The USDA Wants to Register Your Vegetable Garden in a National Database

We should not trust them.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 [Open in browser]( [The USDA Wants to Register Your Vegetable Garden in a National Database]( We should not trust them. [Matt Agorist]( Oct 4   [▷  Listen]( [SAVE]()   Hello, free thinkers. As you likely know, TFTP has long been an advocate of self-sustainability, off-grid living, and growing your own food. For a decade, we’ve shined a light on the state each and every time we caught them attacking this way of life. From fines [for front yard gardens]( to [raiding Amish farmers]( for not following the notoriously corrupt guidelines of the federal government, we’ve seen some rather egregious attacks on our rights as humans to use our own property and choose where our food comes from. This new move by the USDA, however, is a little different. It could be nothing — but it could also be a sinister and subtle way for the feds to attack food sovereignty. The USDA is now registering and mapping self-sustainable communities through a gardening initiative that is particularly suspect, especially given the organization’s track record. I looked into it recently, and here’s what I found. Remember that we are reader-supported and are only here because of you! So please consider supporting our substack or becoming a [TFTP member, here.]( Peace! [Upgrade to paid]( In a move that has many folks scratching their heads, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has renewed its push for the People’s Garden Initiative which now includes registering vegetable gardens nationwide. [According to the]( USDA, the move is to foster a "more diverse and resilient local food system to empower communities to address issues like nutrition access and climate change." But those who have been following the USDA closely for years know that they couldn't care less about your health and nutrition. To register your garden with the USDA, one must meet several easily obtainable standards. School gardens, community gardens, urban farms, and small-scale agriculture projects in rural, suburban and urban areas can be recognized as a “People’s Garden” if they register on the USDA website and meet criteria including benefitting the community, working collaboratively, incorporating conservation practices and educating the public. These standards essentially define every community garden in the country. Now, the government organization that shells out billions every year to companies whose products, like high-fructose corn syrup, are responsible for a massive epidemic of obesity across the planet, will have a database of them. “We welcome gardens nationwide to join us in the People’s Garden effort and all it represents,”[said]( Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, “Local gardens across the country share USDA’s goals of building more diversified and resilient local food systems, empowering communities to come together around expanding access to healthy food, addressing climate change and advancing equity.” Secretary Vilsack added: “We encourage existing gardens and new gardens to join the movement. Growing local food benefits local communities in so many ways, and we offer technical resources to help. Also, it’s a great way to connect with your local USDA team members.” Again, it is important to point out that the mission statement of the USDA does not involve anything to do with keeping Americans healthy. In fact, their track record over the years has done the complete opposite. Case in point: In December 2020, a scientific committee, composed of 20 academics and doctors, recommended cutting the limit for added sugars in the diet to 6% of daily calories from 10% in the current guidelines. The group compiled a massive trove of data and presented this request to the USDA citing rising rates of obesity and the link between obesity and health problems like Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. To be clear, you need absolutely 0% of your diet to be comprised of sugar but this panel seemingly knew the USDA — who hands out billions of taxpayer dollars to companies who specialize in addicting Americans to sugar — would never get behind a recommendation against all sugar. So, they offered a slight concession. This scientific committee asked for a measly 4% drop in the USDA's recommended sugar intake in foods — providing 835 pages of evidence showing the horrifying effects it is having on children and adults — and the USDA refused. “The new evidence is not substantial enough to support changes to quantitative recommendations for either added sugars or alcohol,” Brandon Lipps, deputy undersecretary for food, nutrition and consumer services at the USDA [told]( the Wall Street Journal at the time. In December of 2020, it was clear that excessive sugar intake was connected to comorbidities like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity — all of which drastically increased complications from a COVID-19 infection. Yet the USDA — who pretends to care about your health — refused to budge in the slightest. Now, this same organization is claiming that it wants you to register your vegetable garden so it can place you in a database and put your healthy food source on a map — for your health, of course. You also get a cool sign for your front yard too. While a handful of folks inside the USDA may have well-meaning intentions behind this program, the behemoth organization's track record and history clearly indicate that the overwhelming majority of them do not care about your health. Not only do they not care about your health but most of their farm and food budget goes toward subsidizing products that directly harm your health. So, skepticism over a national garden database run by this organization is entirely warranted. As the world teeters on the verge of nuclear war and economic collapse, remember that in times of war and economic downturns, food is more valuable than gold. Thank you for reading The Free Thought Project. This post is public so feel free to share it. 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