Many Australians feel quite depressed about our food supply systems, farming systems, the drought, and the old systems holding people hostage, however, some are able to see a bigger picture and recognise that there is much that can be capitalised on… There is a considerable amount of jostling going on in food and agriculture. This information may help people understand the current situation more fully and act on it more purposefully.
This article continues on the issues from a previous article. We have seen a new urgency to impress on everyone that all raw milk must be pasteurised. This article explores why that might be the case. The push to shut down raw dairy (especially raw milk cheese) have grown in intensity, so much so, that the usually sanguine raw milk cheese advocate Will Studd presented a talk at the Melbourne Food And Wine Festival 2019 titled: The Death of Farmhouse Cheese. What is going on?
There is an Open Secret
It is not being publicly acknowledged.
You won’t hear it framed in this way on the 6pm news. Some of its elements have been hidden under significant media censorship; like regenerative farming. Other elements like raw milk are being painted black by some media overseas, and being completely ignored here in Australia. Here is the big news:
We have a food production and economic revolution underway, and most raw milk supporters don’t even know that there is something significant to be excited about…
This article shows that raw dairy is indeed booming, with the USA’s largest dairy Organic Pastures, which has products available in 450 stores around California, reporting an 18 percent growth from January 2018 to 2019. Other independent dairy producers, including The Family Cow, have maxed out their milk production to meet the robust demand. Those who complain about Australia’s food system, complain with reason; their values and individual choice are not being met. Food is being handled as a commodity in Australia and there is fierce competition for it to stay that way.
Federal Government plans for agricultural innovation
On the 5th of March Agriculture Minister David Littleproud announced in a media release, information on a commissioned report which aims to set a new strategic vision for rural Australia. It recommends embracing elements like cultural change, sustainability, and establishing world-class innovation practices that include elements like disruptive thinking, taking risks and the ambition to maximise opportunities for investments. There are aims to help Australia reach $100b in productivity gains by 2030. That’s very lofty considering current challenges. The value of all that is farmed in Australia has now fallen to $58 billion, from $63.8 billion two years ago. So what are they up to?
So confident is the government in imminent agriculture growth that they have just announced a new Skilled Occupation List to the immigration system with a variety of occupations that relates to agriculture. The Department of Home Affairs says the update to the skilled occupations lists ensures that the entry of skilled foreign workers to Australia remains carefully calibrated to Australia’s needs. According to another article, farmers have dismissed this attempt to address worker shortages as “meaningless” for them, because it only covered skilled occupations, not a workforce that can do unskilled labour like fruit-picking. Livestock farming is one of the additional roles in the expanded list eligible for skilled worker visas.
The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) is the research arm of the Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water
Resources. Their mission is to provide research, analysis and advice to inform decision-makers on significant issues affecting Australia’s agriculture. The commodity forecaster ABARES reported:
"At the national level, the average farm cash income for dairy farmers is projected to decrease from $160,900 per farm in 2017–18 to $93,000 in 2018–19."
Watch the minister’s speech at the recent ABARES Outlook conference 2019, and reach your own conclusions on whether or not this government can remove the regulatory rigmarole that prevent cottage food industries from taking off, and enable small-scale farmers to innovate with the kind of food that consumers will increasingly seek access to.
Let us hope these people have the wisdom to get their implementation right, because the world is changing and despite the best planning in the world, the next seven years are bound to have many shocks and surprises in store for even the best of analysts and forecasters. Scientific engineering in agriculture may be all the rage, but is it altruistic? Is it going to be well liked and sustainable long term, as opposed to the simple perfection of organics and natural soil biology?
Let us hope the ambitious people in positions of power can steward these opportunities in a responsible manner, without being led by interests that don’t benefit the good of all.
Other plans for innovation: a different perspective worth considering
There are currently huge challenges in our farming sectors that nobody can deny. But there is another very unique point of view, but not everyone is going to be able to appreciate it. The author of this article is a long time student of astrology, but also understands that it is not something that interests everyone, but perhaps you are curious enough to continue reading… and perhaps you can find comfort in understanding things from another perspective… You may even find it enlightening.
The second ingress of Uranus into Taurus on the 6th of March 2019 heralded in a seven year period of many changes globally, which may include exciting developments in sustainable farming, agricultural systems, and cottage food industries. This article includes a brief astrological interpretation of the changes, and their expressions, that started since Uranus first ingressed into Taurus in May 2018, marking a new chapter for the collective through to 2025. It is appropriate to share this information now because many of these ideas have already started to materialise in our world. It takes time for these new patterns to form and take shape, and even years to fully develop. There are already huge disruptions, shake-ups and newness for us globally and personally. It’s about balancing progress with tradition, however, with many established systems in a deep state of transformation, like banking, politics, religion, food systems (Saturn/Pluto in Capricorn), the
newness may eventually be a welcome relief for those who are able, and ready to embrace it.
These changes may leave those who don’t understand them in panic and despair. It may be beneficial for raw milk supporters to get a better understanding about these issues, instead of being depressed over situations that may seem only negative in nature. We are in a time where the status quo is disintegrating. The rapid breakdown in the Australian dairy industry of the last four weeks is one of the many expressions. Some farms have turned into dust bowls and deserts. Dairy farmers need to learn how to use this powerfully disruptive and even rebellious energy to help them change—and fast—to free themselves, to let go of the attachments of the past, and innovate.
Many strange manoeuvrings and regulatory changes that have occurred in recent years in food systems, have left farmers and consumers perplexed. There are those who have known these changes were coming. This is often the case with good strategists in business. They have cultivated the ability to see developing patterns and potentials early, and adapt and act accordingly to benefit. These are their hallmarks. They know and understand cycles and use this knowledge to their advantage.
It’s now time for dairy farmers and consumers to do the same: learn to capitalise on new trends…
The planet Uranus
Uranus only visits each astrological sign every 84 years, electrifying the airwaves for about eight years and disrupting the status quo in that area.
Uranus is the planet of change and revolution. It upsets the apple cart wherever it goes, and it dares to destabilise and remobilise.
Uranus correlates with the unexpected. Uranus tears up the old rotten roots and obstacles that are in the way, so that new roots hidden below, can then have room to grow. It initiates life changes, new patterns and breaks up stagnation. Uranus can provide moments of absolute knowing and flashes of intellectual brilliance. Uranus is genius, maverick and awakening. The energy provides us with those breakthrough moments that push us beyond our limits. Uranus rules the astrological sign of Aquarius, which ushers in more egalitarian, humanitarian motives and other themes of equality that revolves around ‘the people’.
This time is also about ushering in awareness of how trapped many people feel in systems, which is a major source of mental health issues. Uranus seeks more freedom and innovation, and in Taurus, more practical ways that improve our lives. It also rules the economy: all economies are about to get a makeover. Uranus is about to spend the next seven years in the sign of Taurus.
The sign of Taurus the Bull
Taurus rules the desire for stability, personal resources, values, discovering and using our talents, stewardship of resources, wealth and assets. Taurus rules what we really love and value, and this includes food and farming. Taurus is sensible, calm and levelheaded and is also associated with cattle. It’s about how we nourish ourselves with nutrient-dense food. Taurus wants to return to nature, the slower rhythms of nature and to what is natural.
Uranus in Taurus, Farming and and Agriculture
Taurus is an earth sign that governs sustenance and self-sufficiency. Farming and the food supply could get a major overhaul with forward-thinking Uranus here. We are already seeing the scientific developments that improve soil quality, increase farm productivity and revolutionise the farming industry. The drought in Australia is showing us the need for some mandatory changes, and to identify how we can make some ingenious corrections. There is need for change, breaking up of stagnation and anything that has become rote or routine (like the milking routine); some consumers want it raw!
There has been a sense of excitement and a feeling that "change is in the air" for some time, like just about anything could happen—and suddenly. People who are excited by whatever’s new, experimental, and unexpected, will enjoy the feeling of the electricity in the air and the sudden shifts. People who feel uncomfortable with change or even resist it, may find this energy stressful. Taurus likes stability, security, and feeling safe. So you can imagine how unsettling it is that we now have the planet of surprise suddenly knocking on Taurus’s door. Uranus in
Taurus likes to stir the pot about our issues surrounding stability, security, and comfort, which is why there is so much upheaval and uncertainty in the food and farming industry. According to this article, Uranus longs for change, whereas Taurus longs for things to stay the same. These two energies are not exactly the perfect match, so there may be a push-pull feeling, and you may find it difficult to make, or accept certain changes. The ways that you seek stability and comfort are also going to be up for review under this energy. You may also find that what you once thought was secure and stable is no longer. In a way, Uranus in Taurus is about letting go of your security blanket and learning to step out into the world with a little more freedom and a little more risk.
On a global level, Uranus in Taurus is going to be challenging all of us to pay attention to how we are treating Mother Earth. We are going to be encouraged to really reconsider environmental issues, droughts, and how we can protect the planet. There will also be discussions about boundaries being too strict, what needs to be undone, and what needs to be cleared away.
The Consumer Revolution: changing values and how that impacts Farming and Food Production
It’s quite evident that people’s values are changing. Australians are taking a keener interest than ever before on what happens to animals on farms.
Activism around animal farming and industrial farming systems is here to stay, according to an Australian report by Future Eye. It found 95% of Australians view farm animal welfare as a concern. ‘Australia’s Shifting Mindset on Farm Animal Welfare’ gives insight into why there’s an increase in activism, but it sadly didn’t give credit to a revolution taking place that is very important to acknowledge. That is learning to differentiate between livestock that are part of the problem (feedlot beef, intensively reared chickens and pigs, intensive dairy) and the livestock and products that are part of the solution (pasture-raised grown in healthy, chemical-free natural environments). Pasture-raised animal products are often sold directly from farmer to consumer. In this system, the consumer is often willing to pay more for food raised in a certain way, that increases the health benefits for the consumer, and allays their concerns, because these consumers can visit the farm, and influence how the food is grown. Consumers can also actually taste the difference.
Some vegans may wish to stay vegan, and that is fine, but there are those who are discovering that animal products can be grown in an ethical and humane way that provides a good life for the animal, and produces highly nourishing food. Some millennials and vegans are still a little bit misguided at times and slow to learn, and this is often because they don’t understand
that there are different kinds of animal farming systems, with different outcomes for the environment and human health.
A VOMAD 2019 global vegan survey shows what influenced vegans to go vegan. The majority of the over 12,000 participants were influenced by a feature length documentary (such as Cowspiracy, Dominion, Vegucated, Forks Over Knives etc). Many of these documentaries filmed and investigated large-scale industrial farming setups. The majority of participants (57%) were between 18 - 24 years old and from Australia. It’s clear that there is room for many vegans and millennials to better clarify what they value in life and how to balance that with food and health. Many ethical farmers who frequently interact with vegans agree:
It cannot be denied that veganism as a movement is one of the many side effects of Factory Farming.
In another debate on the issue, one university academic said: "…the empirical evidence that industrial animal agriculture harms humans, animals, and the environment is quite strong. Any productive conversation should focus on what to do about this.” Morality and the future of our planet are important issues as the vegans highlight. Industry and government pushed farmers to ‘go big or get out’ and industrialise, but now society have to pick up the pieces.
On the 6th of March, the day Uranus finally moved into Taurus, WA Minister for Agriculture Alannah McTiernan urged farmers to listen to consumers and work alongside them to create the ethical produce they ask for. This video shows her support for regenerative farming, so perhaps the minister has seen what can be achieved when farmers and consumers come together and work together.
Uranus is a wild-card energy, and it can be the sudden illumination of solutions to problems. It’s genius and brilliance. What else is the millennial generation going to come up with as they clash with authoritarian structures over dysfunctional food systems? These people are going to tear down what doesn’t work anymore, and hopefully make way for something better for society as a whole. To learn more about what motives the next generation to become food freedom fighters, read Bethany’s story here: Full Circle: A Story of Raw Milk.
Predicting where the next generation of leaders are going to take us is challenging at this early stage, however, we know that many millennials have tried the conventional food system, the vegan lifestyle, and even organic foods, because they have run into many health problems. It is a curious reality that many raw milk producers overseas were once vegans, and many raw milk producers are millennials… let that sink in… These people as a collective are eventually going to ask:
How can we bring in the beautiful food traditions of the past (Taurus) and adapt them to suit the 21st century (Uranus)?
Innovation and Meeting Consumer Demand
This is a time where people are waking up to what they really love, newly uncovered talents, and utilising their passions to make a living, or finding what they really want. There has been new innovation in how investments are made. Many people are passionate to support crowdfunding campaigns that offer the food rewards they desire. People’s investment choices are following their values.
In recent years we have seen city folk finding innovative ways to leave the hustle behind, move to the farm and start new food systems, like community supported agriculture (CSA) schemes. The Prom Coast Food Collective in Victoria is one example of innovative, new food systems. Echo Valley Farm in Queensland is another, watch this video. In the USA there seems to be no slowdown of the private food clubs and other private food arrangements that rise up around raw dairy farmers. The rise of the direct market
model is proof that small-scale farming can be very profitable, and the interaction over high-value food is very rewarding. See the bottom half of this article for examples.
It’s also quite possible that raw milk producers globally may continue to have offers of money and assistance given to them freely, to help them remove the obstacles to the food consumers desire. More people may be volunteering their spare time to help raw milk producers on the farm with whatever they need, in order to keep the supply going. This trend is already in progress where raw milk is allowed, and we can provide many examples from our case studies. We may see the rise of the gift economy and more bartering systems as well, as people realise that true value lies in people, communities and the like-minded for long term security. People may experience that ‘finding their tribe’ can be sustainable for them. Here are some examples:
1. Cow calf friendly dairy’s expansion to deal with the demand
In the first week of March, How Now Dairy was featured on WIN News Shepparton. The dairy launched a strong social media campaign, championing its ethical methods and choosing to keep calves close to mum, and business is booming for the small scale dairy with a difference. The farm now sells shares through equity crowd funding to deal with the huge demand for the no separation, no slaughter dairy products.
2. Ethical poultry production innovation
Ben Falloon’s Taranaki Farm in Victoria is only one of many examples of farmers who are disadvantaged because they are too small-scale for food processors. A year ago Ben, who runs a pastured chicken operation as a pioneer in regenerative farming, posted about being turned away from his chicken abattoir, and the fact that there has been only one processor left where all Victorian small, ethical poultry producers could go, resulting in immense panic, uncertainly and frustration. Ben says that small ethical poultry producers in Victoria are still resting on a stool with just one leg.
He has now launched a crowdfunding campaign for assistance to help him jump the bureaucratic challenges and set up on-farm micro-abattoir - a small batch processing plant that will ensure careful and humane slaughter of the birds. There is huge demand and support for Taranaki Farm’s pasture-based produce. Watch the video to the right.
3. Consumers will pay for verifiable food of higher quality
Listen to grass-fed champion and academic Dr. Allen Williams from Joyce Farms on why consumers want pastured beef, pig, chicken etc. and why it is true that not everyone wants CHEAP FOOD. He says that consumers “will pay for true verifiable food”. His farming operation has a processing plant that processes their own poultry, beef, pork, lamb, bison etc. initiating a huge rural revival. Dr Allen shows that consumers want transparency and education. He takes chefs, restauranteurs, and consumers on farm tours and explains to them the benefits of healthy soil, and it immediately resonates with them, which is very powerful. Watch this powerful video.
4. Food Freedom laws
The expansion and sweeping reform of Food Freedom bills in American states are growing home grown food economies fast. Artisan and other cottage food industries are finding their rightful place in communities.
“Almost four years after the nation’s first “food freedom” law was enacted, hundreds of new local businesses have sprouted across three states, and without a single outbreak of a foodborne illness. Completely exempt from any licensing, permitting, or inspection requirements, residents operating under their state’s food freedom act can create and sell almost any homemade dish imaginable, except those that contain meat.” See these articles:
Hundreds Of Homemade Food Businesses Flourish Under State Food Freedom Laws
As Home-Cooked Cottage-Food Industry Grows, States Work to Keep Up
New Scientific Discoveries that empowers farmers, eaters, the animals and the environment - Regenerative methods
New scientific developments that improve the quality of the soil and the yield in the paddock, and on the cropland, are already being taught at conferences. Some farmers who have embraced them report that regenerative farming methods have made them rich. Farmers are learning how to grow powerful, effective bio-stimulants and compost teas to restore the microbiology to the soil, and how to grow a large diversity of plants together in the paddock to provide a large green mass of nutrient-dense food for cows, and ultimately for humans. Some farmers are discovering that great biodiversity equals greater farm profitability.
Some farmers around the world are building fertile topsoil back so fast, that not even nature can do it in a similar timeframe.
Lack of soil fertility and farm profitability are problems that can be reversed rather rapidly when the right methods are applied.
Farmers are by nature set in their ways and they can be ‘as stubborn as a bull’, but those who are willing to listen to soil scientists, change their perceptions, beliefs and routines are seeing incredible benefits in farm productivity and the return of a meaningful lifestyle.
Some are learning to let go of the chemicals with antibiotic properties, the pesticides and herbicides, and they are weaning their addicted soils off synthetic fertilisers. They are converting their degraded soils into soils with black organic matter, greater water holding capacity, faster water infiltration rates, better drought-resistance. The plants enjoy more minerals and trace elements made available to them, thanks to nutrient-cycling between plants and microbes. These farmers are already revolutionising and regenerating the farming industry into the future, despite regenerative farming being one of the top ten most censored news stories of 2018, and politicians who are failing to publicly support it.
Regenerative management practices improve financial and farming wellbeing for Australia farmers. Read about Boorowa farmer Charlie Arnott who learnt about regenerative agriculture 15 years ago, turning around his farm’s capacity to deal with drought, more here. In the 1980’s a drought had him on the edge of ruin. It was through crisis and destabilisation that he discovered that HE needed to change. Does that sound familiar? According to the same article, a national study shows regenerating farmers doing better. Mark Gardner from Vanguard Business Services said a survey of 16 farms compared incomes against conventional farming systems using ABARES and Australian Bureau of Statistics figures over a 10-year period. It showed that regenerative farmers had above average profit levels, especially in dry years. Read the 88 pages Full Technical Report here.
Nutrient-dense food: The Value of the food grown for a certain Quality and Nutritional Value
People’s central nervous systems may feel overloaded during these changing times, as Uranus rules the nervous system and Taurus nourishing the body. People may need more fatty acids and other nutrients from food to help them cope. Near 100% Pasture-raised foods like chicken, eggs, meat and raw dairy that have not been grain-fed, including sustainably sourced seafood like wild-caught fish (not farmed fish), may become increasingly sought after because they contain a healthy omega-3 ratio and other goodies like CLA. There is a visible consumer trend towards animal products that were raised eating primarily what they were designed to, which is not a large grain diet, nor a monocrop diet like for example ryegrass. The demand for raw dairy may continue to soar, because when milk is pasteurised, fats are oxidised or damaged (depending on what temperature the milk was heat treated at). Raw milk can be done well when the right controls are applied.
Vegans may have an increased need for fatty acids in their diets. One recent example of this is the famous YouTuber Tim Shieff who was booted from the vegan clothing company he started, after he admitted to eating non-vegan foods like eggs and salmon. He explained that he felt depleted after years on a vegan diet, and revealed he was suffering with 'digestion issues, depression, fatigue, brain fog, lack of energy,' and 'waking up stiff' in his joints. He made the choice to go back to animal products. According to this article, he ate raw eggs and wild-caught salmon. He said the improvements in his health were evidence that “there is something natural in consuming animal products” for his own body. Rawvana is another famous long time vegan vlogger recently forced to open up about her addition of eggs and fish into her diet, due to complicated health problems.
In this interview at the 31 minute time marker, raw milk producer Mark McAfee explains why the human brain requires good fats for nervous system tissues. He says that Schwann cells (and the myelin sheaths) require insulation, and that after years of not having animal fats many vegans lose that insulation, and become a nervous wreak. He says that within hours of consuming raw cream, he has seen vegans settle in a calm and stop shaking. The myelin membranes originate from and are part of the Schwann cells in the nervous system. The myelin sheath is a cover made out of fats and proteins, and it needs a good source of omega 3 fatty acids and minerals via the diet for good health. Multiple Sclerosis and other nervous system disorders are often the consequence when this insulating layer around the nerves breaks down.
Consumers are also waking up to the reality of the mineral- and nutrient-depleted, and adulterated foods often produced in industrial farming systems. This article, and others on ARMM’s website describes why food produced in systems, where synthetic fertilisers and agrochemicals with antibiotic properties are used, do result in plants that miss out on optimal nutrient-cycling between soil microbes and plants. This natural symbiosis where enabled, results in plants, meat and dairy products that contain more of the naturally-acquired nutrients, minerals and trace elements, when they were grown in regenerating, chemical free farming systems. Farmers report and show that the animals are healthier, produce more milk and have increased resistance to disease etc.
According to this article, almost a quarter of organic food buyers were motivated by a health crisis. An Australian survey showed that the next generation, the millennials, are more health conscious and better educated about the benefits of organics, than previous data showed. They are slowly becoming acquainted with the health benefits from different farming systems, and learning to practice discernment in food buying habits.
This article, written by raw milk producer Alex Heffron (who is a millennial himself), describes why business as usual won’t convince millennials to consume dairy. He writes that millennials are going off dairy, and the strategy of telling them and the wider population that they’re wrong about milk, isn’t working and it’s not an effective PR strategy. “I think the dairy industry needs to look at what’s underlying consumer concerns. Why is it, for example, that older generations say dairy is good for them, and younger generations say that it is bad for them? What’s happened in the last couple of decades that’s led to such a wholesale change in opinion?”
Also see this recent review: Raw Cow’s Milk and Its Protective Effect on Allergies and Asthma and the latest information on milk fat globules.
Weston A. Price was a dentist who who had observed how traditional societies ate certain foods (grown in a particular way) for vibrant health, like pasture-raised animal products. Today the Weston A. Price Foundation show how modern consumers can select food grown in a particular way to reverse physical degeneration and disease. This traditional wisdom has many followers around the world who are now seeking these kinds of foods.
The rise of the Food and Production System Dictators
There are many who want to continue to do things their way, in a way that benefits them financially. These people are visibly angry, hostile and fearful that their way of life is slipping away due to many forces. This adds to the jostling…
There is a lot of evidence that indicate that the status quo is fearful and resistant of the Farming Revolution and what it might mean for their businesses, and that there is an urgency to demonise the competition. If consumers start to go directly to farmers for their food, as is often seen where high-value foods like raw milk for human consumption is allowed, what will that mean for big food empires, those connected to them and other mighty industries?
The last few years have shown there is great jealousy and envy of small-scale farmers.
The discussions at the Eat Buy Grow rally and others have made that abundantly clear. There has been a food war raging for the last few years, and the stakes are quite high. The big food industries already know that consumer preference has changed, and will continue to change. Highly processed foods manufacturers are also losing profits due to the drought in Australia, and have tried to compensate for the lost profits by making portion sizes smaller, or reducing the weight on some product lines. Some food manufacturers want the populace to eat a large amount of grain and seed oil, because profits are high on these processed items. Food in its whole form doesn’t have the easy profit margin for them that highly processed products have. There are many major investments being made into developing foods targeting millennials and vegans. Think faux meat, faux dairy, faux cheese and other imitation food creations. Unfortunately highly processed foods are making people sick, but big manufacturers keep finding ways to reinvent themselves to profit. To learn why organisations like the Weston A. Price Foundation feel these processed seed oils and spreads are detrimental to health, listen to this podcast. Sally Fallon Morell explains how the edible oils industry demonises healthy fats like butter and animal fats for their own gain.
Some food dictators have been working very hard in recent years to put regulations or other obstacles in place that disadvantage the competition: the small-scale dairy farmer. Other food system dictators doesn’t seem to want people to enjoy animal products like dairy and meat in the large quantity of their choice, as the fine print in the recent EAT-Lancet recommendations indicate.
There is currently high profit margins in grain farming (and seed oil like canola), which is also why its consumption is pushed, see the chart in this article. At the same time many consumers are losing interest in consuming grain, for health reasons; think Paleo, LCHF and other movements.
The Future Eye report called Australia’s Shifting Mindset on Farm Animal Welfare found that a growing section of the public sympathise with animal activists. It said 76 per cent of Australians say whistleblowing by activists about farm animal welfare should be encouraged, with 20pc undecided and only 4pc disagreeing with the whistleblowing. This is a wake-up call for the livestock industry.
The FutureEye Report found there was no difference in views between people in capital cities or regional towns.
It also found there’s distrust in both the Federal Department of Agriculture’s ability to properly oversee farm animal welfare, and of industry’s failure to properly address animal welfare issues. Livestock production is seen as secretive, with ‘ag gag’ attempting to shut people out from what is really going on. The report shows that the increase in animal-based activism is part of a global trend and shows no sign of abating.
Making it easier for farmers to sell high-value, ethically-raised animal products directly to consumers, by making regulatory changes to enable it, will help to ease consumers and farmers into better relationships.
The Nemesis of Food Choice
If someone were to sum up the biggest nemesis of the raw milk movement, the ethical food movement and possibly even of small-scale farmers, it would be the businessman. These are the people who want to control the market forces in the global economy, often to the advantage of a minority. Large food manufacturing businesses have been able to grow significantly more that they would have, because regulations in Australia have prevented small-scale farmers and cottage food industries from flourishing. It is quite possible that these individuals now fear Uranus’ unpredictable, destabilising energy as it pertains to economies, food and farming systems, changing values, and also the transformation of the established, but outdated systems (Saturn/Pluto in Capricorn).
Will Australian taxpayer money go towards expanding food systems that include raw milk and raw milk cheese, or will it go towards propping up and insulating big business against the tremors of Uranus in Taurus? Will taxpayer funds be spent on creating more dysfunctional food systems? Who will benefit from Scott Morrison’s Future Drought Fund?
Politicians decide where Australian taxpayer money is invested. They influence rural policies, farm policies and food regulations. What are the chances of small-scale farmers being the beneficiaries of schemes and regulation changes to expand food systems?
With Australian dairy farmers going broke, there is bound to be long lists of properties in Australia’s most fertile dairy regions as potential acquisition opportunities for big business investment soon. How will these farms be farmed in the future, and by who?
Canberra Matters | Dairy farmers are giving up in increasing numbers due to market failure
Milk price to fall until 2024: ABARES
Farmers warn the sun is setting on Australian dairy
It is possible that business-minded people in Federal Government recognise allowing raw dairy as a significant source of competition for big business, and that it might affect their profits when money goes directly towards farmer’s pockets. The activities around the time of the ABARES commodity report shows Federal Government undoubtably participates in the commodity food system, and the media participates by publishing according to an outlined agenda. The rise of industrial agriculture, also known as factory farming is destroying rural communities, and Canberra doesn’t seem to really care.
Final words…
The aim of this article is to explore reasons why raw milk and raw milk cheese have globally been persecuted in recent years, with a renewed push around #FebruDairy. Hopefully a better understanding can now be reached about why that might be the case, and why small-scale farmers may have been so economically disadvantaged. It’s time to change regulations in Australia to allow cottage food industries to take off, because there is much excitement (and a wild ride) in years ahead.
Society is in need of a major overhaul, and the astrology shows that this is already in motion and coming to a head in 2020 and beyond. The prospect of change may be frightful for ambitious people who have previously had much success in predicting and controlling conditions and market forces. The threat of uncertainty and looming impermanence may be a source of stress. The potential for volatility in the economy may drive some to extreme actions.
These are potentially the fears behind the very urgent push to eliminate, discredit or at least slow down the kinds of foods and production systems that will flourish in the coming years.
Big business and big industry often have a scarcity mentality, and it has been established that they fear what might happen if raw dairy products become widely available. It’s a business motivation, not a food safety one.
Policy makers should look at allowing the flow of the naturally-evolving consumer food preference, instead of being influenced by businessmen and other dictators who want to control the narrative.
Please note: these are the individual views of the author of this article. Please don’t write and ask what is going to happen, as this is not entirely predictable. We can only watch trends develop and make estimations on their trajectory. It’s going to be a time of discovering newness and co-creating the new reality.
Related Articles:
Uranus In Taurus (2018-2026): Balancing Progress and Tradition
Intuitive Astrology: Uranus in Taurus 2018-2026
David Littleproud at the ABARES Outlook 2019
Farm production outlook: Strong commodity prices ease drought impact
Tough choices for farmers at ABARES Outlook 2019
Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance event pushing towards a sustainable food future
How ‘Silent Spring’ Ignited the Environmental Movement
Compassion in dairy farming by Patrick Holden
Full Circle: A story of Raw Milk
Regenerative agriculture finds solid backing as decades of success show renewal
Uranus In Taurus 2018 – 2026: There’s Security In Letting Go
Survey shows why people go vegan
More farmers to walk away from agriculture industry on Anzac Day 2019 if no rain
Historic family farm up for grabs
Uranus in Taurus 2018-2026 by astrologer Pam Gregory
Vegan activist compares Australian abattoirs to Nazi gas chambers
State of the drought shows dams empty and NSW drowning in dust
Why the debate between vegans and meat-eaters is pointless
Rabobank survey says confidence rises for grain and sheep farmers in Victoria
Five Benefits of Small-Scale Farming
End the Cage Age: ban cages for all farmed animals
How America’s food giants swallowed the family farms
Cheesemakers Legal Action: Update
The Oiling of America: A Wise Traditions podcast with Sally Fallon Morell
Asset manager AgCap looks to corporate dairy farms for business
Abares Dairy: March quarter 2019
Australia’s Shifting Mindset on Farm Animal Welfare
9 out of 10 people concerned over animal welfare in Australian farming
