According to this recent article, Sedgwick has declared food sovereignty in a four-page document it calls “The Ordinance to Protect the Health and Integrity of the Local Food System.”

One of the more interesting passages from the article is this one, which comes straight from the ordinance:

“We have faith in our citizens’ abilityto educate themselves and make informed decisions,” reads the ordinance, which was adopted unanimously March 5 at a meeting of about 100 residents. “We hold that federal and state regulations impede local food production and constitute a usurpation of our citizens’ right to foods of their choice.”

While surely the good people in and around Sedgwick are capable of making informed decisions, a quick eyeball of the region’s daily paper might just suggest they’re no wiser than any other community. Criminal activity, animal cruelty and other bad decisions make front page news on this particular day alone. So much for faith in the people of Sedgwick – and these aren’t nuances of food safety and production, mind you. These are widely held beliefs and laws that are commonplace to any citizenry.   

Now imagine applying this self rule to, say, daycare operations or dangerous work environments. Who in their right mind is going to suggest licensing or OSHA rules aren’t necessary in these situations? 

Regulations, cumbersome as they can be at times, are designed to provide the guardrails in which to move forward with effectiveness and safety in mind. Bypassing them suggests hubris at the highest level and, or in the case of food processing, a blatant disregard for the consumer.

What’s good for Sedgwick should be good for all communities, right? Certainly this isn’t about an elite group of informed citizens to whom the rules do not apply? 

Bottom line, Sedgwick – you can’t have it both ways.

When the neighbor down the street fussed to Ludlow city officials to ban the chickens, a Kentuckian by the name of Amanda Lewis decided her chickens were worth the brawl.  While a fellow neighbor backed down and got rid of his two chickens, Lewis appealed her case with the intention of keeping Goldie, Speck, Big Momma and Little Momma around regardless. 

Cases such as this have also pecked their way to city attention in the Ohio cities of Norwood, Montgomery and Fairfield.  Instead of outright banning inner-city poultry, many areas have concluded that a licensing fee or proper restrictions will suffice.  Other areas have simply amended their zoning codes to allow a certain number of hens as long as they are cared for properly and do not become a nuisance or hazard. 

Whether residents agree or disagree that backyard chickens should be allowed or not, the “Urban Chicken Farmer” identity is one that’s not likely to go away anytime soon in some urban cities. While that’s good news for individuals like Lewis, it may have others bawking, “what the cluck?”

Those kids have grown, but have failed to grow up – and now they play out their pranks with an agenda, flip cam and YouTube.  The kidnapping of a Ronald McDonald statue in Helsinki, Finland, McDonald’s restaurant is proof positive of over-age pranksters overstepping the bounds of responsibility and good taste.  

Watching Ronald McDonald get lifted may have its momentary chuckle, but a jihadist-like video demanding answers to the group’s agenda, and then decapitating the mustard & ketchup-colored clown: not so funny. This comes courtesy of a group call the Food Liberation Army, which tries to be funny and serious simultaneously.  It fails on both counts by a country mile.

As tasteless as it is, instead of condemning it perhaps more people should see this ridiculousness and ask – where exactly does the prank end and the seriousness begin? If anything, it’s a snapshot of reality regarding how far some people are willing to go to make their point.

Hooters – known for chicken wings among other things – earlier this week began its efforts to beef up the start of the week by offering “Burger Mondays” with six burger and fries options starting at $5.99. While it may not be the only reason patrons frequent Hooters, options such as the More than a Mouthful Cheeseburger, Nacho Ordinary Burger and the Double “D” Burger certainly enhance the meaty menu options for chain’s campaign with the obvious lure of attractive…prices.

Burger Mondays replaces the “More than a Mouthful Mondays” campaign from 2010 to be more deliberate about its beefy options. Certainly the deliberate call out of “Where’s the beef?” in their announcement signals a purposeful approach to go against the grain of the Meatless Monday movement.

It’s safe to say that the anti-meat crowd won’t find Hooters’ effort to reposition Monday all that titillating…

Those are the words of Meatless Monday’s program director explaining in a release how the movement has gone from a sole blogger two years ago to having a global leader in food services sing from its hymnal.  And to his credit, he’s right. It is hard to believe.

According to Sodexo’s website, Meatless Monday will be “promoting and adding the option of a plant-based entrée to its menus each week.” It’s hard to believe that Sodexo has previously failed to offer something such as a pasta dish or vegetable soup as part of the entrée, especially from an organization that refers to itself as a world leader in Quality of Daily Life Solutions.

And it’s hard to believe the option will remain optional considering the campaign push Sodexo will put behind the effort. Also from the Meatless Monday release:   

“Sodexo intends to keep its Meatless Monday program fresh by sending out new tool kits to its client reps every 4 months. These will include newly created recipes, promo materials and educational background. It also hopes to launch other fitness and health programs created by The Monday Campaigns.”

That’s quite a commitment for a once-a-week option. As a food service provider, Sodexo surely has long had offerings that don’t include meat that, frankly, could be purchased any day of the week, right?

The Animal Ag Alliance voiced its beef about Meatless Mondays recently, and perhaps it’s the one thing that isn’t hard to believe. Meatless Mondays is quick to make fuzzy, feel-good claims to get people and organizations on board with the program. As pointed out by the Animal Ag Alliance, it even co-opts a once-legitimate reason to forgo meat during war time in effort to advance its anti-animal agriculture agenda in this modern era.

This mirrors another shrewd activist organization that benefits from misconception, but also is known for not biting off more than it can chew. Now that this campaign has sunk its teeth deep into Monday at record speed and acceptance, the question everyone should be asking is – what’s next?

Think about it…

• Is organic always the best pick when it comes to buying food?
• Do you know how your eggs, chicken or turkey are produced?
• How is the U.S. going to double global food production in the next 40 years to feed the increasing population and demand?

Food is a basic need. Everyone eats. And, it’s the only arena where consumers get three votes a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner. So make your vote count. But, first, do yourself a favor and learn about the farmers behind the product, where it comes from, and how it was produced.

Brookline Town Meeting passes veal ban resolution

Brookline, Mass. —Brookline Town Meeting passed a resolution that asks grocers, restaurants, caterers and other food vendors to stop selling or serving crated veal  in a 163-4 vote.

According to petitioner Rachel Baras, many veal calves are separated from their mothers within a few days of being born and put into restrictive crates that do not allow them to easily lie down or move, in order to achieve a pale and tender piece of meat.

“The purpose [of Article 21] is to motivate food purveyors and consumers to think critically about what they’re buying and supporting just has they did with trans fats and smoking,” Baras said, referring to two previous Brookline bans. “You’ll be a part of a movement to improve lives. They are animal lives, but they are lives nonetheless.”

Baras received support from both the Board of Selectmen and the Advisory Committee. Five states have passed measures outlawing crated veal calves, and similar legislation is pending in New York.

It’s not exactly rocket science, but recent results from some school cafeterias could go a long way to quell unrealistic and agenda-driven food policies that attempt to police menus and force feed our kids with foods that they just won’t eat (here’s looking at you, meatless Monday).

With no-cost or low-cost solutions that feed into the idea food choice, consider these surprising results highlighted in the article:

-One school increased salad purchases by nearly 300 percent
-Another school amped up its fruit consumption by 105 percent

Imagine that. Choice over a vegan agenda actually increases the consumption of fruits and vegetables by large margins, while still allowing the ham sandwich and the turkey club a secure place on the menu.

Read the full article to understand the tactical changes to food presentation in the lunch line, then consider these wise words at the end of the article:

Food isn’t nutritious until it is eaten. We don’t improve school lunches by making children take healthier items. When healthy foods are forced upon them, children will resist and dislike not only the heavy-handed approach but also the food associated with that heavy hand.

Now that’s good food for thought.

Categories available for this national contest?  Kids can choose from the following tasty choices:  whole grains, dark green and orange vegetables, or dry beans and peas.  We’re not suggesting there is anything wrong with any of these not-so-child-friendly choices – but on the plate, not at the center of it.

So is the assertion that USDA believes meat protein is not a healthy lunch selection?  Or is USDA abandoning its commitment to farmers of all shapes, species and sizes?  When you consider the great protein and nutritional assets of meat, and the essential role that protein plays in children’s ability to learn, it seems implausible that USDA would promote a non-meat recipe contest for schools.

And for USDA to leave out meat – when our nation produces nearly 27 billion pounds of beef, more than 21 billion pounds of pork, almost 37 billion pounds of chicken and about 6 billion pounds of turkey – seems like more than just a mere promotional oversight for the nation’s only federal agency dedicated to farming.

What the cluck?

Want to learn more?  To take a chance and submit a meat-based protein recipe to the agency?   Visit www.recipesforkidschallenge.com for full contest details.

Since January, Russia has blocked American chickens from being imported into the country. What a foul decision! Previously the largest importer of U.S. chickens, Russians have seen no trace of Yankee-born chickens during the past five months—and that’s a mighty long time to go without a good ol’ American chicken dinner.

Thankfully, this all changed last week when Russian President Dmitry Medvedev met with President Barack Obama in Washington, and the two scratched out an agreement to reinstate chicken entry into Russia. As outlined in this article, chicken travel into Russia will likely resume quickly, even within a matter of days.

It’s great news that American chickens have been cleared on Russian border control list. But, it does seem rather ironic that all this productive chicken-squawk between Medvedev and Obama happened while the two shared a hamburger lunch.

Where the cluck were the tasty drumsticks to celebrate this victory?