Teddy Roosevelt Still Hurts Farmers Today, Property Rights Advocate Says
American farmers haven’t had the benefit of operating under a free market system since the early 20th century, property rights advocate Joel Salatin says.
A critical turning point came when President Teddy Roosevelt established the Food Safety and Inspection Service, he says. The agency, now a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, draws its authority from the Pure Food and Drug Act signed into law by Roosevelt in 1906.
Salatin describes the Republican president as a “socialist” who did great damage to the free enterprise system.
Who is Joel Salatin?
He introduced himself Thursday at the Conservative Political Action Conference as a “Christian, libertarian, environmentalist, capitalist lunatic.”
So he said in prepared remarks delivered during an afternoon panel entitled “Saving America’s Property Rights and Family Farmers.”
Salatin, a prolific author on the subject of property rights, owns Polyface Farm in rural Swoope, Va.
With an eye toward history, Salatin points the finger at Roosevelt and other progressive political figures who unleashed the power of government on entrepreneurs.
“If the government never told us how to farm and to eat, we would be a healthier society,” he said.
Salatin agreed that Americans have legitimate concerns about pollution and irresponsible industry actions.
“Yes, we should stand up to …read more