Free Republic

There is a war on food. As an absolute necessity of life, this seems like a ridiculously counterintuitive thing to do, but there you go.Why is food suddenly a bad thing? Easy peasy: Farming uses nitrogen, and nitrogen is being blamed for global warming, so of course it must be eliminated. In the name of saving the planet, huge swaths of global food production are being targeted."Rice is to blame for around 10% of global emissions of methane, a gas that over two decades, traps about 80 times as much heat as carbon dioxide," intones the AP. "Scientists say that...

Central Wisconsin communities are coordinating efforts to shine a light into the flickering shadow cast by a looming wind turbine industry.“There is a revolt happening here,” attorney Marti Machtan told The Epoch Times. “I’ve never seen our communities engage like this in my life.”Machtan is a member of Farmland First, an organization that aims to facilitate discussion among community members concerned about reported coercive, predatory tactics used by industrial wind companies to manipulate landowners into signing their property rights away in the name of green energy.“These companies are sneaky about it,” Tom Wilcox— also a member of Farmland First and...

WowThe European Union is officially insane. The buyout scheme prohibits Dutch farmers from moving to other countries and starting up farms abroad, meaning that their knowledge and expertise would be lost.— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 4, 2023With something this draconian, this beyond all comprehension, I guess “Wow” is about all you can say, huh?Holy smokes. But it’s for real. The European Commission on Tuesday said it had approved two Dutch plans worth a combined 1.47 billion euros ($1.61 billion) to buy out livestock farmers to reduce nitrogen pollution, saying they are permissible under state aid rules.The Dutch need to reduce...

France is in flames. Israel is erupting. America is facing a second January 6. In the Netherlands, however, the political establishment is reeling from an entirely different type of protest — one that, perhaps more than any other raging today, threatens to destabilise the global order. The victory of the Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB) in the recent provincial elections represents an extraordinary result for an anti-establishment party that was formed just over three years ago. But then again, these are not ordinary times.

Climate bills in the Oregon legislature are being criticized for potential devastation of rural communities and could possibly fuel further inflation. One of the bills titled House Bill 3158, the "Clean Diesel Engine Tax" would add new taxes to off-road machinery, such as that used in farming and logging. The Oregon Farm Bureau (OFB) came out against this bill, pointing out that it would tax virtually every piece of equipment that's used in agriculture, plus the fuel and tires that are also necessary for its use. The OFB added that this bill would put the burden on rural businesses with...

Last year, the Dutch government announced that it would seize 30% of Dutch farms to save the climate. This year, polling shows that the newly formed Boer-Burger Beweging (BBB), the farmers’ party, will be the largest single party in Parliament. However, the nature of the parliamentary system is that they still won’t have power, as it’s likely that two leftist parties will join for a voting majority. For a long time, I’ve said that the left is returning us to a medieval world, one in which the world is dominated by a small group of rich, all-powerful aristocrats. The remainder...

... Here’s the article by Scottie Barnes from our premium news partners at The Epoch Times. The focus of the article is on the energy crisis which goes hand-in-hand with the food crisis. But pay special attention to what Democrats are trying to do to farmers and ranchers in our nation. This is The Great Reset unfolding before our eyes.Critics Blast Oregon’s Efforts to Phase Out Petroleum Diesel and Restrict FarmingA series of climate bills now before the Oregon legislature could devastate rural communities and further fuel inflation, according to detractors.The bills would phase out petroleum-based diesel fuel, levy sweeping...

In the more traditional, more oral culture of Indonesia, very poor peasant farmers can still have a better family and working life than most Westerners. To what extent can we restore what we have lost?

The Gunnison Stockgrowers’ Association filed a 22-page comment with the Colorado Wildlife Commission detailing the group members’ concerns about the Draft Wolf Plan process laid out by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Ken Spann, who has delivered public comment to the CPW Commission on behalf of the group, said the endorsement of the comments lies in every acre of agricultural land in Gunnison County. The basis of their concerns is the survival of the area’s long standing ranching operations as well as the existing big game and other wildlife in the Gunnison Valley. According to Spann, established in 1894, the Gunnison...

The world is facing a long list of troubles often isolated to specific regions. Still, one issue experts warn is just on the horizon is a global food shortage that is likely to threaten every country. Farmers everywhere are already noting there is a shortage of fertilizers needed to keep crop yields at their highest levels to feed the nearly 8 billion people of the world. Last year, for instance, U.S. Army Special Forces veteran and author Michael Yon told SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Daily that all of the 26 major plants in Europe that produce nitrogen-based fertilizers are either closed...

Last week, Gov. Jared Polis gave his State of the State address before a joint session of the General Assembly and to all Coloradans around the state. As I and other rural legislators listened to his speech, we couldn’t help but notice something so significant to our state barely received more than a brief mention. As the speech lagged on, it was evident the governor was clearly avoiding talking about it. It became the industrial elephant in the room, if you will. In his 70-minute, 8,000-word monologue, the governor mentioned the word “agriculture” one single time. The words “farms” and...

Arizona’s water is running worryingly low. Amid the worst drought in more than a millennium, which has left communities across the state with barren wells, the state is depleting what remains of its precious groundwater. Much of it goes to private companies nearly free, including Saudi Arabia’s largest dairy company.Thanks to fresh scrutiny this year from state politicians, water activists and journalists, the Saudi agricultural giant Almarai has emerged as an unlikely antagonist in the water crisis. The company, through its subsidiary Fondomonte, has been buying and leasing land across western Arizona since 2014. This year The Arizona Republic published...

Story at-a-glance: * A carnivore or meat-only diet can be uniquely beneficial for some people, especially those struggling with autoimmune diseases, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, chronic pain and mental health disorders * It can also be used as a detox strategy for three to 12 months * One of the primary benefits of a carnivore diet — as long as you focus on red meat and limit chicken and pork — is that it’s a really low in omega-6 fat, which is the most harmful type of fat and a primary driver of chronic disease * You’re also removing most...

Fifty organizations dedicated to food sovereignty and food justice issues signed an open letter calling out Bill Gates over his latest claim that technology is the solution to world hunger and food sovereignty and asking the media to do a better job of covering the issue.Fifty organizations dedicated to food sovereignty and food justice issues are calling out Bill Gates over his latest claim that technology is the solution to world hunger and food sovereignty.In an “open letter” published earlier this month, the groups addressed comments Gates made, during interviews with The New York Times and The Associated Press, about...

Elevated levels of CO2 make it difficult for plants to obtain the minerals necessary to grow and provide nutritious food..."Two main nutrients that are essential for human nutrition may be affected by this phenomenon. The first one is proteins built from nitrogen. The second one is iron."

Drinking water for residents of Wenden, Ariz., has started to dry up as megafarms owned and backed by sovereign nations use it to grow their crops instead. Groundwater is a necessity to grow agriculture in the Southwest, and while the Colorado River Basin is going through a prolonged drought, overused aquifers in Arizona are rapidly being exhausted, affecting the local lifestyle and economy. In fact, workers with the state's water district watched, with the aid of a camera lowered into the town's well, the water moving, CNN reported.

Farmers across the world are desperate to grow genetically modified crops (GM) in their fields. So much so that in some countries farmers have bypassed existing bans on these crops and even made harvests from them. Why do farmers risk being prosecuted, and what compels them to grow GM food crops? The answer is straightforward: GM crops give higher yields, are resilient to deadly plant diseases, and can withstand tough environmental conditions. Optimum Environmental Conditions Meet Advancement in Science Conditions for food crops around the world are the best in all of human history. Elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration and warmer...

If the “progressive” politicians in Wellington have their way, New Zealand’s cows and sheep will soon be taxed for the flatulence they produce. It is one of the most outrageous proposals to come of the hysteria over “climate change.” The liberal-dominated government of New Zealand is apparently willing to jeopardize their countrymen’s livelihood and very food supply over livestock that they claim are emitting too much “greenhouse gas” into the atmosphere via belching, farting and urinating. New Zealand website Stuff reported that the scheme unveiled this week will impose levies on livestock herders, as a means of presumably offsetting the...

Foreign ownership of American farmland has raised bipartisan concern from all levels of government, from governors like Ron DeSantis of Florida to senators such as Iowa’s Chuck Grassley and Michigan’s Debbie Stabenow. Foreign ownership of American farmland went from 1 percent in 2000 to 2.9 percent in 2020, a 290 percent increase over the past twenty years. With the rise in foreign ownership in American cropland come new security risks. Recently, Chinese companies have been buying agricultural land close to American military bases, raising concerns about their intentions.

Los Angeles Rams linebackers Bobby Wagner and Takkarist McKinley tackled an animal rights activist who disrupted the team’s game against the San Francisco 49ers during Monday Night Football. Just before halftime, a member of Direct Action Everywhere, an animal rights group, who were attending Monday night’s game ran across the 49ers Levi’s Stadium with a device releasing red and pink smoke to raise awareness about a massive pig factory farm allegedly hiding its abuses inside the facility. The nonprofit reports Allison Fluty and Alex Taylor were cited, with one still in police custody, after running onto the field at separate...