Good morning.
Today’s Make-It-Yourself Monday post has been shoved out of the way for something that is much MUCH more important that we need to talk about.
Now before you get too far into today’s post Â
I feel like I need to be very clear about a couple things.
One, I am not Mormon.Â
I have very dear friends who are, and grew up in an area that was predominantly Mormon.
So, what I am going to tell you has been personally confirmed by a couple of those friends, because I don’t want to post something that is not true and get everyone’s knickers in a knot.
Second, this concerns everyone. If you believe in home canning, food storage, food preservation, or anything that falls in these categories, then you should most certainly be sitting up , taking notice, and being aware of what is happening across our nation. I know it seems like we are having tons of crisis, and that can be wearying to be constantly on attention and looking for the next thing. But that is our job. We are to try to be ever-vigilant, because freedom can be a fragile thing.
Third, I am not writing this post to incite panic or distress in anyone. I really really REALLY hate drama, and that is why I often do not read certain posts on FB, respond to people who bring it with them, or start it on someone’s page. I am far more inclined to avoid drama, anywhere other than my home, because I love the people who live under my roof and want to keep them. That means, with three girls, that I need to put up with a certain amount of drama, and live with it. No so on the Web, and if this seems drama-ish to you, I am terribly sorry.
Instead, please see my heart through the post ahead.Â
My job is to write what is on my heart.
 To point out to you the things that are laying on my heart.Â
And this one, this one is a big one.
It seems that as a formal announcement will ring out in many LDS churches this weekend, we will be hearing next week, early, that all of the LDS canneries are being shut down in the Eastern part of the US. While they will still sell the canned food that is carefully canned and watched over, due to new regulations that have been passed, they will no longer be able to sell the bulk foods that MANY MANY PEOPLE rely on. This has been an on-going story for well over a year, after we all heard about the managers being harassed last summer by the USDA “police” about turning over their patron list (which was quickly buried by the MSM–but that is another story), and how they have tried to keep up with the constantly changing and ridiculous regulations that keep coming down the wire to keep their facilities able to process the bulk foods.
Now, it seems that the USDA has finally won.
And we should all be sitting up and taking notice.
These folks have been harassed at their orchards where they provide food for their members all across the US. They have been harassed repeatedly, in many different places, for allowing their members, who are “untrained” to volunteer and help with canning their own bulk purchases,
and take it home.
I could continue, but I don’t need to.
How does this affect you and me?
Well, if you don’t can at home, you have nothing to worry about.
If you don’t purchase bulk food supplies and repackage it
 in your own home,
then you have nothing to worry about.
If you don’t believe in having food storage on hand for emergencies,
 you have nothing to worry about.
If you dont eat a natural food diet and instead
rely on the pre-packaged foods
the grocery stores carry in bulk, you have nothing to worry about.
Seriously, you guys, think about it.
Why in the world would the USDA even CARE what the LDS canneries were doing? Really? Â
I mean, other than the fact that they are a supply line for millions of people who are a part of their own church organization. Or that in most cases they freely open their canneries up to folks who are NOT Mormon and who think similarly.
They care because they want everyone to rely on them.
 THEIR canned foods.
THEIR bulked items that are overseen by THEIR people.
Think raw milk
 and you know where this is all going.
And how many of you would prefer to eat a jar of your own home-canned peaches or soup versus the stuff you purchase in the store that was overseen by the USDA?
How many of you raise your own animals and process them yourself, or purchase from someone you know, precisely because you care more about knowing how your food is handled rather than relying on someone else to do it for you, and hand it off in a grocery store.
That is the red flag that is going off in my head.
I hope it is going off in yours.
Just wanted you know.
Here is the link to the direct article that got me thinking, and I want you to know that while I do not agree with the author of this blog on everything, I most certainly KNOW she is right on the money
with this one.
If you have been on the line about food storage before this, if you have waited for something to make you just a little more concerned that there may come a time when you can’t get food for your family unless someone hands it to you, or you stand in line for it, then this should be enough to send you over the edge.
 Food storage. Get it. Start it. Don’t wait.
Blessings to you and yours,
Heather
Ps–I will not be checking comments for moderation until this evening late, so no worries if your comments do not appear right away.
Blessings and thanks to you all.
Keep praying for this craziness to end, seriously.Just in case someone wants more confirmation:
http://www.ldsfreedomforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=56&p=376065
http://www.ldsfreedomforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=56&p=376065
A few things. I have to disagree with. The site this is coming from personally I don’t know the lady so I don’t know her fact checking and the fact she says she’ll ban anyone who disagrees with her thats not speaking too highly. If a person can’t stand on their own legs with an argument without sticking their fingers in their ears going, “la la la” then they must not have strong legs to stand on. Two I find it hard to believe that the USDA is picking on them out of some spite seeing how the sequester went into place and money was pulled out of several other programs to keep the meat inspectors in place which is why we aren’t all hunt squirrels at the moment.
I’m also disturbed by the fact she said that the story wouldn’t be found anywhere else but her because she got the interview with this one person…. and really I’m sitting here so how are you fact checking? No sources cited.
Now I’m not trying to be a negative nancy here but I’ll be honest I am all for regulations and rules and laws. I am one of ‘those’ people because I work in a chemical facility and I see the dangers posed to myself or to others if our products did not meet codes and I’m administration and I see how many corners are cut every day and how the only thing keeping these companies like my own in line are regulations, rules and fines. Overall the article sounded more like an end of days doom and gloom, rally the troops to fight off the evil government sort of thing.
I’m ranting aren’t I? … need more coffee.
It comes down to yes there are costs to stay in compliance as there are for ANY industry. I’m sorry they are shutting down for being unable to handle keeping up to standards but every single industry looks at that and when you get less regulators checking places like what has been happening for the last several years so food production and plants are not properly checked on you get things like the current tragedies that have happened. It’s one thing to do it in your own home it is a completely different thing if this is a large outfit. The FDA is not going to bust in your door and take away your canner I assure you.
My two cents. Agree or disagree. At least I know you’re willing to take all points of view unlike the author of the other article.
Hi ELizabeth. 🙂 Good morning to you. I cited her article as the single article that alerted me to the situation. AS to the other things that have happened as far as harassing at their orchards, asking for their patron lists, etc, I have personally qualified. I also went from reading her article to calling friends I knew who were Mormon and asking them. This IS true. 🙂
I will respond more later.
~Heather
OK so now that I have corralled children back into the house and have a few minutes to more fully respond, I wanted to tell you that for the most part, I agree with you. I think rules, check points and regulations are all well and good when the agency that is responsible for them does not get a head that is swelled with power. However, those canneries have changed their compliance standards more frequently than normal because the USDA has been gunning for them for well over two years. Just as they have been gunning for the Amish run stores in the Eastern states, the Hettorite communities that make, process and share their own food supply, and even the farmers who drink their own raw milk. If you dont like how someone is running their own company, or cannery in this case, then you just keep changing the rules until they can no longer financially comply, and that is what is happening here. Listen, these folks ARE SAFE. They have been doing this a LONG TIME. For MILLIONS of people.
And while I totally agree that everyone has the right to their own opinion, I will tell you that people need to research things until they run them into the ground and get to the truth.
We have been brainwashed into thinking that our government can do nothing wrong, make no mistakes, and that when they make a big play like this, then there must be something wrong with the facility, or the products, or the people. Its a classic disinformation campaign, that is used all the time by our government in situations like this to vilify someone who is doing something different than what they want, or operating outside of their control.
And if the USDA were proven with an excellent track record, if there were no incidents of fraud, or power trips, or misinformation campaigns to save their butt, I would agree with you.
But I cant because those issues are there. In this case, I am going with the folks that I know, and have known for years.
Thanks for sharing your side of the issue.
~Heather
PS–As stated, that was one reason why I added a disclaimer before the article about the author. She tends to be dramatic, but in this case, she is right on.
Thanks Heather for the heads up , We knew it was coming to this !! Very sad but true ,I hope all will take your warning to heart and put up as much as they can while they can !!! For we know what they will hit next don’t we !!
As always great job <3 you friend.
~Kelly~ From Empty nest farm.
Kelly, it is SO good to see you and hear from you again.
I dont even want to think about where this is going next.
I just want to pray that sooner or later someone, or a bunch of someones stand up to this. This group of folks have the power and the finances. I hope they do it.
~Heather
Great article Heather!! Keep up the great work.
Thanks Elizabeth. Have a wonderful day.
~Heather
Thanks for sharing this!!!!
Thank you for sharing this information. An idea, would a petition via change.org be of any help?? It is a way to get the message out to the masses and if it is directed to the right entity may have an effect, or at the lease create a greater public awareness to effect change. A wonderful writer such as yourself could put together a moving petition. Just an idea.
thanks for commenting Dawn. You know, I think it really is up to the LDS church to decide how they are going to handle it. They will either comply or challenge it. We just need to be aware it is happening and watch to see what else happens. I also have not seen great results from petitions in the last couple years, so while it is a good idea, I have no idea of the effectiveness of it. 🙂
~Heather
Thank you! good to know those who are watching out and speaking up! commendable in blogland, where being too polite is the politically correct way to be….nope truth is far more important. thanks again.
I would like permission the re post this information on my blog. I think it’s disturbing on so many levels, and would like to put the information out there more. Thank you for bringing this up where I could read it.
Hi ESR. I wouldnt mind you using it as a link for your readers to go to, or even taking quotes from it if you want. However, I have had trouble with folks taking my original work and passing it off as their own. Not that you would do it, or you would never have asked, but I think that is perhaps the best way to handle it. :)Yes it is terribly disturbing, and I wish more folks would wake up and see how systematically these resources are being eliminated all in the name of “safety or control”.
Thank you.
Blessings to you and yours,
~Heather