I’d say “long and the short of it” but if you know me, it’s just the long of it. Now, I do know on a public platform, posting something like this about food freedom and politics will have its critics. And most of those critics will be friends and family, actually. Many will be internet trolls. *le sigh* tis what it is, friend.
Okay, let’s dive in:
Everything we want to do is illegal. AND IT SHOULDN’T BE!
Illegal to sell certain unregulated food products to consenting adults. Why?? If I know the risk as the consumer and trust my farmer, what difference does it make to anyone else if I want to drink raw milk and you, your pasteurized milk?
I don’t care if someone chooses to drink Mountain Dew. So why does anyone care if I choose to eat the pork raised and slaughtered in my neighbor’s yard? Yet, that can’t happen because he can’t sell me that meat being as his backyard isn’t a USDA inspected facility. But that soda contains several harmful chemicals that are A-okay and approved by the FDA for our consumption. MAKE IT MAKE SENSE!
We trust strangers to stay in their homes (AirBnb), we trust strangers to drive us to and from (Uber), why can’t we trust a very similar, real-time reviews system for farm-to-table food products from our local farmers?
Food for thought.
Discernment
Over the last 6 years I’ve prayed for discernment. Which is NOT the difference between right and wrong but the difference between right and *almost* right.
When we were considering (we, meaning my husband) homeschool, boom- Cov!d craziness solidified that deal. When I was deep into some relationships in my circle, the Lord said “love them from a distance”. When I struggled for years with a business situation, God said “for the love of ME, PLEASE surrender and obey”. When phrases like “made with partially bioengineered foods” stood up like a red flag as I read labels for my food allergy child, the Lord encouraged me to dig deeper. So I did.
I dug deeper into research and my garden soil. I dug deeper into The Word and finding local sources of food I couldn’t raise myself. I dug deeper in learning new skills and encouraging others to do the same.
All of this (and so much more) to say that all of it is connected. All pieces fit into the same puzzle. Food, soil, homeschool, my circle, my relationship with God, my distrust of entities I’ve always been told to trust… all related.
North Carolina Food Freedom Festival
And here is another puzzle piece:
I don’t know Cole and Sarah Johnson from Adam’s house cat. Same last name, likely zero relation. I discovered them at the Homesteaders of America Conference at the VICFA booth. A lady there asked if we were from VA and I told her No, NC. She immediately told me about the next month’s NC Food Freedom Festival. Thinking it was going to be in the Asheville area like most of our farm/homestead conferences and workshops are, I wrote off Shiloh, NC. But on the ride home, something (want to guess what, I mean WHO?) told me to Google map Shiloh. Turns out it’s only 1 hour from our hometown.
After consulting with our soon to be 10 year old about the Festival’s date falling on the day we’d do her birthday party, she agreed she wanted to go see Joel Salatin speak again so I bought our tickets right then.
Same day I began following the NC Food Freedom Festival page which led me to a farm page called Yesteryear Farm which I found out a few days later was Cole and Sarah’s farm.
The Festival was fun for all ages and who doesn’t love hearing Joel speak? We ate some delicious food truck food (with super generous portions), spoke with our former milk maids for a little while, and enjoyed a lovely November night sitting in a pasture, nudging a cover crop radish out of the ground with my boot, watching a herd of stunning milk cows chew their cud and perhaps an in-heat girlie telling everyone her situation with those loud moos.
We checked out the local vendors, bought some sweets, Joel’s newest book that hasn’t even released yet as of this typing, and petted some adorable farm animals. We heard a few other speakers speak on topics like the pesticide immunity bill (do you even know what that is? I implore you to look it up! Let me know how you feel… if you can decipher the legalese), food freedom, and term limits.
We are already excited about next year’s NC Food Freedom Festival and pray for the Lord to make it what HE would have it to be.
What does “small farm” mean to you?
A few weeks after the Festival, I see on social media that Cole announced his running for NC District 1 Senate. To be an actual voice for the people of NC. Not someone looking to get paid to stay silent on issues that affect We The People of North Carolina while protecting Big Business and letting (read: forcing) small farms and homesteads close their doors.
I’m writing this of my own volition. I wasn’t asked to. I certainly wasn’t paid to. LOL. I write this because in District 1, there are many small farms. I know— I live in a “small, rural farming community”. I come from a line of farmers on both sides of my family. Admittedly, it’s not the same farming I would like to get into one day but farming just the same…
… EXCEPT— when it’s a homestead-style farm, a dairy farm, a pasture-raised meats farm, an organic farm, a farm with less than 50 acres— it gets treated less than. Of no importance or significance in Raleigh. Yet and still, as this summer showed with the Farm Bill (SB639), those small, family operated farms ruffled some feathers as did the shrimp trawlers. They get under the powers that be’s skin. Regulations and what not…
Current representation of District 1 in NC Senate does not have the little farmer’s best interest at heart… or your interest, for that matter. Just the opposite. And some others in the running for the Primaries in March leave me with the weird feeling of skepticism (shall we call it discernment?). But I am doing my due diligence to research and learn who they are… and what “small farms” means to them.
Because if not ALL small farms, including the regenerative farms, the organic farms, the mom and pop farms, and beyond aren’t included alongside the government supported “small farms” in any candidate’s definition, then they ain’t the one for me.
Remember: you and me are WE THE PEOPLE
Politics are obnoxious, at best. But We The People are forgetting that WE ARE THE PEOPLE. The government works for us; not the other way around.
“What’s best for NC’s people” is full representation and not protecting multi-billion dollar businesses with immunity from their harmful products being sold to us as “agriculture”. Again, look up that pesticide immunity for yourself.
To sum it ALL up, KNOW YOUR CANDIDATE in 2026. Know what they stand for. I’m certainly not telling you who to vote for. I’m simply encouraging you to do some research, no matter which side of the aisle you fall on.
When the candidates come to an area near you to speak, ask hard questions! And listen for their answer. Also listen for what they may NOT be saying. Sometimes what’s left out or walked around in an answer is deafening.
It can feel like a losing battle, politics. Two wings, same bird, and all that energy. But it’s still worth the fight especially at the local level until the day Jesus returns. Your local elections are VIP. Be sure you know what’s going on…
… food freedoms for all is worth the fight.
May you be encouraged to stay informed and make wise decisions.
With love and discernment,
Katie C. Johnson, author of the Johnson Home NC blog.
Have a free recipe on me: Homemade Yogurt in the Instant Pot (use raw milk for the best yogurt!)
