You can see segments of a documentary entitled 'The Corporation' on www.youtube.com , that may have been mentioned in the past on Vital Votes, from some fellow Mercolians, but I do not recall, and it explains that there is a stated goal out there the EVERYTHING must be OWNED, for profit.

I'm the last one on the plant who will embrace the bull manure mentality that socialism or communism have not worked, because they simply just have not been applied correctly (read The Black Book Of Communism), however, the other extreme mentioned in this film presentation (though clearly slanted to drive home their points also) is equally disturbing.

Last night there was some broadcast about the melting ice shelves (and warming polar climates) near Greenland, triggering another salvo or 'rush' in 'first dibs' claims from Russia, the US, Canada, UK, and others, for 'oil rights' in now drillable polar regions, that "have at least 25% of the known trillions of barrels of high grade oil reserves in the world".

When everything is 'owned', freedom ceases.

Ron Paul In 2008!

Uncle Russ

None of this is news, although it's good to see it brought to the public's attention once again. It's been going on for at least 35 years, to my certain knowledge, and probably longer. It's one of the main reasons why my late husband and I bought 50 acres in Maine and grew our own food.

Mike Adams' descriptions are graphic, but anyone who wishes grim video corroberation can check out the PETA site. Other great sources include Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma and Eric Schlosser's  Fast Food Nation . What's more, agribiz is not satisfied with current market share; they are fueling their intent to drive the last of the small family farms out of business with the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) legislation that will force all animal owners to chip their livestock, at a prohibitive cost to small farmers.

I am fortunate to live where I can get free-range eggs, raw milk and grass-fed butter, all-natural beef, pork, lamb and poultry, and all the organic vegetables I can consume, in season. I do the gratefulness dance every day. But I chose to live here. You readers have choices too. Be proactive about locating sources of these foods in your areas. Every culture, in every country, all through the ages, has known this to be true: we are what we eat.

Why does this article have to mention that the US tortures war criminals?  The treatment of food animals has nothing to do with the US policy on war criminals.  This is just another far left attack on the US policy on terrorism and Iraq.  The sad thing is that it is hidden in a very good article about where our food comes from.

Well l I have to agree with the article.  But must say that a lot of these practises are done by regular farmers.  Taking a calf away from it's mother, has always been the practise, if you want a milk cow.  Cattle are castrated (how many bulls can you have in a herd?), dehorned (unless they are polled), branded (cruel, but useful if your cattle happens to get in with the neighbours cattle).  The reason veal has pale meat is because it hasn't matured, not due to the reasons mentioned.  This spring I bought an organic 500 lb calf, the meat was pale.  Pigs have always been cannibals, and a whole lot more.  Sows will lay on their piglets or eat them.  I've seen it, it sure wasn't because she was hungry either.  Currently Robert Pickton is on trial in Vancouver for the murder of 6 of the 49 prostitutes he murdered on his pig farm.  Guess who he fed the bodies to?  This got out in the food chain.  You are what you eat?  What the hell does that make the poor people who ate that?

We're reaping what we have sowed.We are getting sicker as a nation every year , we have abused  our dominion , we are not owners.
Livestock is just part of God's Creation,  we torture before we cruely kill it.  No consequences there...are there?

A farmer in our community raises cattle and chickens.  The chickens grow so fast that they just drop dead sometimes.  The chicken manure is fed to his cows.  I wonder if this is a common way to feed animals?  When I worked in a grocery store, I heard the men in the meat market talk about cutting cancers out of beef.  They would talk about getting pork and having to cut all the bad meat off to get to the better meat.  I don't eat pork anyway, but I sure hate to think of other people eating it.  I have heard so much about the way our meat is treated it is hard to eat it.