I didn’t realize it till Thanksgiving was over, but one of the things I am thankful for is that I still have access to locally produced nutrient-dense foods.

Yesterday, family and friends indulged in a 19.5-pound turkey I had bought from a nearby farm that also sells raw milk. I took some razzing from family members that I had traveled an hour round trip to buy the turkey, paying $4.50 a pound for the privilege, and that it still had some feathers and other incidentals you don’t ever see in the factory produced variety.

But then there was marveling at how wonderfully tasty the meat was. Someone commented, correctly, I think, that the dark meat was much darker and more succulent than what you find in the mass produced birds.

The turkey was in addition to the artisanal raw-milk cheeses, butter, and cream we were able to serve. I felt especially thankful when I realized how close we are to losing these foods, especially if S 510 passes the U.S. Senate on Monday. Already, such foods are difficult to access in many parts of the country, as I was reminded while reading an article at the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund site about how there are no locally-produced turkeys in San Diego County.

Then I spoke with a relative who is using raw milk to gain relief from chronic fatigue syndrome. She lives in a state where the raw milk supply is uncertain, and she was worrying about whether it will be available on Monday, when she will need to replenish her supply. I won’t name the state or locale, because I know the authorities monitor the Internet, and look for “intelligence” to help them interfere with availability of raw milk.

Sometimes I can’t help but think that in their obsessiveness to “protect” us, and especially our children, they try intentionally to deprive people benefiting from nutrient-dense foods of their supplies. They hate it when people gain benefits, and then tell friends and relatives about their health improvements. Such tales drive up demand.

We also spent some time yesterday listening to the classic Arlo Guthrie Thanksgiving song, “Alice’s Restaurant”. If you haven’t heard it in a while, take a listen. (It’s a long song, make sure you have 20 minutes–but the “I want to kill” line near the end of the tale is worth the price of admission, as is the surprise ending.)

I realize now that this Vietnam-War-era song helps explain why we no longer have a military draft in the U.S.–there’d be revolt in the streets. Instead, we let our poorest and least educated do the fighting.  After all, they are the ones who can still be suckered into believing the government’s propaganda about the need to fight wars like in Vietnam or Iraq. And in a sense, it helps explain why increasing numbers of people are resisting the government’s efforts to deny us basic food, and why the government finds this so dangerous. Too many people becoming knowledgeable about government lies is a dangerous thing.

***
For a cogent explanation of why the government is so worried about rising raw milk consumption, take a look at Steve Bemis’ article at the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund. It has a lot to do with cheese, he explains, which has a lot to do with the fractionalizing of milk. And like a lot of other things affecting food, that all has to do with money, lots of money.