by Dr. Stephanie Coxon, America Outloud:
Henry Kissinger once famously said, “Control oil and you control nations; control food and you control people.” While those words were spoken in the 1970s, they seem to be one of the more accurate statements today.
We have all seen empty shelves and difficulty acquiring certain items or brands at our local grocery stores. “Supply chain issues” are being blamed, which is a part of it, but it’s not the whole story. Everything from labor shortages at food processors and manufacturers to trucking and transportation issues at ports and hubs adds to the crisis. Of course, when work is de-incentivized via government stimulus checks and programs that reward lack of effort, labor issues can be expected. We’ve also seen backlogs and inventory issues caused by Covid shutdowns of plants here in the US and worldwide, affecting our food supply. Those issues are still occurring in China.
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Something more seems to be at play at the origin of our food supply. Currently, two of the most prominent investors and purchasers of American farmland are the Chinese and Bill Gates. That can’t be good now or for the long haul. Government interference in how farmers are able to do their jobs is also causing issues. The USDA and other government agencies at the state and federal levels continue to produce mandates and regulations that prohibit or impede farmers from doing what they know and are able to do best. Farmers are asked to monitor and report everything, including the amount of manure their livestock produces (climate change…we all know that hurricanes are largely produced by cow manure and farts, right?).
Many of the regulations imposed by farmers are written by government officials who have never stepped foot on a farm! There has been a shift directly because of the policies. One example is the Amish in the Lancaster area. The Amish usually pay about $100 an acre to farm someone’s land, yet, the Department of Agriculture is paying $700 an acre not to farm that land. Interesting policy during a plandemic where not all food was available.
Throughout history, many mass famines and starvation of people have occurred because of government direction. Hitler, Stalin, and Mao – were all dictators who controlled their populations and murdered millions through famine and food. Sure, draught and weather issues dramatically affect food production, but no good dictator has ever let something like a draught go to waste.
The great famine that occurred in China in the 50s and early 60s that resulted in the starvation of millions was primarily the result of government interference. The Communist government wanted to control the people, so they pushed to move farmers into collectives and urban centers versus rural areas. As the food supply was impacted, the Communist government got further involved. They told the farmers to kill the birds who ate too much of the crops. With no birds, the insect population increased, eating more crops. They then told the farmers to plant crops more densely, thinking that if the farmers just put more seeds in the ground, there would be more food. However, the reverse happened because farmers know that to produce more, you actually have to sow, thin, and prune. But bureaucrats knew better!
Government interference with agriculture is now happening in the United States today. President Biden recently said that the government will soon be able to tell farmers what to plant and when. Sound like 1950s China? In Lancaster County, PA, an Amish farmer who grew and supplied food for more than 4,000 happy customers was recently shut down for supposed violations and unwillingness to comply with government mandates. Good, fresh, organic food isn’t in the government’s playbook. The USDA recently issued a statement asking all those with backyard gardens to register their gardens with the federal government. Why in the world does the government need to know, nor should they know about the tomatoes and lettuce I grow in my backyard? A hard NO – none of their business. And even worse, we continue to hear reports about farmers being paid to intentionally stop growing crops or to destroy crops in the field (see above paragraph).
Along with government interference, increasing inflation is affecting farmers and the people who eat food (that would be all of us). Food prices increased 13% in August and 8% in September and showed no signs of slowing. At a recent community meeting, a farmer shared that the main reasons US farmers are the most productive farmers in the world are equipment powered by diesel and fertilizers. Shortages and exponential price increases of both are making it difficult, if not impossible, for farmers to earn a profit to maintain their work and feed their own families.
Various agriculture groups have shared that a more significant concern is that if farmers cannot make a living, they will stop farming altogether, creating bigger issues concerning food prices and availability – because there will be even less food produced. Of course, Bill Gates and the Chinese are looking for more farmland to purchase…but I digress.
While food costs and other basic needs represent a disproportionate share of household budgets for low-income families, households at all income levels are beginning to feel the pinch. Consider these statistics from “US Consumer Spending Report,” Morning Consult, April 2022: Housing, groceries, and gas alone accounted for 52% of total household spending in March. Surveys of all US adults expressing concerns over food affordability set a new “series high” in March, with 16.5% of respondents saying they are not confident in their ability to pay their monthly grocery bill. This was across all household income levels.
Food pantries report an average 25% increase in clients seeking food assistance. In some cases, pantries are seeing more people than they did at the height of the pandemic. But our charitable food system is yet another example of government control. Did you know that the majority of charitable food is distributed through a national system that the federal government largely bankrolls? Did you know that if your local church pantry accepts food from those nationally affiliated food banks, they are often paying for that food – and those prices from the “food banks” are increasing, impacting the local pantries and feeding programs’ ability to serve the underserved?
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