David E. Gumpert - Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Food Rights: The Escalating Battle Over Who Decides What We Eat

David E. Gumpert has become a nationally recognized writer and authority on the intersection of food, health, and business by virtue of his widely acclaimed book The Raw Milk Revolution: Behind Americas Emerging Battle Over Food Rights , as well as his provocative and popular blog, The Complete Patient (www.thecompletepatient.com), and his many articles about food rights on Grist.org and The Huffington Post. He gained behind-the-scenes access to the key participants and vast government documentation necessary to write Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Food Rights . A former reporter with The Wall Street Journal and editor at Inc. and Harvard Business Review , Gumpert has brought his considerable investigative and journalistic experience and business expertise (author or coauthor of seven books about small business and entrepreneurship) to bear in articulating the corporate, legal, and political forces driving Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Food Rights .

It seems far-fetched to think that police in black suits would make an assault on what we-the-people have forever assumed was our right to eat what we want to eat. Based on an extraordinary journalistic investigation, David Gumpert makes a compelling case that we are witnessing a concerted national program to shut down the buying and selling of pure, wholesome, unadulterated foodfarm by farm and state by state. These assaults, being carried out on farmers in the name of food safety, are jeopardizing our basic liberties, which must include access to foods that keep us healthy. There is no bigger story, and Gumpert has told it in a compelling, highly readable fashion.

Abby Rockefeller , president of The ReSource Institute for Low Entropy Systems and author of the scientific paper Civilization and Sludge

The 18th century was the century of political rights; the 19th century was the century of womens rights; the 20th century was the century of civil rights. The challenge of the 21st century will be the struggle for food and farming rights. Thanks to the work of David Gumpert in chronicling this ongoing battle, we have a roadmap for establishing the right to access the foods of our choice. Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Food Rights is highly recommended for anyone interested in family farms and nutrient-dense food.

Sally Fallon Morell , president of The Weston A. Price Foundation

A wakeup call for anyone who eats, Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Food Rights is an expos on the American governments calculated attack and sinister use of brute force on family farmers and consumers involved in the local food movement. Through harrowing tales of government spying and raids, David Gumpert demonstrates how complacency has allowed corporations to manipulate federal agencies and gain complete control of our entire food supply. If you care about what your family eats, read this book.

Linda Faillace , author of Mad Sheep: The True Story of the USDAs War on a Family Farm

An issue this important should have its own revolutionary flag. The image would show a farmer and a neighbor exchanging food above the classic motto Dont tread on me. This is a revolution that needs to happen. What could be more important to all of us than control over the quality of food we put in our bodies?

Eliot Coleman , author of The Winter Harvest Handbook , Four-Season Harvest , and The New Organic Grower

With incredible clarity and masterful storytelling, David Gumpert leads us on a journey into the trenches of Americas battle over food rights. No one knows this terrain and understands the implications as thoroughly as Gumpert, and the result is a book that will by turns enrage and inspire you. The battle for the right to nourish our bodies with real food must be won, and this book is an essential part of making that happen.

Ben Hewitt , author of The Town That Food Saved: How One Community Found Vitality in Local Food

This book will get you fired up! David Gumpert makes an eloquent case for the importance of food rights and documents the actions of government regulators against small farms and buyers clubs. These infuriating stories are woven together and contextualized by Gumperts insightful legal and political analysis. For anyone interested in reclaiming food, this book shows you that you are part of a larger political struggle.

Sandor Ellix Katz , author of The Art of Fermentation , The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved , and Wild Fermentation

David Gumpert plucks out some of the most salient battles in this current food war and brings them to our awareness with the storytelling genius of a spy novel. The intrigue, the angst, the heartache, and the heroism are all displayed.

Joel Salatin , from the Foreword

Copyright 2013 by David E. Gumpert.
All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form by any means without permission in writing from the publisher.

Project Manager: Hillary Gregory
Developmental Editor: Brianne Goodspeed
Copy Editor: Eric Raetz
Proofreader: Nancy Ringer
Indexer: Shana Milkie
Designer: Melissa Jacobson

Printed in the United States of America.

First printing May, 2013

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Chelsea Green sees publishing as a tool for cultural change and ecological stewardship. We strive to align our book manufacturing practices with our editorial mission and to reduce the impact of our business enterprise in the environment. We print our books and catalogs on chlorine-free recycled paper, using vegetable-based inks whenever possible. This book may cost slightly more because it was printed on paper that contains recycled fiber, and we hope youll agree that its worth it. Chelsea Green is a member of the Green Press Initiative (www.greenpressinitiative.org), a nonprofit coalition of publishers, manufacturers, and authors working to protect the worlds endangered forests and conserve natural resources. Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Food Rights was printed on FSC-certified paper supplied by Thomson-Shore that contains at least 30% postconsumer recycled fiber.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gumpert, David E.

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of food rights : the escalating battle over who decides what we eat / David E. Gumpert ; foreword by Joel Salatin.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-60358-404-3 (pbk.) ISBN 978-1-60358-405-0 (ebook)

1. Food industry and tradeUnited States. 2. Local foodsUnited States. 3. Farmers marketsUnited States. 4. Food supplyGovernment policyUnited States. 5. FoodBiotechnologyGovernment policyUnited States. I. Title.

HD9005.G86 2013
338.190973dc23

2013008071

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To the brave men and women, some of whom are described in the pages that follow, who are risking their personal security and livelihoods so that many others may have access to fresh and wholesome food.