Dr Bob the Health Builder

Dr Bob the Health Builder

Weekly E-Zine for Wealthy Healthy Wise

Vignettes to make Life a Little Better and More Prosperous

Washington County Texas Appraisal District

We used to have healthy food in the United States and we had small prosperous local farmers producing the food. During this period, there was very little disease - heart attacks, cancer, diabetes, or degenerative illnesses - but today, all of this has changed.

The family farm has almost disappeared - the back bone of America with its economy and wholesome values is being destroyed because of modern agriculture.

Chemical agriculture was going to feed the world and American farmers were told by land grant colleges and the county extension offices it was their duty to perform this noble task. What has this gotten the farmer, United State's population, and the world population?

The American people have lost billions in tax money that has been used to subsidize multi-national corporations which have used cheap grain (subsidized by tax dollars) to undermine the agriculture economies of third world nations, so their farmers had to abandon the land and travel into cities to seek jobs that were not available. This incidentally, created starving women, children, and men. (The chemical/seed/food corporations have made billions doing all this).

Besides loosing billions (probably trillions) the US population have been on the receiving end of progressively poorer quality of foods since the end of WWII. Chemical agriculture has used acid fertilizers (which contain industrial fillers and sometimes toxic heavy metals in each bag or ton of material), organophosphates - herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, radio active wastes, only God know what else, which has been dumped on our soils.

We now have one of the worst medical care systems in the world (there are third world countries that have less disease than the United States.)

There are no trace minerals in the soil and almost every disease can be traced to the absence of these minerals.

What does all this mean and why have I mentioned the Washington County Appraisal District in central Texas?

I belong to TOFGA - the Texas Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association - and our president is Brad Stufflebeam. Brad gardens on a large scale. He actually operates a CSA - Community Supported

Agriculture - which provides fresh fruits and vegetables to a group of people who also belong to the CSA. The people pay a fee and are entitled to a certain quantity of the farms production. If there is a surplus, the members are entitled to purchase more of the crop surplus. If there is still a surplus, the products can then be sold by CSA to the public.

I don't know how many of you have ever gardened, but working with the soil is hard work, yet rewarding. If your hands are 'dirty' you will know you are performing agriculture work. For some reason, the Washington County Appraisal District has decided that Brad and his family are not in agriculture and they are disallowing their agriculture exemption (property taxes).

I have to wonder why a government agency could be so capricious and malicious in deciding not to allow a farmer to apply his trade to produce healthy food for people who want to eat healthy food instead of the rubbish sold in grocery stores in this country. I can only summarize the people in Washington County Appraisal District are some how connected to the toxic chemical food growers and processors who do not want the people of the US to consume healthy food. Maybe if they disallow enough agriculture exemptions, they can discourage young people from going back to 'family farms' - hence, causing even more decline in healthy food and de-resurrection of the 'Back Bone of Mid-America.'

If you feel as strongly regarding this issue as I do, I would suggest you write an e-mail to Brad Stufflebeam, at www.homesweetfarm.com so that he and his family can deliver the letter to the Appraisal District at their hearing. Every voice in this matter will be helpful.

Dr Bob the Health Builder