set that allowed public authorities to ban or curtail food deemed ‘dangerous’ so as to ‘protect’ us – went largely unnoticed.” (p. 45)

[Anna Berceau · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an interesting topic in which I'd like to be more educated, but I did not care for this book. The writing style was unprofessional and at times difficult to follow. I had a very difficult time getting absorbed by any part of this book, and found myself feeling far more critical than sympathetic towards his case.

[Rebecca Messer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not finish. Too much about raw milk and too dated.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book read like a novel to me. I don't think I have ever read nonfiction so quickly. I found Gumpert to be an engaging journalist who skillfully walks the line between reporting facts and keeping the reader interested. Although he obviously sympathizes with those on the side of food freedom, I was surprised at how well he avoided bias in his reporting. In this volume he reports on the rise of Federal and State control over what and how food is grown, produced and distributed in our country. He follows the stories of various significant government raids and court cases over the past few years that appear to be part of a national movement toward limiting food rights. Most of the cases he selects are directly related to raw dairy (I would have liked to see him branch out a bit to other types of food that have become issues in the food freedom debate) Shockingly, judges have been recorded as saying that Americans have no fundamental right to eat whatever they want. There is also a raging political and legal debate over how much control farmers have to produce and distribute food from their farm. It is clear from this book that the laws are vague and inconsistently applied. Different regulatory climates swing between strict enforcement and open permissiveness. The only way farmer's know when the climate is changing is when the food police start raiding farms and closing down operations, a move which obviously causes great financial and personal stress for farming families. The big question this book tackles is if it appropriate and legal for the government (federal, state or local) to force oversight on farmers who sell directly to local consumers. If the farmer and the consumer are happy with the products and have no complaints about the arrangement, is there any reason for the government to force regulation on the transaction? Interestingly, the author really doesn't answer this but allows the reader to draw his/her own conclusions. I also respected the author's unbiased journalism in that he did not portray all the proponents of food rights as righteous saints (some of the characters in the movement are very possibly unethical opportunitsts). Neither does he demonize the government people who carry out the raids or participate in the trails (he clearly makes reference to certain members of the regulating bodies who have confessed discomfort with the proceedings). He makes some speculation about the possibility of a nationwide fight against local, raw foods but makes it clear that this is speculation and doesn't travel the path of outright conspiracy theory (although you could easily start down that path). Gumpert does an excellent job of describing the change in political climate and highlighting some of the major factors influencing the change. I recommend this reading for anyone who wants to learn more about how our rights to farm and obtain food outside of the standard food system are slowly being regulated away. Do not expect, however, that this book with provide any information about how to fight this regulatory change or what next steps may be for the food rights movement. Gumpert is merely analyzing the current regulatory climate and the recent past that brought us to this point.

[Gemini · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such an eye opener that it made me even more angry to learn about the shit that the gov't does to the little people. I mean do they really have nothing better to do? Such ridiculousness. Let me just say that I don't drink dairy cow milk. I am astonished at how the gov't decided to regulate this whole thing regarding raw milk. Which is basically what this book is about. But to find out how each state has it's own regulations about what farmers can & can't do regarding the selling of raw milk is just out of control. I mean seriously, if you want to buy it & drink it go for it, if you think it's not your thing, then don't. They make such an issue by going to people's small farms & infringe on their rights by essentially shutting them down for some bullcrap excuse or regulation that it's sickening. I find it so pathetic that they have to actually monitor these folks that spend several hours crossing state lines to get something they can't in their own state. Simply stupid. What's worse is these small farmers have been not only arrested & put in jail for selling milk but they have these outrageous $10k+ bonds to get them out. They are not criminals & treating them as such is such an infringement on their human rights. So, yeah read this just so you can see how out of touch the gov't is with what really matters like going after factory farms.

[Doris Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is shocking. Seems the federal government has maneuvered its agents into place in federal agencies such as the FDA and agriculture so that the big food companies and Monsanto control the food supply.

Milk was the first food to be required to be processed in the early 1900's and Michigan was the first state to make possession of raw milk a criminal offense.

Where are we going with this? Recently a private food club called Rawesome in Santa Monica, California was shut down with a show of government force by police, FBI and various government agencies. The agents threw away $80,000.00 of food and milk.

This author gives facts and names names, such as Scarlett Treviso, the undercover agent who gathered evidence to arrest and bring court and convict three of the workers. One of those convicted was merely a volunteer at a farmers' market. Shocking!

Unbelievable that in a recent court case a judge decided that any farmer drinking milk from his own cow on his own farm is committing a crime. This author gives documented fact. Shocking tales of government bullying and controlling what we can eat.

This book may make you angry!

[The American Conservative]

"Whatever the future holds for food-culture fringe-dwellers, Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Food Rights is a compelling account of their clashes with government. Gumpert fosters a sense of justified outrage at the plight of the farmers who have lost their livelihood after these prosecutions. It shouldn’t be an ordeal, or require shady legal arrangements, to purchase or supply high-quality food."

Read the full review, "The Fight for Food Rights," on our website:
http://www.theamericanconservative.co...

[University of Chicago Magazine]

David E. Gumpert, AB’68
Author

From our pages (Nov–Dec/13): "Food policy journalist David E. Gumpert argues that government regulators are “increasingly cracking down—physically and legally—on farmers, suburban moms, and clubs exchanging food on a private basis.” Consumers concerned about negative effects from mass-produced, processed foods have asserted a right to buy directly from farmers and neighbors. Activists among them have established what Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Food Rights celebrates as 'a creative and spirited opposition' to government overreach."

[Jolene Brink · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've never felt more incensed by U.S. over regulation of food, especially food produced in good faith by small farmers. Gumpert has a a clear stated-bias. He sides with food clubs and their raw milk producers as he sorts through the legal language of various trials, but I'm left his one-sided view and the books ends with an unfinished note. For a book that reads like a call to arms, it would benefit from including more resources, maps, and a vision for what comes next.

[Alex Lewin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A timely book.

Read this if you are interested in food, individual rights, government regulation, etc.

Great exploration of the tension between individual rights and regulation.

When the government stops serving the people and starts simply accumulating power, it has failed.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was mostly about raw milk, I wanted a more comprehensive view of food rights. The movie "Farmageddon" covers a lot of what is in this book and will take less time than reading it.

[Heather Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was well researched and well written but I still struggled to get through the book. Was a lot of the same stories, repetitive injustice of the current food system, bad governmental agencies, etc.

[Andrew Hodgson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A depressing story about the FDA, USDA, and CDC. The cat of characters is not very sympathetic though. I believe in for rights and had no idea things were this bad. We support our local farmers and are getting into homesteading. If everyone grows something, that would be all the civil disobedience needed. Without that step I think good rights are in trouble