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Shortly after my husband and I got engaged, the large, global company we both worked for at the time assigned him to a long term consulting project in Wellington, New Zealand.
Our phone conversations and his handwritten letters (no email then!) were filled with amazement and praise about the plethora of small local farms where he was able to obtain fresh, delicious food for very reasonable cost pretty much anywhere at any time.
He loved to tell me stories about where exactly he had obtained his food and the farmers and small local businesses where he had procured a recent meal.
My husband has always been into local food, long before I got the bug. His mother was actually an early pioneer of locally produced food co-ops in none other than Uganda, where he was born and spent the first few years of his life before the entire family was forced to flee for their lives when their friends started mysteriously disappearing after Idi Amin, the infamous and bloodthirsty dictator, rose to power in the early 1970’s.
My husband’s year spent in Wellington left him with fond memories of this country’s small farm bounty which is some of the most varied in the world. Could it be that New Zealand’s golden reputation as a haven for local food and farms offering fresh, quality food is coming to an end?
The WorldWide Power Grab for Control of the Food Supply
A new 400 page, “food safety” bill introduced by the New Zealand Parliament in May 2010 has been stealthily making its way through the approval process and may become the law of the land in the near future. The bill is crafted to be in line with obligations to the World Trade Organization with regard to the international scam Codex Alimenatrius, also known as the “Food Book”.
This bill would seriously undermine efforts of families to be self sufficient by growing their own food. Shockingly, under the language of the bill, growing one’s own food is considered a privilege that can be revoked by the government at any time with non-Codex complying producers the most vulnerable to enforcement action.
Those “registering” to grow food (can you imagine such a thing?) would not be able to receive authorization if they do not comply with food production rules as outlined by Codex.
Distributing food – even for free – is not permitted and the definition of “food” is extremely broad encompassing nutrients, seeds, natural medicines, essential minerals, and even water!
By controlling even seeds, the power to grow food is handed to global seed companies like Monsanto. Seed sharing banks and networks could be shut down if they are not able to obtain government authorization. This would frighteningly and very quickly result in a loss of seed variety and be of clear financial benefit to the global seed companies.
Home-grown food and some or all seeds could not be bartered on a scale to feed people of a community even in the event of economic collapse where commercially grown food has become unavailable or unaffordable.
Let me repeat that: This bill would force people to starve in the face of economic hardship rather than grow their own food to survive.
What does this sound like to you? To me, it sound eerily like the former Soviet Union with its complete and utter control of the economic factors of production which disallowed peasants from producing food for anyone except the State.
Police to Act as “Food Safety” Officers
Under this NZ Bill, local police can act as Food Safety Officers, raiding a home or business without a warrant using all necessary equipment such as firearms.
Even worse, members of the private sector, such as Monsanto employees, can act as Food Safety Officers and raid a targeted location without a warrant backed up by armed police.
The bill goes even further by providing these “Food Safety Officers” immunity from criminal and civil prosecution!
The language of this bill allows the creation of no less than a Food Gestapo which terrorizes the citizenry with warrantless searches, seizures, and arrests with no accountability or repercussions for their actions in a court of law.
Control of the Seeds the Ultimate Goal
The ultimate bottom line of this bill is control of the seeds in New Zealand which boasts an extremely wide variety due to the bounty of its small, local farms.
If the seeds are controlled, growing food is automatically controlled so enforcement of people growing their own food becomes basically a non-issue.
No good seeds = No good food
What Can Be Done to Stop This?
Unfortunately, this problem is not just occurring in New Zealand. It’s happening all over the world.
New Zealanders, however, have a secret weapon in their back pocket with which to fight these global food terrorists who are pushing their self serving corporate agenda in their beautiful and bountiful homeland.
New Zealand citizens can individually or in larger groups, opt out from under this legislation by revoking their consent to parliamentary representation.
To do this requires them to serve a Claim of Right which will revoke any requirement to adhere to the legislation since they are no longer represented by it.
Citizens and communities opting out of the legislation simply serve copies of their Claim of Right to affected governmental agencies thereby notifying them of their lack of jurisdiction on their private affairs. The Claim must be filed via a Notary Public.
In the meantime, it would be wise for activist-minded New Zealanders to notify their elected officials of their outrage over this treasonous bill to ensure its defeat. It would no doubt be best to never have to get to the point where a Claim of Right is necessary!
Oh, and it might be a good idea to save a few seeds in a secure location as well!
This is outrageous and scary!
What will the bastards come up with next? I passed this along, thanks for the heads-up.
I just spent nine months in New Zealand and I was so angry when I heard about this! The country as a whole is still very rural and just about everyone we met or stayed with grew their own veggie garden. I hope Kiwis will see the importance of rising up against this bill and taking action!
I may be going off subject here, but it seems like the right place to bring it up. Obama quietly passed a law this summer called the White House Rural Council, which is govt. control over rural America. Even Homeland Security is involved. If you aren’t using your land or using it as they see fit they can come in and tell you what you need to do with it. It sounds like another way to control small farmers.
An executive order is not a law. It is an unconstitutional over reach of power by the presidents of the USA since good ol’ Abe started the abuse during the Civil War.
Whilst there is definitely much in this bill that concerns me greatly, there is nothing in it that implies to me that here in NZ we are under threat of being raided by FSOs “backed up by armed police” using “equipment such as firearms”.
The NZ police in general do not carry firearms – we have 17 Armed Offenders Squad which operate under strict rules and which deal with, as their name suggests, armed offenders who are a violent threat to themselves or the general public. There has to be an actual or threatened use of firearms or other weapons against members of the public or Police for them to be deployed.
The stealth with which this bill is being tabled through parliament is highly suspicious – thank you for blogging about this now, I will be posting a link to this on my local co-op FB page in the hope of raising some awareness and stirring others to action and calls to oppose it.
Right now, you can’t be searched without a warrant either. This bill changes many things about personal liberties that New Zealanders are used to and probably take for granted. The vagueness of some of the language is where the most danger is as it is open for interpretation by the Food Police. And, with the bill 400 pages in length, you can be sure few if any of the legislators will even read it.
Thank you so much for writing about this terrifying, unconstitutional over-reach of govt authority that’s happening all over the globe. I’ve been spending weeks trying to figure out what happened to the U.S. Constitution and to our Bill of Rights – that it is no longer being upheld by our public officials. Isn’t that treason? Google Dean Clifford, Robb Ryder, Carl Miller to get some idea of how to go about reclaiming our Sovereignty. If you don’t know your rights, you have no rights. On the other hand, global tyrants are asserting that Might Makes Right – as seen by police attacking peaceful protesters with pepper spray at Occupy demonstrations. We need to get law enforcement on board that they are one of us- and to uphold their oath to protect the Constitution.
this is absolutely disgusting.
If people will wake up and realize that this is NOT going AWAY, then take a stand against this corruption and injustice! I believe the Word of God talks about this, and I hope it doesn’t come soon, but in Rev. 13:16 and 17, then again in Rev. 14:9-11, this scenario is described. When I was just a girl, my mom told me that these things were foretold and that I might see it in my lifetime. I just wouldn’t believe it, but I did begin to see things happening that really scared me. I am a realist and a pragmatist, so for me to finally see that another possible worldwide holocaust could be coming…well, that has just been hard to even imagine. Too many governments are now out of control and do not seem to care about the people of their nations. I do trust in God, so that keeps me going. Not trying to be negative, but I am hopeful that others will see the severity of our situation and begin to trust Him too and always be ready to speak against WRONG. Thank you Sarah for just watching and getting the info to us. Keep up the good work!
Thank you so much for sharing the verses. As I am reading this I was wondering which scriptures corresponded. How amazing our God is!
Yes, Coral, He IS AMAZING! I appreciate your kind response. Keep praying! God bless.
Local Food Haven to Ban Growing Food Without Authorization – The Healthy Home Economist http://t.co/v8ScEguy