The Right to Choose --- to Eat What You Want!

Mad Moms to Food Police: We'll Eat What We Want

I have some questions:

How come a woman has the right to choose an abortion for no medical reason at all despite the fact it kills her baby and can endanger her life as well; and how come homosexuals have the right to choose to engage in perverted practices that transmit STDs including the deadly AIDS virus; and how come people have the right to choose to make or buy pornography that exploits women and puts them in extreme danger of abuse and even murder?

BUT....the state can ban the right to choose to buy food directly from a farmer or a coop?

It can't really about safety and the common good, because abortion and homosexual practices are a lot more dangerous than drinking raw milk or buying eggs directly from a farmer.  My husband and I have been drinking raw milk ever since we moved to the Valley in 2002. We buy free range eggs from a local farmer. We get our grass fed beef from a Mennonite family that don't load them with hormones and feed them genetically modified corn. And we've never been healthier. So butt out, Big Brother, we'll eat what we want!

Baltimore sends out the food police; they're citing restaurants for trans fats!

The scenario:  Agents invade the kitchen at the local diner and start checking out the ingredients in the food on the stove. Then they cite the owners and threaten to close down the restaurant. Sounds like a spoof, eh?, only it's not. My friend Janet blogged about it so I won't repeat the details. But it got me thinking.

The sad fact is that Baltimore has one of the highest violent crime rates in the country. My brother used to be a cop for Baltimore County and he often said he was glad he didn't work in the city. You could get shot buying your doughnut and coffee at the 7-Eleven. If you look at the statistics comparing Baltimore to all of Maryland, you'll understand why John didn't want that hostile work environment.

Baltimore has a safety index of 5 out of 100 meaning that 95% of U.S. cities are safer than Baltimore. You have a 1 in 55 chance of being the victim of a violent crime if you live in the city including rape and murder and 1 in 18 chance of being the victim of a property crime. There are 531 crimes per square mile. If you control for size and population, Baltimore is in the middle of other comparable places, which is a good reason to follow the biblical precept to "flee the cities."

At any rate, isn't it wonderful that the city fathers of Baltimore are so unconcerned about violent crimes and larceny that they devote scarce resources to raiding diners and restaurants to check out their trans fats. How long before they raid the homes of families with kids "for the sake of the children?" Can't you hear social services now with police backup. "Drop that peanut butter jar, Ma'am, and put your hands up. Come on, Junior, we're taking you to foster care for a celery and carrot veggie loaf. Stop crying, kid, it's for your own good!" Then to the cop, "Take Mom in and book her" for clogging her child's arteries.

Think this is just one rogue city? Go here to see legislation passed and proposed all over the country to keep you safe from the trans fat blob! At least in Virginia the bill regulating trans fats in school lunches didn't pass. Hopefully, legislators decided to let the parents deal with it!

In the meantime, if you live in Baltimore better hide the peanut butter! Arugula anyone?