mRNA Part 2

Colonel’s Blog, Earthdate 27 April 2023…

Hey Y’all!

Good morning and happy Thursday from Free Missouri! We enjoyed our freedom to complete rounds in the rain this morning. We need the rain and it is a slow, light rain which is perfect for the grass. The animals are good this morning. We moved the littlest chicks outside yesterday afternoon and the cool rain is a rude introduction to the real world. The smallest chick was cold and damp so we moved it back into the brooder with a heat lamp to warm it up. We’ll leave it inside for a few days to allow it to get a bit bigger and then move it outside. The next batch of beef chicks shipped yesterday, which means we should get a call today or tomorrow to pick them up at the post office. You can check out our YouTube video of us getting ready and picking up the last batch at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSB_xsJjVI0&t=26s . The flerd is in the pasture next to the house after an uneventful move yesterday evening. The top pic is us with the flerd in the background this morning, just outside our front door. The next set of pics shows the guardian dogs fast asleep after a night of paroling the paddock keeping everyone safe. Following the dogs is a pic of a momma cow babysitting the three calves as they ruminate after filling their bellies with grass this morning. The next pic is the lambs in their new paddock with the female guardian dogs in the foreground and the flerd in the background. After that is the layer chickens in their new area, the old lamb paddock. They are thoroughly enjoying all of the space to scratch around and get away from the hen-pecking that ensued immediately after turning them lose yesterday. The final pic is Smokey the barn cat in the Guinea shaw in a Guinea nest with her kittens. You’ll just have to trust me that there are 3 kittens busily nursing behind the straw. We spent most of the day yesterday outside moving the different groups of animals. We had a chance to visit with our friend and neighbor when he stopped by in the evening to pick up milk and eggs. We took the opportunity to sit down on the porch and have an awesome chat and enjoy the view of the flerd grazing. Today we are going to focus on inside things in an effort to stay dry.

I’d like to revisit the topic of mRNA in agriculture. Today I would like to call your attention to a Missouri House Bill that intends to impose labeling requirements on food products that could result in altered DNA. mRNA is one of the key elements of the bill but it also includes Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO). (Fun fact: in the European Union, only one GMO has been approved for cultivation and it's authorization expired in 2013.) We had heard of the bill but were not tracking its progress closely nor did we engage by contacting our State Representative. Unfortunately, we are showing up to the game at the end of the 4th quarter with little chance of overtime. Wednesday, the committee which was discussing the bill voted 10-4 to kill it. As I did more research, this was not a surprising result. The bill was opposed by the Missouri (MO) Cattlemen’s Association, MO Corn Growers Association, MO Pork Producers, MO Farm Bureau, MO Chamber of Commerce, and others. Why do they oppose this bill that would simply require labeling, you might ask? They say it would reduce the value of Missouri agricultural products with no benefit. I say that’s bullshit. The real reason is that it would require all products that are even fed Genetically Modified corn and soybeans to be labeled as potentially altering DNA…because it’s true. That label would inform the consumer of the potentially harmful inputs into their food. We have to put a label on our poultry telling folks to wash their cutting boards and keep cold food cold, but they don't have to label using mRNA vaccines or genetically modified feed. On the mRNA side of things, they are pounding the table saying “there are no licensed mRNA vaccines for agriculture!” What they aren’t saying is that there are “test mRNA vaccines” in use. There are conflicting reports on the pros/cons, length of time it stays in the system, the ability to pass the message from vaccinated animal to consumer, etc. I again encourage you to do your own research on the issue. I do think you should ask yourself why the big-guys are so opposed to a bill that simply requires them to provide information. What am I doing about it? Writing my representative, of course. The bill’s sponsor is MO State Rep Holly Jones from St Louis County. My MO State representative is Travis Smith, the representative for Stone, Ozark, Taney, and Douglas Counties. What can you do about it? Write my representative (travis.smith@house.mo.gov), Rep Holly Jones (holly.jones@house.mo.gov) , or even your representative as similar bills have been introduced in Arizona, Tennessee, and other states. This bill has nation-wide impact. My email immediately follows:

Representative Smith,

Bottom Line Up Front: I support HB 1169 and as my State Representative, I ask you to represent my support.

Sir--I am a retired US Air Force Colonel who spent nearly 25 years serving our great nation as a fighter pilot of F-15Es and culminated my career as the Director of Air and Space Force Special Access Programs. I retired in October of 2021 and moved to Ozark County Missouri. We purchased 160 acres and have spent the past year and a half building a regenerative farm, forming a small farm business in the process. We value the freedom and amazing people in your district. We absolutely love it here.

As a small family farmer, consumer, and producer of meat products, I believe HB 1169 is a valuable step in the right direction for our county, state, and nation. It provides for informed decisions by the consumer. I respectfully request your support in any manner possible to restart, reinvigorate, rewrite, or in any way you can to get this bill back on track.

I am happy to discuss my opinions with you directly, if that would assist you in your decision to support this bill.

Thank you for your time and for representing me in our State House.

Very Respectfully,

Rich

--

Rich and Shelley McGlamory

Air2Ground Farms, LLC.

air2groundfarms.com

Squires, Missouri

(417) 543-7844

A short summary of the bill is:

HB1169—PRODUCT DISCLOSURES

SPONSOR:Jones

This bill specifies that any product that acts as, or exposed to processes that could result in the product potentially acting as, a gene therapy or that could possibly impact, alter, or introduce genetic material or a genetic change into the user of the product or certain other people must be conspicuously labeled with the words “Potential Gene Therapy Product”, and reasonable steps must be taken to ensure a potential purchaser or user is made aware of the presence of this label….

You can access the bill’s status at https://house.mo.gov/Bill.aspx?bill=HB1169&year=2023&code=R

We put up a YouTube Short of us preparing and putting 3 whole 5 pound chickens on the gas grill. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Q5dm2ysW-CE

Local Farm Report for 26 April 2023:

Harvest:

24 Chicken eggs

15 Duck eggs

0 Goose eggs

0 Guinea eggs (Can't find their nest now that Smokey moved in!)

6 Gallons of milk

Cheers! Psycho & Shelley