healthimpactnews--2020-04-16--Is W.H.O. Director Tedros a Terrorist? Global Ties to Bill Gates, Clinton Foundation, Dr. Fauci, Chi

Is W.H.O. Director Tedros a Terrorist? Global Ties to Bill Gates, Clinton Foundation, Dr. Fauci, China and Genocide

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus : is the WHO led by a terrorist ?
The go-between of Gates and China engaged in the global leadership battle In a just a few weeks time , the fate of the entire planet seems to have been placed under the command of the World Health Organization and its leader , Tedros Gherbreyesus .
But over the last few days his handling of the coronavirus crisis and his relationships with China have put the chairman of the organization under heavy fire , with many calling for his resignation .
[ 1 ] So who is this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his hands ?
During one of the many Covid-19 press conferences at the White House , Dr. Fauci showed all his appreciation for Tedros Ghebreyesus , the new hero : But after what seemed to have been many ‘ blunders ’ in the announcements and recommendations of the WHO since the pandemic started , many now see him walking the walk of shame , rather than the walk of fame .
Born on March 3rd , 1965 in Asmara ( Ethiopia ) , Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was elected Director-General of the WHO in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to head the health agency and the first not to be a doctor .
He holds a B.Sc .
in Biology from the University of Asmara in Eritrea and a PhD in Community Health from the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom in 2000 and served as Ethiopia ’ s Health Minister from 2005 to 2012 .
From 2009 to 2011 , Tedros Ghebreyesus was also the Director of the Global Fund , a program to fight AIDS , tuberculosis and malaria , initiated by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ UNAIDS Program Coordinating Board .
A member of the Board of the GAVI Alliance for Immunization , Tedros Ghebreyesus was further closely associated with the Clinton Foundation and the Clinton AIDS Initiative ( CHAI ) .
Smiling and poised , he is portrayed as a humble , compassionate figure , a benefactor to humanity , dedicated to his heavy responsibilities .
It is therefore rather astonishing to discover that Ghebreyesus ’ political career began at the politburo of the Tigray People ’ s Liberation Front ( TPFL ) , a terrorist organization of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ % of the Ethiopian population ) , listed in the U.S .
Homeland Security Global Terrorism Database for a series of kidnappings , bombings and armed robberies .
[ 3 ] The United States has classified the TPFL as a Tier III terrorist organization .
[ 4 ] In its 1975 manifesto , the TPFL had declared an “ eternal war ” on neighboring populations , mainly the Amhara and Oromo ethnic groups , representing 30 % and 34 % of the population .
After several years of guerrilla warfare , the TPFL @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of another Eritrean liberation movement , and took power in 1991 as a branch of a single Marxist-inspired party , the Ethiopian People ’ s Democratic Revolutionary Front ( EPDRF ) , which is only democratic in name .
A report published in an international law journal [ 6 ] claimed that in spite of efforts to disguise its dictatorship , the TPFL was actually “ abusing the notions of self-determination and democracy to plunder Ethiopia.
” This was also the alarm raised by a document of the Oakland Institute which estimated that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Ethiopia , ( 60 % of the national budget ) , were mainly used for political repression .
[ 7 ] This was again confirmed by Human Rights Watch ( HWR ) , who accused the European Parliament in 2016 of overlooking the numerous violations committed by the Ethiopian regime it was funding .
[ 8 ] HWR claimed that under the leadership of the EPRDF , the government had diverted funds from international aid programs , using them as political weapons to control the population , punish dissent and repress its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ agriculture , micro-credit or healthcare exclusively benefited certain ethnic groups , while others had been systematically deprived of them .
Perhaps one could give Tedros Ghebreyesus the benefit of the doubt , imagining him as a noble reformer who , having strayed at the beginning , would have turned into a devoted humanitarian bringing his light into the darkness of a bad regime .
That illusion quickly fades away when one discovers the damning dossier presented by the Amhara Professional Union ( APU ) , accusing him of having carried out a real @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Health .
[ 9 ] Indeed , the Amhara ethnic group lost more than 2.5 million people between the 1997 and 2007 censuses .
While the other major ethnic groups grew by a yearly average of 2.6 % , the Amharas had a slower population increase , with only 1.9 % .
They did not benefit from the same health services and were not allocated equal resources as the dominating Tigray population , except for one program , a contraceptive campaign for which the Amhara appeared to have been on top of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 5 times better health coverage in terms of infrastructure and number of healthcare providers .
In contrast , the Amhara population had a much higher use of injectable contraceptives , such as Dep-Provera ( 19 % Tigray , 29 % Amhara ) while overall receiving less information about family planning and contraceptive methods ( Tigray received 2 to 3 times more information on TV , Radio and Print ) .
Depo-Provera is a highly controversial product that received a black box warning [ 10 , 11 ] in the U.S. for an increased @ @ @ @ @ @ @ breast cancer .
But it has also been associated with a rise in AIDS cases and difficulties to regain fertility after prolonged use , two conditions that also seemed prevailing among the Amhara population .
The APU accused the Ethiopian government of racial discrimination by pushing the use of Depo onto their woman without their informed consent .
[ 12 ] According to another report “ Depo-Provera Deadly Reproductive Violence Against Woman , “ [ 13 ] family planning promoting this drug in Africa engages in de facto discrimination policies , making false @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and failing to inform women about its harms and side-effects .
Such products have been restricted or even banned in Europe and the U.S. , but they are still included in family planning of the WHO , and programs such as FP2020 , supported and led by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation .
This led to heavy criticism [ 14 ] from health groups and human rights advocates .
Perhaps the Trump administration also took some of these arguments into account when it announced it would stop financing the U.N. Population Fund @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on abortion .
Bill Gates said he was ‘ deeply troubled ’ by the announced U.S. cuts , but at the international summit on family planning that was held in London later in 2017 , the U.K. , the IMF , World Bank and international NGO ’ s committed to a new funding for a total of $ 2,5 billion .
Tedros Ghebreyesus , who attended the meeting as the new leader of the WHO , promised to “ personally champion the issue of sexual and reproductive rights as a top priority , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ personal interest and involvement in birth control policies… and their dubious consequences .
But Tedros Ghebreyesus is also known for covering up of several cholera outbreaks in Ethiopia ( 2006 , 2009 , 2011 ) , by relabeling them “ Acute Watery Diarrhea ” ( AWD ) .
[ 16 ] The report of a WHO field expert on the 2006 outbreak , however , certified that Vibrio cholerae had indeed been identified as the causal agent .
[ 17 ] Tedros preferred not to damage the image of his party and his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ outbreak , he deprived these populations of the basic help they needed , such as re-hydration measures and sanitation of water .
The same scenario was repeated in 2009 and 2011 , even under his WHO leadership , when he ignored a massive outbreak in Sudan , Ethiopia ’ s conflicting neighbor , according to an open letter signed by a team of U.S. doctors and Genocide Watch .
[ 18 ] The Global Fund is a partnership led by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to fight AIDS , Tuberculosis and Malaria @ @ @ @ @ @ @ elected Board Chair of the Fund for a two-year term .
In a profile published in April 2010 , The Lancet reported that he was “ a household name at the Global Fund Secretariat ” and that his achievements led to name Ethiopia as an exemplary high-performing country .
A surprising conclusion , when one finds out that during his leadership , the use of international aid funds he supervised was very questionable .
In 2012 , an audit [ 19 ] of the Global Fund looked at the expenses of the aids @ @ @ @ @ @ @ African countries , including Ethiopia who had received $ 1.3 billion in grants .
Inspector General John Parson who was in charge of the audit , revealed a flagrant lack of transparency , numerous shortcomings in the accounting and management of the funds , to the point of suggesting a minimum payback of $ 7 millions to the organization .
Above all , the investigation also showed a huge discrepancy between the results presented and the reality observed in Ethiopia during the field visits .
For example , 77 % of the medical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and 32 % did not have sanitary facilities .
Only 14 % had a microscope or a delivery table , and only 12 % had a pharmacy .
The report should have led to a series of measures ensuring more transparency and efficacy in the management of the program , but instead the Inspector General and his findings were dismissed .
Obviously , good relationships with African governments leaders had a far greater importance .
Then in 2012 , at the end of his term in the Health Department , Tedros Ghebreyesus was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2012 to 2016 ) , a further confirmation that he had always remained at the heart of the Party ’ s decisions , and was still serving its goals with dubious methods .
For example , in 2013 , when Saudi Arabia chose to send back immigrants from different nations , the only country that took no steps to repatriate its nationals was Ethiopia .
This inaction , for which he was responsible , led to violence against Ethiopians by the Saudis .
[ 20 ] In 2014 , Tedros , the former @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , extradition and condemnation of several dissident leaders and hundreds of asylum seekers in Yemen , with the complicity of the Yemeni government .
[ 21 ] WHO election backed by Gates and China One wonders how such a man could have become Director General of the WHO .
No doubt the work carried out by the American communication agency Mercury Public Affairs ( specializing in political campaigns ) in preparing the presentation of his candidacy was effective , both in terms of watering down his sulphurous image and in pushing him as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ However , some representatives of the WHO member states did not buy it .
When the candidates were interviewed before the votes , the Brazilian Ambassador asked Tedros how he intended to “ represent the voice of developing countries by proposing a program that was much more aligned with the priorities of the countries of the North , ” hereby referring to his approach of health through security ( pandemic preparedness ) , and to treating ‘ equality ’ in terms of “ coverage ” ( vaccines ) , rather than in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ example medical infrastructure and training or access to water ) .
He also remarked that Tedros had not proposed anything concrete in terms of sustainable development for vulnerable countries .
[ 22 ] In fact , this “ northern agenda ” was very much aligned with the priorities of the Global Health Security Agenda , promoted by WHO ’ s four main funders and influencers : the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation ( 14 % ) , the United States ( 24 % ) , the U.K. ( 11 % ) and GAVI @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Immunization which was again mainly funded by Gates ( 17 % ) , the U.S. ( 11 % ) and the U.K. ( 31 % ) .
Clearly , the influence Bill Gates exerts on the WHO can not be understated , as we are reminded by an article in the mainstream journal Politico published a few weeks before the vote “ Meet the World ’ s Most Powerful Doctor : Bill Gates “ [ 23 ] stating Insiders said he is treated like a head of state , not only at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ summit , and has an outsized influence over the agenda of the organization .
While the World Health Assembly was in session , the Trump administration unveiled its proposed budget which would cut the annual global health budget by 26 % , defunding health programs favored by Gates and the Obama administration , such as HIV/malaria/tuberculosis of the Global Fund and family planning .
Needless to say , Tedros was Bill Gates ’ favorite candidate , given their strong ties in the Global Fund and Family Planning policies .
But Tedros ’ election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was also backed by China .
As part of the Ethiopian government , he already had built a long-time collaboration with Beijing .
To start with , the TPLF is a Marxist-inspired movement that engages in the same kind of authoritarian politics .
But also , China has made huge investments in Ethiopia .
The Chinese have developed nearly 70 % of the Ethiopian infrastructure and are financing the construction of the headquarters of the future African Centre for Disease Prevention and Control .
For its part , Ethiopia occupies a strategic position @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the African continent , when coming from the East .
No wonder that in March 2017 , two months ahead of the WHO election , Ghebreyesus was invited to deliver a keynote speech at the Beijing University .
Interestingly Bill Gates took part in same event , with a talk on “ Looking to the Future : Innovation , Philanthropy and Global Leadership “ [ 24 ] in which he summarized his partnerships with the Chinese government in four essential areas : health , agriculture , computer technologies and even nuclear energy .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ showing that Gates clearly invests in China as the world new leader : But Gates is obviously not the only ally of China .
Its ties with a large part of the western globalist elite deserves a closer investigation .
Looking at the board members [ 25 ] of the Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management , hosted by Wang Qishan the vice-president of the Republic of China , we find individuals such as Henry Paulson , CEO of Goldman Sachs , Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan Chase , Corbat from Citigroup @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tim Cook , Laurence Fink , and the CEOs of Dell , McKinsey , IBM , Walmart , General Motors , BlackRock , Tata and many others .
What are they really doing on the board of a Chinese University ?
Doesn ’ t it rather look like a global strategic board ?
The role of Tedros in the Coronavirus pandemic These connections do explain why the WHO management of the Covid-19 crisis has largely been influenced by Beijing and why Tedros openly praised the Chinese government after his meeting with Xi Jinping @ @ @ @ @ @ @ measures taken by the Beijing government “ heroic , “ [ 29 ] while paradoxically insisting on keeping air traffic with China open .
On Feb. 3 , Tedros rebuked the U.S. and other countries that had closed off their borders when it became clear that the communist nation wasn ’ t containing the virus ’ spread .
Although most airlines quickly suspended their flights , Ethiopian Airlines is one of the few that maintained connections with China throughout the crisis .
[ 30 ] The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation reported a phone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali and Xi Jinping confirming once again the close ties between the two countries .
Control over Africa ’ s health and economy is obviously an important stake in the management of the coronavirus epidemic .
Just a few days ago , the Trump administration warned over Chinese spying in the future African Center for Disease Control facility , saying it would stop funding if Beijing goes on with building its headquarter in Ethiopia .
The Financial Times [ 32 ] quoted an official of the U.S. administration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 900m to support health in Africa over the last 15 years , and had given the African CDC $ 14m in its first year of operation , in 2017 .
But the Chinese already went ahead and put $ 200m in the construction of the ‘ bugged ’ African Union ’ s Conference Center which currently houses the African CDC secretariat .
It seems China and the U.S. had found a cooperation agreement on the issue under the Obama administration , but it could not last for long under the Trump presidency @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the WHO and China are really playing in the Italian crisis At the beginning of the epidemic , Ghebreyesus called on the Italians “ not to stigmatize the Chinese ” by insisting that the time was “ not for judgment , but for solidarity.
” The valuable recommendations of the WHO director thus barred the Italian government from confining people returning from China .
Worse still , the Mayor of the city of Florence , which has an important number of Chinese immigrants , was encouraged to launch a national campaign inviting his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the street !
“ [ 33 ] But such a complacency towards China is also due to the fact that last year the Salvini government was the first G7 country to sign an economic partnership with China in the Belt and Road project , that would give them direct access to the Mediterranean .
Now that Salvini ’ s party left the government last fall , the outbreak of the coronavirus crisis probably urged the new majority to reassess its ties with Beijing .
Italy then suddenly became the first Western government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But the country might pay the price of its infidelity as it currently stands very isolated .
European partners refused to come to the rescue and China is trying to maintain its hold by sending medical help and experts to solve the crisis , planning to help reconstruction after the country collapses .
In the meantime , the WHO which has its European headquarters in Venice , one of the main affected areas , has delegated one of its main experts to take control of the pandemic response .
But the number of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and is by far exceeding other countries , while no convincing scientific explanation has been offered , even if factors such as an older population and a lack of intensive care units have aggravated the situation and if case reporting is biased .
Last month , Russia sent out a whole team of experts and military doctors to help northern Italy deal with the crisis , but the team will certainly put their efforts into investigating what is truly going on .
In any case , it is now obvious that the WHO @ @ @ @ @ @ @ agenda that has more to do with global government and world leadership than health .
Bill Gates seems to be leading the initiative with the CEPI fund to hasten the production of vaccines .
He is pushing his global governance agenda with his army of devoted health experts , such as the members of the Coronavirus Response Task Force , Fauci and Birx , who are long-time close partners of the Global Fund AIDS campaign .
And with their Beijing ties , it is no wonder that Fauci refused to answer the press @ @ @ @ @ @ @ China .
[ 34 ] The chairman of the World Health Organization is serving Africa on a silver plate to the new leaders of a corporate – communist inspired – global government .
Senta Depuydt is a Belgian freelance journalist with a degree in communications .
In 2016 , she organized the first European Congress on biomedical treatments in Paris and has hosted debates on the biology of autism and vaccine safety in many French-speaking countries .
She arranged for premieres of “ Vaxxed ” in Brussels , Paris and Cannes and an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ board member of the French League for Free Choice in Vaccination and in the European Forum for Vaccine Vigilance .
She works with health freedom organizations across Europe .
Copyright 2020 – Health Impact News .
Permission granted to republish in full , with links back to Health Impact News as the source , and author credit kept in tact .
[ 6 ] McCracken Matthew J. , Abusing Self-Determination and Democracy : How the TPLF Is Abusing Self-Determination and Democracy : How the TPLF Is Looting Ethiopia Looting Ethiopia , Case Western @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of International Law International , 2004 .
[ 8 ] Rawlence Ben , Development without Freedom How Aid Underwrites Repression in Ethiopia , Human Rights Watch , Oct 25 , 2010 .
[ 9 ] International Organizations Leadership Recruitment Policies : the Failed Experiment of Dr. Tedros A. Ghebreyesus Candidacy for WHO Director General Position , Amhara Professionals Union Research Department , April 2017 .
[ 12 ] Note : in India , an NGO for women ’ s rights also warned against malthusian malpractice with Depo campaigns , saying that in low @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was making informed consent a farce “ , while also fiercely questioning the use of money offered as an incentive to take the contraceptive .
[ 17 ] Kouwonou Amey , WHO field investigator , Investigation of A Cholera Outbreak in Ethiopia ’ s Oromiya Region , Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Dec 2010 .
[ 19 ] Jaramillo G.abriel , Parsons J. , Audit Reports and Diagnostic Review issued by the Global Fund ’ s Office of the Inspector General , The Global Fund , Apr 2012 [ 21 ] @ @ @ @ @ @ @ key role in kidnapping of prominent dissident , ECADF , May 5 , 2017 .
[ 22 ] “ The audacity of Tedros Adhanom to become WHO chief ” , Nov 5 , 2016. https : //www.youtube.com/watch ?
v=fGme_WD4qk0 [ 29 ] Engdahl F. William , Who Is WHO ’ s Tedros Adhanom ?
The Wuhan Lockdown is Unprecedented , Global Research , Feb 20 , 2020 .
[ 30 ] Ethiopian Airlines Gambles With its Hardwon Brand Equity by Continuing to Fly to China , ECADF , Feb 6 , 2020 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , D. Pilling “ US warns over chinese spying on African disease control centre ’ , Financial Times , Feb. 6th 2020. https : //www.ft.com/content/cef96328-475a-11ea-aeb3-955839e06441

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus: is the WHO led by a terrorist?
The go-between of Gates and China engaged in the global leadership battle
by Senta Depuydt
Health Impact News
In a just a few weeks time, the fate of the entire planet seems to have been placed under the command of the World Health Organization and its leader, Tedros Gherbreyesus. But over the last few days his handling of the coronavirus crisis and his relationships with China have put the chairman of the organization under heavy fire, with many calling for his resignation.[1] So who is this man who supposedly has our destiny in his hands?
Very Distinguished
During one of the many Covid-19 press conferences at the White House, Dr. Fauci showed all his appreciation for Tedros Ghebreyesus, the new hero:
“Tedros is really an outstanding person. I’ve known him from the time that he was the minister of Health in Ethiopia. The WHO has done very well under his leadership.”[2]
But after what seemed to have been many ‘blunders’ in the announcements and recommendations of the WHO since the pandemic started, many now see him walking the walk of shame, rather than the walk of fame.
Born on March 3rd, 1965 in Asmara (Ethiopia), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was elected Director-General of the WHO in 2017.
He is the first African to head the health agency and the first not to be a doctor. He holds a B.Sc. in Biology from the University of Asmara in Eritrea and a PhD in Community Health from the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom in 2000 and served as Ethiopia’s Health Minister from 2005 to 2012.
From 2009 to 2011, Tedros Ghebreyesus was also the Director of the Global Fund, a program to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, initiated by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as the head of the UNAIDS Program Coordinating Board.
A member of the Board of the GAVI Alliance for Immunization, Tedros Ghebreyesus was further closely associated with the Clinton Foundation and the Clinton AIDS Initiative (CHAI). Smiling and poised, he is portrayed as a humble, compassionate figure, a benefactor to humanity, dedicated to his heavy responsibilities.
The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF)
It is therefore rather astonishing to discover that Ghebreyesus’ political career began at the politburo of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPFL), a terrorist organization of the Tigray minority ethnic group (6% of the Ethiopian population), listed in the U.S. Homeland Security Global Terrorism Database for a series of kidnappings, bombings and armed robberies.[3]
The United States has classified the TPFL as a Tier III terrorist organization.[4]
In its 1975 manifesto, the TPFL had declared an “eternal war” on neighboring populations, mainly the Amhara and Oromo ethnic groups, representing 30% and 34% of the population.
After several years of guerrilla warfare, the TPFL overthrew the Mengistu regime with the help of another Eritrean liberation movement, and took power in 1991 as a branch of a single Marxist-inspired party, the Ethiopian People’s Democratic Revolutionary Front (EPDRF), which is only democratic in name.
Human Rights Organizations repeated alarms
Amnesty International denounced its political violence for decades.[5]
A report published in an international law journal[6] claimed that in spite of efforts to disguise its dictatorship, the TPFL was actually “abusing the notions of self-determination and democracy to plunder Ethiopia.”
This was also the alarm raised by a document of the Oakland Institute which estimated that the $3.5 billion aid funds received by Ethiopia, (60% of the national budget), were mainly used for political repression.[7]
This was again confirmed by Human Rights Watch (HWR), who accused the European Parliament in 2016 of overlooking the numerous violations committed by the Ethiopian regime it was funding.[8]
HWR claimed that under the leadership of the EPRDF, the government had diverted funds from international aid programs, using them as political weapons to control the population, punish dissent and repress its opponents. Programs for food aid, agriculture, micro-credit or healthcare exclusively benefited certain ethnic groups, while others had been systematically deprived of them.
Genocide accusations
Perhaps one could give Tedros Ghebreyesus the benefit of the doubt, imagining him as a noble reformer who, having strayed at the beginning, would have turned into a devoted humanitarian bringing his light into the darkness of a bad regime.
That illusion quickly fades away when one discovers the damning dossier presented by the Amhara Professional Union (APU), accusing him of having carried out a real genocidal policy as Ethiopia’s Minister of Health.[9]
Indeed, the Amhara ethnic group lost more than 2.5 million people between the 1997 and 2007 censuses. While the other major ethnic groups grew by a yearly average of 2.6%, the Amharas had a slower population increase, with only 1.9%.
They did not benefit from the same health services and were not allocated equal resources as the dominating Tigray population, except for one program, a contraceptive campaign for which the Amhara appeared to have been on top of the list. The Tigray population had 5 times better health coverage in terms of infrastructure and number of healthcare providers.
In contrast, the Amhara population had a much higher use of injectable contraceptives, such as Dep-Provera (19% Tigray, 29% Amhara) while overall receiving less information about family planning and contraceptive methods (Tigray received 2 to 3 times more information on TV, Radio and Print).
Depo-Provera is a highly controversial product that received a black box warning[10, 11] in the U.S. for an increased incidence of osteoporosis and higher risk of breast cancer.
But it has also been associated with a rise in AIDS cases and difficulties to regain fertility after prolonged use, two conditions that also seemed prevailing among the Amhara population. The APU accused the Ethiopian government of racial discrimination by pushing the use of Depo onto their woman without their informed consent.[12]
According to another report “Depo-Provera Deadly Reproductive Violence Against Woman,“[13] family planning promoting this drug in Africa engages in de facto discrimination policies, making false claims about the product’s effects and failing to inform women about its harms and side-effects.
Such products have been restricted or even banned in Europe and the U.S., but they are still included in family planning of the WHO, and programs such as FP2020, supported and led by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
This led to heavy criticism[14] from health groups and human rights advocates.
Perhaps the Trump administration also took some of these arguments into account when it announced it would stop financing the U.N. Population Fund and policies that perform or provide information on abortion.
Bill Gates said he was ‘deeply troubled’ by the announced U.S. cuts, but at the international summit on family planning that was held in London later in 2017, the U.K., the IMF, World Bank and international NGO’s committed to a new funding for a total of $2,5 billion.
Tedros Ghebreyesus, who attended the meeting as the new leader of the WHO, promised to “personally champion the issue of sexual and reproductive rights as a top priority,“[15] hereby reaffirming his personal interest and involvement in birth control policies… and their dubious consequences.
Anything but cholera
But Tedros Ghebreyesus is also known for covering up of several cholera outbreaks in Ethiopia (2006, 2009, 2011), by relabeling them “Acute Watery Diarrhea” (AWD).[16]
The report of a WHO field expert on the 2006 outbreak, however, certified that Vibrio cholerae had indeed been identified as the causal agent.[17]
Tedros preferred not to damage the image of his party and his country. By refusing to declare the outbreak, he deprived these populations of the basic help they needed, such as re-hydration measures and sanitation of water.
The same scenario was repeated in 2009 and 2011, even under his WHO leadership, when he ignored a massive outbreak in Sudan, Ethiopia’s conflicting neighbor, according to an open letter signed by a team of U.S. doctors and Genocide Watch.[18]
Chairman of the Global Fund, making money
The Global Fund is a partnership led by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. In July 2009, Tedros was elected Board Chair of the Fund for a two-year term. In a profile published in April 2010, The Lancet reported that he was “a household name at the Global Fund Secretariat” and that his achievements led to name Ethiopia as an exemplary high-performing country.
A surprising conclusion, when one finds out that during his leadership, the use of international aid funds he supervised was very questionable.
In 2012, an audit[19] of the Global Fund looked at the expenses of the aids, tuberculosis and malaria program in several African countries, including Ethiopia who had received $1.3 billion in grants.
Inspector General John Parson who was in charge of the audit, revealed a flagrant lack of transparency, numerous shortcomings in the accounting and management of the funds, to the point of suggesting a minimum payback of $7 millions to the organization.
Above all, the investigation also showed a huge discrepancy between the results presented and the reality observed in Ethiopia during the field visits.
For example, 77% of the medical centers built did not have drinking water and 32% did not have sanitary facilities. Only 14% had a microscope or a delivery table, and only 12% had a pharmacy.
The report should have led to a series of measures ensuring more transparency and efficacy in the management of the program, but instead the Inspector General and his findings were dismissed.
Obviously, good relationships with African governments leaders had a far greater importance.
Bloody Minister of Foreign Affairs
Then in 2012, at the end of his term in the Health Department, Tedros Ghebreyesus was appointed head of Foreign Affairs (from 2012 to 2016), a further confirmation that he had always remained at the heart of the Party’s decisions, and was still serving its goals with dubious methods.
For example, in 2013, when Saudi Arabia chose to send back immigrants from different nations, the only country that took no steps to repatriate its nationals was Ethiopia.
This inaction, for which he was responsible, led to violence against Ethiopians by the Saudis.[20]
In 2014, Tedros, the former TPLF terrorist, also organized the kidnapping, extradition and condemnation of several dissident leaders and hundreds of asylum seekers in Yemen, with the complicity of the Yemeni government.[21]
WHO election backed by Gates and China
One wonders how such a man could have become Director General of the WHO. No doubt the work carried out by the American communication agency Mercury Public Affairs (specializing in political campaigns) in preparing the presentation of his candidacy was effective, both in terms of watering down his sulphurous image and in pushing him as ‘the voice of developing countries.‘
However, some representatives of the WHO member states did not buy it.
When the candidates were interviewed before the votes, the Brazilian Ambassador asked Tedros how he intended to “represent the voice of developing countries by proposing a program that was much more aligned with the priorities of the countries of the North,” hereby referring to his approach of health through security (pandemic preparedness), and to treating ‘equality’ in terms of “coverage” (vaccines), rather than in the development of universal health systems (for example medical infrastructure and training or access to water).
He also remarked that Tedros had not proposed anything concrete in terms of sustainable development for vulnerable countries.[22]
In fact, this “northern agenda” was very much aligned with the priorities of the Global Health Security Agenda, promoted by WHO’s four main funders and influencers: the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (14%), the United States (24%), the U.K. (11%) and GAVI, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization which was again mainly funded by Gates (17%), the U.S. (11%) and the U.K. (31%).
Clearly, the influence Bill Gates exerts on the WHO cannot be understated, as we are reminded by an article in the mainstream journal Politico published a few weeks before the vote “Meet the World’s Most Powerful Doctor: Bill Gates“[23] stating
“Some billionaires are satisfied with buying themselves an island. Bill Gates got a UN agency in Geneva.”
Insiders said he is treated like a head of state, not only at the WHO, but also at the G20 summit, and has an outsized influence over the agenda of the organization.
While the World Health Assembly was in session, the Trump administration unveiled its proposed budget which would cut the annual global health budget by 26%, defunding health programs favored by Gates and the Obama administration, such as HIV/malaria/tuberculosis of the Global Fund and family planning.
Needless to say, Tedros was Bill Gates’ favorite candidate, given their strong ties in the Global Fund and Family Planning policies.
But Tedros’ election at the WHO in May 2017, was also backed by China. As part of the Ethiopian government, he already had built a long-time collaboration with Beijing.
To start with, the TPLF is a Marxist-inspired movement that engages in the same kind of authoritarian politics.
But also, China has made huge investments in Ethiopia. The Chinese have developed nearly 70% of the Ethiopian infrastructure and are financing the construction of the headquarters of the future African Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
For its part, Ethiopia occupies a strategic position, as it is the gateway to the African continent, when coming from the East.
No wonder that in March 2017, two months ahead of the WHO election, Ghebreyesus was invited to deliver a keynote speech at the Beijing University.
Interestingly Bill Gates took part in same event, with a talk on “Looking to the Future: Innovation, Philanthropy and Global Leadership“[24] in which he summarized his partnerships with the Chinese government in four essential areas: health, agriculture, computer technologies and even nuclear energy. Here are a few eye-opening quotes, showing that Gates clearly invests in China as the world new leader:
“China is primed to step up as a global leader. It’s great to see China stepping up to fill the leadership vacuum. It is uniquely well-equipped to do so. No other country has accomplished what China has achieved in the last few decades (…) at a scale and speed unprecedented in human history. And by encouraging investment through innovative financing mechanisms like the China-Africa Development Fund, China is strengthening not only Africa’s economic capacity, but also, over time, markets for Chinese goods. China has a great opportunity to be a global leader in health innovation. With its rich pool of talented scientists and its capacity to develop new drugs and vaccines, China was a clear choice for us to locate a new Global Health Drug Discovery Institute. This institute—a collaboration between our foundation, the Beijing Municipal Government, and Tsinghua University—will help speed the discovery and development of new lifesaving medicines. A lot of the most successful entrepreneurs, like Jack Ma, Pony Ma, Charles Chen Yidan and Niu Gensheng, have helped create the world’s second largest pool of individual wealth. And now they’re taking steps to get involved and give back…”
But Gates is obviously not the only ally of China. Its ties with a large part of the western globalist elite deserves a closer investigation.
Looking at the board members[25] of the Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management, hosted by Wang Qishan the vice-president of the Republic of China, we find individuals such as Henry Paulson, CEO of Goldman Sachs, Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan Chase, Corbat from Citigroup, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Tim Cook, Laurence Fink, and the CEOs of Dell, McKinsey, IBM, Walmart, General Motors, BlackRock, Tata and many others.
What are they really doing on the board of a Chinese University? Doesn’t it rather look like a global strategic board?
The role of Tedros in the Coronavirus pandemic
These connections do explain why the WHO management of the Covid-19 crisis has largely been influenced by Beijing and why Tedros openly praised the Chinese government after his meeting with Xi Jinping.
“We appreciate the seriousness of China’s response to this epidemic, especially the strength of its leadership[26] and the transparency they demonstrated.”[27]
or
“China exemplifies new standards in epidemic preparedness and response.”[28]
He further called the draconian quarantine measures taken by the Beijing government “heroic,“[29] while paradoxically insisting on keeping air traffic with China open.
On Feb. 3, Tedros rebuked the U.S. and other countries that had closed off their borders when it became clear that the communist nation wasn’t containing the virus’ spread.
“There is no reason for measures that unnecessarily interfere with international travel and trade. We call on all countries to implement decisions that are evidence-based and consistent,“ he said.
Although most airlines quickly suspended their flights, Ethiopian Airlines is one of the few that maintained connections with China throughout the crisis.[30]
The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation reported a phone call[31] between Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali and Xi Jinping confirming once again the close ties between the two countries.
“This phone call as well as the two letters of sympathies from the Prime Minister attest to the profound friendship and mutual support between China and Ethiopia as comprehensive strategic cooperative partners. Ethiopia has followed WHO recommendations and kept its normal ties and exchanges with China. China appreciates such expression of confidence.”
Control over Africa’s health and economy is obviously an important stake in the management of the coronavirus epidemic. Just a few days ago, the Trump administration warned over Chinese spying in the future African Center for Disease Control facility, saying it would stop funding if Beijing goes on with building its headquarter in Ethiopia.
The Financial Times[32] quoted an official of the U.S. administration,
“It’s a threat to Africa. Africa has vast amounts of genomic data and the Chinese want to build the CDC to eventually steal the data from all the other centres,” referring to five regional Africa CDC hubs, “they handle high-risk viruses, health crises, research and data collection.”
Washington said the U.S. had invested $900m to support health in Africa over the last 15 years, and had given the African CDC $14m in its first year of operation, in 2017.
But the Chinese already went ahead and put $200m in the construction of the ‘bugged’ African Union’s Conference Center which currently houses the African CDC secretariat. It seems China and the U.S. had found a cooperation agreement on the issue under the Obama administration, but it could not last for long under the Trump presidency.
We could also wonder what role the WHO and China are really playing in the Italian crisis
At the beginning of the epidemic, Ghebreyesus called on the Italians “not to stigmatize the Chinese” by insisting that the time was “not for judgment, but for solidarity.”
The valuable recommendations of the WHO director thus barred the Italian government from confining people returning from China.
Worse still, the Mayor of the city of Florence, which has an important number of Chinese immigrants, was encouraged to launch a national campaign inviting his fellow citizens to “hug a Chinese in the street!“[33]
But such a complacency towards China is also due to the fact that last year the Salvini government was the first G7 country to sign an economic partnership with China in the Belt and Road project, that would give them direct access to the Mediterranean.
Now that Salvini’s party left the government last fall, the outbreak of the coronavirus crisis probably urged the new majority to reassess its ties with Beijing.
Italy then suddenly became the first Western government to stop its flights from China. But the country might pay the price of its infidelity as it currently stands very isolated.
European partners refused to come to the rescue and China is trying to maintain its hold by sending medical help and experts to solve the crisis, planning to help reconstruction after the country collapses.
In the meantime, the WHO which has its European headquarters in Venice, one of the main affected areas, has delegated one of its main experts to take control of the pandemic response.
But the number of death cases in Italy is still soaring and is by far exceeding other countries, while no convincing scientific explanation has been offered, even if factors such as an older population and a lack of intensive care units have aggravated the situation and if case reporting is biased.
Last month, Russia sent out a whole team of experts and military doctors to help northern Italy deal with the crisis, but the team will certainly put their efforts into investigating what is truly going on.
In any case, it is now obvious that the WHO and its leaders have a pandemic response agenda that has more to do with global government and world leadership than health.
Bill Gates seems to be leading the initiative with the CEPI fund to hasten the production of vaccines.
He is pushing his global governance agenda with his army of devoted health experts, such as the members of the Coronavirus Response Task Force, Fauci and Birx, who are long-time close partners of the Global Fund AIDS campaign.
And with their Beijing ties, it is no wonder that Fauci refused to answer the press who asked his opinion on Tedros praising China.[34]
The chairman of the World Health Organization is serving Africa on a silver plate to the new leaders of a corporate – communist inspired – global government.
Tedros, you are unmasked.
About the Author
Senta Depuydt is a Belgian freelance journalist with a degree in communications. In 2016, she organized the first European Congress on biomedical treatments in Paris and has hosted debates on the biology of autism and vaccine safety in many French-speaking countries. She arranged for premieres of “Vaxxed” in Brussels, Paris and Cannes and an event at UNESCO. She is a board member of the French League for Free Choice in Vaccination and in the European Forum for Vaccine Vigilance. She works with health freedom organizations across Europe.
Copyright 2020 – Health Impact News. Permission granted to republish in full, with links back to Health Impact News as the source, and author credit kept in tact.
References
[1] https://www.foxnews.com/politics/who-director-faces-growing-calls-to-resign-over-handling-of-coronavirus-china?fbclid=IwAR3wchPIHXzJ6Xj-yl6zMbDUwvi6fgZS1AJK-sNUxgzdljb0Pu9IwTxIcRE
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMjyTioY8Rg
[3] https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/Results.aspx?page=1&search=Tigray&charttype=line&chart=country&ob=GTDID&od=desc&expanded=yes#results-table
[4]https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Laws/TRIG/2014_Implementation_of_New_Discretionary_Exemption_for_Activities_or_Associations_Relating_to_TPLF.pdf
[5] Ethiopia Human Rights, https://www.amnestyusa.org
[6] McCracken Matthew J., Abusing Self-Determination and Democracy: How the TPLF Is Abusing Self-Determination and Democracy: How the TPLF Is Looting Ethiopia Looting Ethiopia, Case Western Reserve Journal of Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law International, 2004.
[7] Flore Luis, Overlooking Violence, Marginalization and Political Repression, Development Aid to Ethiopia, 2013.
[8] Rawlence Ben, Development without Freedom How Aid Underwrites Repression in Ethiopia, Human Rights Watch, Oct 25, 2010.
[9] International Organizations Leadership Recruitment Policies: the Failed Experiment of Dr. Tedros A. Ghebreyesus Candidacy for WHO Director General Position, Amhara Professionals Union Research Department, April 2017.
[10] https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2004/20246s025lbl.pdf
[11] https://www.nwhn.org/depo-provera-and-bone-mineral-density/
[12] Note: in India, an NGO for women’s rights also warned against malthusian malpractice with Depo campaigns, saying that in low income area’s “widespread illiteracy was making informed consent a farce“, while also fiercely questioning the use of money offered as an incentive to take the contraceptive.
[13] http://rebeccaprojectjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/depo-provera-deadly-reproductive-violence-rebecca-project-for-human-rights-2013-3.pdf
[14] https://c-fam.org/friday_fax/gates-foundation-suspected-of-forcing-dangerous-contraceptive-on-africans/?fbclid=IwAR3oobNsAfLEO311f4e_HrJ28R31jQ2QM61wp_0N-97uP4X4DCScXzE80jA
[15] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-contraception-summit/contraceptives-are-one-of-the-greatest-anti-poverty-innovations-melinda-gates-idUSKBN19W0PC?fbclid=IwAR2eyw0zYXRpuOZ8wUbbsCN7Au_K1e3meaNWb8GTS-EVhaaMJD3iO7tKcYU
[16] Rice Xan, Fatal outbreak not a cholera epidemic, insists Ethiopia, The Guardian, Feb 22, 2007.
[17] Kouwonou Amey, WHO field investigator, Investigation of A Cholera Outbreak in Ethiopia’s Oromiya Region, Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, Dec 2010.
[18] https://www.genocidewatch.com/single-post/2017/07/24/An-Open-Letter-to-Dr-Tedros-Adhanom-Ghebreyesus-Director-General-of-the-UN%E2%80%99s-World-Health-Organization
[19] Jaramillo G.abriel, Parsons J., Audit Reports and Diagnostic Review issued by the Global Fund’s Office of the Inspector General, The Global Fund, Apr 2012
[20] The Ethiopian Migrant Crisis in Saudi Arabia: Taking Accountability, Tadias Magazine, Nov 18, 2013.
[21] Gellaw Abebe, Tedros Adhanom played a key role in kidnapping of prominent dissident, ECADF, May 5, 2017.
[22] “The audacity of Tedros Adhanom to become WHO chief”, Nov 5, 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGme_WD4qk0
[23] https://www.politico.eu/article/bill-gates-who-most-powerful-doctor/
[24] http://www.jubbaland24.com/article/bill-gates–speech-at-peking-university-on-24-march-2017.aspx
[25] https://gmba.sem.tsinghua.edu.cn/content/page/semadvisory.html
[26] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DiiY8a6xMg
[27] https://www.foxnews.com/world/coronavirus-china-who-chief-relationship-trouble
[28] Declaration à l’OMS du 30 janvier 2020, annonce de la pandémie. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sRxfbzI19k
[29] Engdahl F. William, Who Is WHO’s Tedros Adhanom? The Wuhan Lockdown is Unprecedented, Global Research, Feb 20, 2020.
[30] Ethiopian Airlines Gambles With its Hardwon Brand Equity by Continuing to Fly to China, ECADF, Feb 6, 2020.
[31] https://www.focac.org/eng/gdtp/t1750414.htm
[32] ‘K. Manson, D. Pilling “US warns over chinese spying on African disease control centre’, Financial Times, Feb. 6th 2020. https://www.ft.com/content/cef96328-475a-11ea-aeb3-955839e06441
[33] https://summit.news/2020/03/12/mayor-of-florence-encouraged-italians-to-hug-a-chinese-before-coronavirus-pandemic-hit/
[34] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMjyTioY8Rg


healthimpactnews--2020-04-18--Doctors and First Responders Losing Custody of Their Children Due to COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 continues to keep people in isolation , but it is also being used to separate mother ’ s and father ’ s from their children .
March 25 , 2020 , MedicalKidnap.com brought you the story of a mother who had her two children removed from her home for the simple fact that she worked in a healthcare clinic .
Armed with a removal order , signed by a judge , a Child Protection Services ( CPS ) social worker and police showed up at this Oklahoma mother ’ s home at 10:00PM to remove her two daughters .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Coronavirus Scare Since our original story , more and more families are speaking out about how they have to fight to keep custody of their children when ex-spouses use the Coronavirus in an attempt to gain sole custody .
In most cases , the parent , doctors , firefighters and other first responders have no idea the ex-spouse is filing a motion , petitioning the court for sole custody , until it is too late .
In a story by Megan Twohey , published by The New York Times , April 7 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about how ex-spouses are using COVID-19 to separate them from their children .
Dr. Bertha Mayorquin is a physician in New Jersey .
According to Twohey , Dr. Mayorquin had been providing treatment to patients by video as a precaution against the Coronavirus , but , after two weeks , Dr. Mayorquin told her soon-to-be-ex-husband she planned on resuming seeing patients in person .
Instead of celebrating her younger daughter ’ s birthday that weekend , Dr. Mayorquin spent the weekend assembling 50 pages of paperwork in hope of reversing the order , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s case , her soon-to-be-ex-husband told The New York Times , Susan Myres , president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers , told Twohey , The New York Times story reports how some courts have addressed the Coronavirus by issuing administrative orders .
One example of such an order comes from the state district court in Davidson County , Tennessee , who , according to Megan Twohey , said , To the contrary , Twohey reports that the Chief Justice of Massachusetts Probate and Family Court , issued an open letter that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Moore , an attorney in Florida who works on child custody cases is quoted as saying , Twohey points out how these orders are not directly addressing what should happen when one parent continues to work on the front lines , providing the example of the court system in New York , Twohey also reports that when parents do seek help from the courts , there are different responses which include , holding emergency hearings online .
But , according to Twohey , one jurisdiction ’ s definition of emergency may not be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Workers ; Firefighters are not immune Stephen Thilmony , a firefighter in Florida , shares custody of his 21-month-old son with his ex-wife .
The New York Times story reports , a client of Conti Moore ’ s , Tabatha Sams , Thilmony and his fiancée , an emergency room nurse , sought to assure Sams they were taking proper safety measures while at work , but as Ms. Sams watched the growing number of cases of COVID-19 across the country , she reached a breaking point , reports Twohey .
On her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an emergency motion asking a judge to grant her sole custody for the length of her state ’ s shelter-in-place order .
In a written response , according to Twohey ’ s report , Mr. Thilmony ’ s lawyer told the court Ms. Sams had not cited anything specific he was doing to put their son at risk .
She was seeking to deny him the agreed-upon time after a battle over parenting issues unrelated to the Coronavirus .
Mr. Thilmony declined to speak with Ms. Twohey for the story , but his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ court , An online hearing was schedule by the judge allowing both parents to attend and have time to prepare .
The outcome of that hearing was covered in a story by Jeff Weiner , with the Orlando Sentinel , that reported the Orange County Circuit Judge Vincent S. Chiu , The New York Times story reported on another firefighter , Steven Biakanja , from Monterey County , CA , whose ex-wife , Lisa Chu , filed an emergency motion seeking sole temporary custody of the pair ’ s 11-year-old twins and 9-year-old @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reports , given the shared spaces in the firehouse , and the possibility of asymptomatic carriers , Ms. Chu was worried her ex-husband could unwittingly transmit the virus to their children , and quotes Ms. Chu saying , Mr. Biakanja became increasingly angry as one week turned into two and told Twohey , According to the report , the children are back with their father due to the judge denying Ms. Chu ’ s request for temporary sole custody .
Twohey wrote , Courts and Judges across the nation are not aligned when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Twohey reported how family law , which already varies across the country , has become more uneven amid the pandemic , and there are few guidelines that address the current safety concerns of children .
While Mr. Thilmony was able to keep the original custody arrangement , Dr. Mayorquin , in New Jersey , was not as fortunate .
Mr. Surdukowski , Dr. Mayorquin ’ s soon-to-be-ex-husband , was able to get an emergency hearing the same day his lawyer filed the motion , which was late on a Friday afternoon .
Dr. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reached by phone which is when the judge issued the order granting sole temporary custody to Mr. Surdukowski .
Twohey explains , Dr. Mayorquin was “ distraught at the separation from her daughter ” and told her , The safest course for the doctor , according to Twohey , was to meet the demands of Mr. Surdukowski , and not see patients in person .
In an online hearing the following Monday , the judge reversed the order , the story reports .
The most recent example of how misaligned the family court @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from Florida , where an ER doctor has lost custody of her daughter due to the virus .
Dana Kennedy with the New York Post , April 11 , 2020 , reports on the story of Dr. Theresa Greene who has tested negative for COVID-19 but has lost custody of her 4-year-old daughter until the pandemic is over .
Kennedy reports , according to 6 South Florida , Dr. Theresa Greene said , According to court documents , Dana Kennedy reports , Dr. Greene ’ s ex-husband filed for custody of the their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Shapiro granted the request and is quoted as saying it is , According to the New York Post , Dr. Greene called the decision discriminatory against divorced parents and has filed an appeal .
She is quoted as saying , Dr. Greene told WTVJ-TV , according to Joshua Bote ’ s report , April 14 , 2020 , in USA TODAY , According to the report by Joshua Bote , USA TODAY , Is this the way first responders fighting the COVID-19 pandemic should be treated ?
Comment on this article at MedicalKidnap.com @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and mother .
She is a surviving victim of a false Child Abuse Pediatrician ’ s accusation .
Read her story here .
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by Allie Parker
Health Impact News
COVID-19 continues to keep people in isolation, but it is also being used to separate mother’s and father’s from their children.
March 25, 2020, MedicalKidnap.com brought you the story of a mother who had her two children removed from her home for the simple fact that she worked in a healthcare clinic.
Armed with a removal order, signed by a judge, a Child Protection Services (CPS) social worker and police showed up at this Oklahoma mother’s home at 10:00PM to remove her two daughters.
See:
Since our original story, more and more families are speaking out about how they have to fight to keep custody of their children when ex-spouses use the Coronavirus in an attempt to gain sole custody.
In most cases, the parent, doctors, firefighters and other first responders have no idea the ex-spouse is filing a motion, petitioning the court for sole custody, until it is too late.
In a story by Megan Twohey, published by The New York Times, April 7, 2020, several parents spoke out about how ex-spouses are using COVID-19 to separate them from their children.
Dr. Bertha Mayorquin is a physician in New Jersey. According to Twohey, Dr. Mayorquin had been providing treatment to patients by video as a precaution against the Coronavirus, but, after two weeks, Dr. Mayorquin told her soon-to-be-ex-husband she planned on resuming seeing patients in person.
Megan Twohey reports when Dr. Mayorquin,
“left work on a Friday to pick up her two daughters for the weekend, her husband, Wendell Surdukowski, presented her with a court order granting him sole temporary custody of the young girls. His lawyer had convinced a judge that Dr. Mayorquin could expose the children, 11 and 8, to Covid-19.”
Instead of celebrating her younger daughter’s birthday that weekend, Dr. Mayorquin spent the weekend assembling 50 pages of paperwork in hope of reversing the order, Twohey reports.
The story quotes Dr. Mayorquin saying,
“Many people working in the hospitals — doctors, nurses, so many of us — are parents,” said Dr. Mayorquin, whose hospital had asked her to start treating non-Coronavirus patients at an urgent care center to ease the burden of the pandemic. “Are our children going to be taken away from us because we are on the front lines helping people?”
The author, Megan Twohey, writes,
“That question is arising across the country as a growing number of parents have begun to withhold access to their children from former spouses or partners over fears of infection, according to families, lawyers and judges. For health care or other essential workers, the battles are infused with heightened controversy. Some say they shouldn’t be punished for doing crucial services; their counterparts argue that the jobs pose too great a risk to other family members.”
In Dr. Mayorquin’s case, her soon-to-be-ex-husband told The New York Times,
“If there’s an imminent threat to the kid’s well-being, you must take action, whether that’s something like drug abuse or a virus,” Mr. Surdukowski said. “Watching the news, looking at the cases of doctors being sick, you cannot tell me that they are not at a higher risk.”
According to Twohey,
“Mr. Surdukowski, who has an underlying condition, had told the judge that he was also concerned about his own health.”
Twohey reports,
“Families of medical workers aren’t the only ones affected. Other parents are arguing over who comes and goes from each home, whether children should be on the playground and if travel to more remote areas should be permitted.”
Susan Myres, president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, told Twohey,
“What we are recommending is to figure out a way for visitation to go forward, and if there’s an emergency worker, to figure out how to salvage it as best as you can. We can’t make those people have to sacrifice more, but how do we do that custody safely?”
Courts Interfere with Family Custody
The New York Times story reports how some courts have addressed the Coronavirus by issuing administrative orders.
One example of such an order comes from the state district court in Davidson County, Tennessee, who, according to Megan Twohey, said,
“The ‘primary residential parent’ should take custody of the child within four hours of a shelter-in-place order and retain sole custody until the order is lifted.”
To the contrary, Twohey reports that the Chief Justice of Massachusetts Probate and Family Court, issued an open letter that states in part,
“Parenting orders are not stayed during this period of time. In fact, it is important that children spend time with both of their parents and that each parent have the opportunity to engage in family activities, where provided for by court order. In cases where a parent must self-quarantine or is otherwise restricted from having contact with others, both parents should cooperate to allow for parenting time by video conference or telephone.”
According to Conti Moore, an attorney in Florida who works on child custody cases is quoted as saying,
“It’s not like there’s case law or clear guidance. This is unprecedented. It all boils down to: How do you co-parent in a pandemic?”
Twohey points out how these orders are not directly addressing what should happen when one parent continues to work on the front lines, providing the example of the court system in New York,
“the epicenter of the Coronavirus outbreak, has not issued any written child custody guidance at all.”
Twohey also reports that when parents do seek help from the courts, there are different responses which include, holding emergency hearings online. But, according to Twohey, one jurisdiction’s definition of emergency may not be another’s.
Not Just Healthcare Workers; Firefighters are not immune
Stephen Thilmony, a firefighter in Florida, shares custody of his 21-month-old son with his ex-wife.
The New York Times story reports, a client of Conti Moore’s, Tabatha Sams,
“No longer felt comfortable sharing her 21-month-son with his father, Stephen Thilmony, a firefighter.”
Thilmony and his fiancée, an emergency room nurse, sought to assure Sams they were taking proper safety measures while at work, but as Ms. Sams watched the growing number of cases of COVID-19 across the country, she reached a breaking point, reports Twohey.
“I said, ‘I’m not comfortable with the situation,’” Ms. Sams recalled. “I can’t roll the dice.”
On her lawyer’s advice, Sams filed an emergency motion asking a judge to grant her sole custody for the length of her state’s shelter-in-place order.
Sams’ attorney, Ms. Moore said,
“There are still first responders sleeping in cars to stay away from their families. It seems only right that the child stay with the parent with the least likelihood of exposure. The courts have to deal with this.”
In a written response, according to Twohey’s report, Mr. Thilmony’s lawyer told the court Ms. Sams had not cited anything specific he was doing to put their son at risk. She was seeking to deny him the agreed-upon time after a battle over parenting issues unrelated to the Coronavirus.
Mr. Thilmony declined to speak with Ms. Twohey for the story, but his attorney is quoted as writing to the court,
“The father should not be denied contact by the mother, through the emergency motion, due to his position as a firefighter.”
An online hearing was schedule by the judge allowing both parents to attend and have time to prepare.
The outcome of that hearing was covered in a story by Jeff Weiner, with the Orlando Sentinel, that reported the Orange County Circuit Judge Vincent S. Chiu,
“Rejected Sams’ request in an order Wednesday, writing that there was no evidence Thilmony was failing to take proper safety precautions or otherwise acting in a way that would endanger Dawson. The judge noted Thilmony’s testimony that Osceola County Fire Rescue (OCFR) ’employs extensive policies and procedures to avoid exposure to COVID-19,’ the disease caused by the Coronavirus.”
The New York Times story reported on another firefighter, Steven Biakanja, from Monterey County, CA, whose ex-wife, Lisa Chu, filed an emergency motion seeking sole temporary custody of the pair’s 11-year-old twins and 9-year-old son. The story claims,
“He would have to produce a negative result from a Coronavirus test every time he was scheduled to see the children — an impossible demand, given the limited availability of screening.”
Twohey reports, given the shared spaces in the firehouse, and the possibility of asymptomatic carriers, Ms. Chu was worried her ex-husband could unwittingly transmit the virus to their children, and quotes Ms. Chu saying,
“I know this is hard on everyone, but it’s a decision that we have to make.”
Mr. Biakanja became increasingly angry as one week turned into two and told Twohey,
“This is an attack on anyone who is helping with essential needs of this country.”
According to the report, the children are back with their father due to the judge denying Ms. Chu’s request for temporary sole custody. Twohey wrote,
“Unless Mr. Biakanja exhibits signs of Covid-19, the previous court order remains in place.”
Courts and Judges across the nation are not aligned when dealing with custody issues regarding Coronavirus
Megan Twohey reported how family law, which already varies across the country, has become more uneven amid the pandemic, and there are few guidelines that address the current safety concerns of children.
While Mr. Thilmony was able to keep the original custody arrangement, Dr. Mayorquin, in New Jersey, was not as fortunate.
Mr. Surdukowski, Dr. Mayorquin’s soon-to-be-ex-husband, was able to get an emergency hearing the same day his lawyer filed the motion, which was late on a Friday afternoon. Dr. Mayorquin’s lawyer could not be reached by phone which is when the judge issued the order granting sole temporary custody to Mr. Surdukowski.
Twohey explains, Dr. Mayorquin was “distraught at the separation from her daughter” and told her,
“I didn’t want to fight,” she said. “I just wanted my kids back.”
The safest course for the doctor, according to Twohey, was to meet the demands of Mr. Surdukowski, and not see patients in person.
In an online hearing the following Monday, the judge reversed the order, the story reports.
The most recent example of how misaligned the family court system is regarding the Coronavirus epidemic comes from Florida, where an ER doctor has lost custody of her daughter due to the virus.
Dana Kennedy with the New York Post, April 11, 2020, reports on the story of Dr. Theresa Greene who has tested negative for COVID-19 but has lost custody of her 4-year-old daughter until the pandemic is over.
Kennedy reports, according to 6 South Florida, Dr. Theresa Greene said,
“She faces an impossible and ‘cruel’ choice between working in the emergency room and seeing her child.”
According to court documents, Dana Kennedy reports, Dr. Greene’s ex-husband filed for custody of the their daughter,
“Due to mother’s significantly heightened exposure to COVID-19.”
The story claims Judge Bernard Shapiro granted the request and is quoted as saying it is,
“in the best interests of the child” because of the pandemic in Florida.”
According to the New York Post, Dr. Greene called the decision discriminatory against divorced parents and has filed an appeal. She is quoted as saying,
“How can you tell me because I’m divorced that I can’t come home — obviously I have to shower — but that I can’t come home and hug my daughter?”
And,
“I was just shocked that the judge would take this stance without talking to medical experts and knowing the facts and take it so lightly, take my child from me and not think of the effect on her, her mental and psychological well-being.”
The story concludes,
“U.S. healthcare professionals across the U.S., overloaded with COVID-19 patients, have been compared to those fighting on a battlefield, with protective gear in short supply.”
Dr. Greene told WTVJ-TV, according to Joshua Bote’s report, April 14, 2020, in USA TODAY,
“I know I’m not alone, first responders, nurses, so many people in this position who, because they’re divorced, their children are suffering and they’re being told they can’t see them, and it’s just not fair.”
USA TODAY reports,
Before the pandemic, Dr. Theresa Greene split custody time with her ex-husband, Eric Greene, for nearly two years. He requested full custody of their daughter last week via an emergency order in light of the Coronavirus outbreak, which was granted by Judge Bernard Shapiro of the 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida. “In order to protect the best interests of the minor child, including but not limited to the minor child’s safety and welfare, this Court temporarily suspends the Former Wife’s timesharing until further Order of Court,” Shapiro wrote in the order, according to WTVJ-TV in Miami and CNN. “The suspension is solely related to the outbreak of COVID-19.”
According to the report by Joshua Bote, USA TODAY,
“Greene told CNN there’s no way to know when she’ll reunite with her daughter, given that it remains unclear when this pandemic will be over.”
Is this the way first responders fighting the COVID-19 pandemic should be treated?
Comment on this article at MedicalKidnap.com.
About the Author
Allie Parker is a Family Advocate and mother. She is a surviving victim of a false Child Abuse Pediatrician’s accusation. Read her story here.
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healthimpactnews--2020-04-17--Is Wyoming’s Food Freedom Act with Farm to Consumer Direct Sales a Model for Food Security for the R

Is Wyoming’s Food Freedom Act with Farm to Consumer Direct Sales a Model for Food Security for the Rest of the U.S.?

Earlier this week ( April , 2020 ) , U.S. Secretary of Agriculture , Sonny Perdue , appeared at the White House Coronavirus Task Force press conference to explain why the country is facing some food shortages , such as meats , in grocery stores , even though there is plenty of food in the country .
The problem is the commodity-based food distribution system , which is experiencing bottle necks right now due to restaurants and other food establishments being shut down across the country due to the coronavirus restrictions .
A significant portion of commodity-based food sales is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ businesses , and not for consumers who purchase food in stores and supermarkets .
So with the decline in food sales to businesses , there has also been a corresponding demand for food in grocery stores from consumers who would normally be eating more at restaurants , schools , ball parks , and work places .
Lisa Held , writing for Civil Eats , highlighted the problem in an article published earlier this week : “ It ’ s like Armageddon , but we ’ ll get through it , ” Benjamin Walker @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That day , sales at Baldor—the New York-based food distribution company where Walker is the vice president of sales and marketing—had dropped by 85 percent .
With 90 percent of its business focused on food service , Baldor ’ s 400 trucks are typically loaded with specialty produce , meats , and baked goods bound for restaurants , hotels , schools , and stadiums in New York City , Boston , and Washington , D.C .
In other words , its food goes to all of the institutions that have been shut down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shimmer of hope for us is the 10 percent of retail [ sales we were already doing ] , ” Walker said .
“ That ’ s really the only food channel operating at the moment , and that supply chain has been maxed out.
” Over the last months , Walker and his team have been acting quickly to onboard new accounts and reroute those trucks .
As shoppers across the country have stockpiled food in anticipation of weeks or months of eating at home , there has been significant panic at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stores .
Experts and food-industry groups have jumped in to assure the public , in various publications , that the American food supply was strong and those shelves do not reflect shortages .
Instead , they were said to be a reflection of behind-the-scenes adjustments that need to be made by manufacturers , distributors , and retailers to keep up with where people are eating .
( Full article here . )
There are a lot of businesses that get a piece of the pie that is our food system here in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the farm to the consumer .
When everything is going well , it is like a high-speed train going from one destination to another .
And most of the food you see in your grocery store , or eat at institutions , is heavily subsidized by taxpayers as well , keeping food cheap , and not representing the true cost to produce that food .
But when a crisis hits the nation , such as the current coronavirus pandemic , it just takes one section of the train to derail and cause @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and potentially to completely derail .
And the effects we are seeing today as a result of the nationwide lock downs , are really a small problem in the grand scheme of things when it comes to food distribution in this country .
Just think of what the effects could potentially look like if , for example , transportation was disrupted due to energy disruptions , or communication was disrupted due to electrical grid issues , or telecommunication issues .
This is mild in comparison to what might happen , for example , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ real war , and not a “ war ” on a virus , where an enemy could bring down the power grid , disrupt the Internet , etc .
This should be a wake up call that our nation ’ s food distribution system is incredibly vulnerable .
Back in 2011 , some small communities in the state of Maine began what many today call the “ Food Freedom ” movement , where local municipalities passed “ Food Sovereignty ” laws , seeking to bypass State and Federal regulations to allow farmers to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their community , cutting out all the “ middlemen ” in the food distribution system within their local communities .
See : “ Food Sovereignty ” law passed in small Maine town to allow sale of locally produced food without interference of regulators Such arrangements are win-win situations for consumers and farmers in their communities .
Farmers are able to charge a higher price , usually for a better quality product as well , and it keeps costs down for the consumer by bypassing all the middlemen in the process .
The consumer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the commodity products in grocery stores , because government subsidies are generally not available for such farm-to-consumer sales , but the consumer gets a far better quality product , and develops a relationship in their community with the producers of the food , where accountability is much more transparent , in contrast to commodity food purchased in most grocery stores where the consumer has no idea where the food came from , or even which country it may have come from .
As can be expected , there was strong push back from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ local laws in Maine went through many court battles .
But lawmakers realized that this was a popular concept with the citizens of their state , and so state-wide bills were proposed , and in 2017 , the governor of Maine signed “ the Maine Food Sovereignty Act.
” There are still many hurdles and challenges to open up direct farm to consumer sales in the U.S. , but Wyoming has been recognized as one of the best examples today of a Food Freedom law , and if the commodity-based food system does @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , or in the future under a more severe national crisis , residents of Wyoming might be in the best position to still obtain food from producers in their state .
Baylen Linnekin , writing for Reason Magazine , recently highlighted the advantages of Wyoming ’ s Food Freedom Act , especially in light of potential meat shortages now facing the nation ’ s commodity food system .
Wyoming ’ s first-and-best-in-the-nation food freedom law just keeps getting better .
Wyoming ’ s groundbreaking Food Freedom Act has served as a national model @ @ @ @ @ @ @ food sales .
The five-year-old law opened up many previously illegal food transactions in Wyoming , and has delivered on its promise to benefit ranchers , other food entrepreneurs , and consumers alike .
And it ’ s done so without a single case of foodborne illness being tied to any foods sold under the law .
The law also keeps getting better .
As I detailed a column just last month , an amendment to the Act will allow low-risk foods such as homemade jams to be sold in grocery stores and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was great news .
But yet another new amendment to the law , passed last month and set to take effect in July , could further bolster the fortunes of ranchers and consumers in the state .
A new animal share amendment will let consumers buy individual cuts of meat directly from ranchers though an animal-share agreement , completely outside of the typical U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection regime .
That ’ s something that ’ s still illegal in the other 49 states .
It ’ s also why the Wyoming law @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the state and—should other states follow suit—a valuable new revenue stream for farmers and ranchers across the country .
The new amendment was introduced by Wyoming State Rep. Tyler Lindholm ( R ) , who co-sponsored the bipartisan Food Freedom Act five years ago .
“ The idea for the bill is simple , ” Lindholm—a rancher with whom I serve on the board of the nonprofit Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund—told me this week .
“ Let ranchers and farmers sell herd shares for their animals .
That way the entire herd @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the customers before slaughter , thereby meeting the exemption standards of the federal law , and now the rancher does not have to jump through the hoops of the Federal Meat Inspection Act and can utilize the smaller mom and pop butchers that still [ exist ] in most of our small towns.
” The premise behind animal shares isn ’ t new .
For example , some states which prohibit raw ( unpasteurized ) milk sales allow distribution to people who ’ ve purchased shares in one or more of a farmer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ herdshare ” agreements let a farmer raise and care for the herd-shared livestock in exchange for providing some of its ( typically unpasteurized ) milk to share owners .
Meat sharing has been a bit more complicated .
As I detail in my book , Biting the Hands that Feed Us : How Fewer , Smarter Laws Would Make Our Food System More Sustainable , a consumer may buy a significant portion of a living cow—say one-quarter or one-half its post-slaughter weight—and take possession of its meat after it ’ s been slaughtered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ afoul of USDA rules .
But that can mean buying more than 100-200 pounds of beef .
Until the new Wyoming law , consumers who weren ’ t quite that hungry ( or who wanted only a particular cut of meat ) have had little option but to buy from farmers who ’ d had their animals processed under the USDA ’ s rules or to go to the grocery store for similarly inspected cuts .
The Wyoming amendment takes advantage of an exemption created under § 623 ( a ) of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interstate and even most intrastate livestock slaughter and meat sales in this country .
The FMIA exemption allows custom slaughtering of livestock by and for an “ owner ” of the animal .
( Read the full article at Reason.com ) Time to Invest in Our Local Farmers : The Herd Share Economic Model My company , Healthy Traditions , has been selling grass-fed meats and pastured poultry and eggs online for more than a decade .
We source these products from small-scale family farms , many of them Amish farms in western @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ourselves as a replacement for consumers to purchase these kinds of products directly from producers in their own communities .
Direct sales from farm to consumer is always the best option , if it is available .
For one thing , the consumer can find similar , high-quality products such as we sell , at a much more affordable price than purchasing it from our online ecommerce business , by cutting out the middlemen , in this case us .
We have to pay the farmers a fair price for their products , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ freezers , shipped with special packaging and dry ice , etc .
– all middleman services that increase the price .
In addition to these additional costs , our meats have to be processed in USDA certified processing plants to meet federal laws to sell food between states .
There have been some seasons where we have had little to no chickens for sale , for example , because small-scale poultry processing plants that meet the standards for USDA inspectors are very few , and many go out of business after only a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And because these products are not subsidized , typically only the upper middle class and wealthier consumers can afford them .
And with the current lock downs , more people are purchasing online , putting strains on our inventory as well .
The “ herd share ” or “ animal share ” model defined by Baylen Linnekin above , is a far better economic model , if we want to be serious about food security in this country .
This model has served well in many parts of the country , because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and is not participating in the commodity food distribution system at all .
By allowing their neighbors and fellow state citizens to invest in their farm , by purchasing shares in their operation which gives them ownership of part of their livestock , they are producing a legal , contractual relationship with members of their community , which should bypass the many regulations that are designed only for the commodity food distribution model .
Courts around the country have a mixed-bag record of upholding these contractual rights , so maybe it is time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
Do you have a herd share operation ?
Are you a farmer who is interested in starting a herd share operation for members of your community and state ?
If so , you can contact us at HealthyTraditions.com .
Put “ Herdshare ” in the subject of your email , and if there is enough interest , we will create a directory of herdshare programs around the U.S. so consumers have choices once the commodity-based food system fails .
The current U.S. food distribution system might survive the coronavirus crisis , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it to a screeching halt , sadly .
Food Freedom Laws Needed to Rebuild Economic Prosperity – Reestablish Relationships between Local Food Producers and Local Consumers Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund – Start here if you are interested in starting a herdshare program in your community .
Disclaimer : Brian Shilhavy is the Editor of Health Impact News , and the founder and owner of Healthy Traditions .

by Brian Shilhavy
Editor, Health Impact News
Earlier this week (April, 2020), U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue, appeared at the White House Coronavirus Task Force press conference to explain why the country is facing some food shortages, such as meats, in grocery stores, even though there is plenty of food in the country.
The problem is the commodity-based food distribution system, which is experiencing bottle necks right now due to restaurants and other food establishments being shut down across the country due to the coronavirus restrictions.
A significant portion of commodity-based food sales is processed, packaged, and distributed for businesses, and not for consumers who purchase food in stores and supermarkets.
So with the decline in food sales to businesses, there has also been a corresponding demand for food in grocery stores from consumers who would normally be eating more at restaurants, schools, ball parks, and work places.
Lisa Held, writing for Civil Eats, highlighted the problem in an article published earlier this week:
“It’s like Armageddon, but we’ll get through it,” Benjamin Walker explained over the phone in mid-March. That day, sales at Baldor—the New York-based food distribution company where Walker is the vice president of sales and marketing—had dropped by 85 percent. With 90 percent of its business focused on food service, Baldor’s 400 trucks are typically loaded with specialty produce, meats, and baked goods bound for restaurants, hotels, schools, and stadiums in New York City, Boston, and Washington, D.C. In other words, its food goes to all of the institutions that have been shut down by the coronavirus pandemic. “The shimmer of hope for us is the 10 percent of retail [sales we were already doing],” Walker said. “That’s really the only food channel operating at the moment, and that supply chain has been maxed out.” Over the last months, Walker and his team have been acting quickly to onboard new accounts and reroute those trucks. As shoppers across the country have stockpiled food in anticipation of weeks or months of eating at home, there has been significant panic at the sight of empty shelves in grocery stores. Experts and food-industry groups have jumped in to assure the public, in various publications, that the American food supply was strong and those shelves do not reflect shortages. Instead, they were said to be a reflection of behind-the-scenes adjustments that need to be made by manufacturers, distributors, and retailers to keep up with where people are eating. (Full article here.)
There are a lot of businesses that get a piece of the pie that is our food system here in the U.S., controlling the flow of food from the farm to the consumer.
When everything is going well, it is like a high-speed train going from one destination to another. And most of the food you see in your grocery store, or eat at institutions, is heavily subsidized by taxpayers as well, keeping food cheap, and not representing the true cost to produce that food.
But when a crisis hits the nation, such as the current coronavirus pandemic, it just takes one section of the train to derail and cause the entire system to start failing, and potentially to completely derail.
And the effects we are seeing today as a result of the nationwide lock downs, are really a small problem in the grand scheme of things when it comes to food distribution in this country.
Just think of what the effects could potentially look like if, for example, transportation was disrupted due to energy disruptions, or communication was disrupted due to electrical grid issues, or telecommunication issues.
This is mild in comparison to what might happen, for example, if the country found itself in a real war, and not a “war” on a virus, where an enemy could bring down the power grid, disrupt the Internet, etc.
This should be a wake up call that our nation’s food distribution system is incredibly vulnerable.
The Food Freedom Movement
Back in 2011, some small communities in the state of Maine began what many today call the “Food Freedom” movement, where local municipalities passed “Food Sovereignty” laws, seeking to bypass State and Federal regulations to allow farmers to sell their products directly to consumers in their community, cutting out all the “middlemen” in the food distribution system within their local communities. See:
Such arrangements are win-win situations for consumers and farmers in their communities. Farmers are able to charge a higher price, usually for a better quality product as well, and it keeps costs down for the consumer by bypassing all the middlemen in the process.
The consumer still usually pays a higher price than the commodity products in grocery stores, because government subsidies are generally not available for such farm-to-consumer sales, but the consumer gets a far better quality product, and develops a relationship in their community with the producers of the food, where accountability is much more transparent, in contrast to commodity food purchased in most grocery stores where the consumer has no idea where the food came from, or even which country it may have come from.
As can be expected, there was strong push back from state and federal regulators, and these local laws in Maine went through many court battles.
But lawmakers realized that this was a popular concept with the citizens of their state, and so state-wide bills were proposed, and in 2017, the governor of Maine signed “the Maine Food Sovereignty Act.”
There are still many hurdles and challenges to open up direct farm to consumer sales in the U.S., but Wyoming has been recognized as one of the best examples today of a Food Freedom law, and if the commodity-based food system does fail, either in the short-term future, or in the future under a more severe national crisis, residents of Wyoming might be in the best position to still obtain food from producers in their state.
Baylen Linnekin, writing for Reason Magazine, recently highlighted the advantages of Wyoming’s Food Freedom Act, especially in light of potential meat shortages now facing the nation’s commodity food system.
Wyoming’s first-and-best-in-the-nation food freedom law just keeps getting better. Wyoming’s groundbreaking Food Freedom Act has served as a national model for how states can deregulate many in-state food sales. The five-year-old law opened up many previously illegal food transactions in Wyoming, and has delivered on its promise to benefit ranchers, other food entrepreneurs, and consumers alike. And it’s done so without a single case of foodborne illness being tied to any foods sold under the law. The law also keeps getting better. As I detailed a column just last month, an amendment to the Act will allow low-risk foods such as homemade jams to be sold in grocery stores and sold and consumed in restaurants. That was great news. But yet another new amendment to the law, passed last month and set to take effect in July, could further bolster the fortunes of ranchers and consumers in the state. A new animal share amendment will let consumers buy individual cuts of meat directly from ranchers though an animal-share agreement, completely outside of the typical U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection regime. That’s something that’s still illegal in the other 49 states. It’s also why the Wyoming law could be a game changer for ranchers in the state and—should other states follow suit—a valuable new revenue stream for farmers and ranchers across the country. The new amendment was introduced by Wyoming State Rep. Tyler Lindholm (R), who co-sponsored the bipartisan Food Freedom Act five years ago. “The idea for the bill is simple,” Lindholm—a rancher with whom I serve on the board of the nonprofit Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund—told me this week. “Let ranchers and farmers sell herd shares for their animals. That way the entire herd is ‘owned’ by all of the customers before slaughter, thereby meeting the exemption standards of the federal law, and now the rancher does not have to jump through the hoops of the Federal Meat Inspection Act and can utilize the smaller mom and pop butchers that still [exist] in most of our small towns.” The premise behind animal shares isn’t new. For example, some states which prohibit raw (unpasteurized) milk sales allow distribution to people who’ve purchased shares in one or more of a farmer’s dairy cattle. These “herdshare” agreements let a farmer raise and care for the herd-shared livestock in exchange for providing some of its (typically unpasteurized) milk to share owners. Meat sharing has been a bit more complicated. As I detail in my book, Biting the Hands that Feed Us: How Fewer, Smarter Laws Would Make Our Food System More Sustainable, a consumer may buy a significant portion of a living cow—say one-quarter or one-half its post-slaughter weight—and take possession of its meat after it’s been slaughtered in a non-USDA approved facility without running afoul of USDA rules. But that can mean buying more than 100-200 pounds of beef. Until the new Wyoming law, consumers who weren’t quite that hungry (or who wanted only a particular cut of meat) have had little option but to buy from farmers who’d had their animals processed under the USDA’s rules or to go to the grocery store for similarly inspected cuts. The Wyoming amendment takes advantage of an exemption created under § 623(a) of the Federal Meat Inspection Act, which governs interstate and even most intrastate livestock slaughter and meat sales in this country. The FMIA exemption allows custom slaughtering of livestock by and for an “owner” of the animal. (Read the full article at Reason.com)
Time to Invest in Our Local Farmers: The Herd Share Economic Model
My company, Healthy Traditions, has been selling grass-fed meats and pastured poultry and eggs online for more than a decade. We source these products from small-scale family farms, many of them Amish farms in western Wisconsin.
But we have never considered ourselves as a replacement for consumers to purchase these kinds of products directly from producers in their own communities. Direct sales from farm to consumer is always the best option, if it is available.
For one thing, the consumer can find similar, high-quality products such as we sell, at a much more affordable price than purchasing it from our online ecommerce business, by cutting out the middlemen, in this case us. We have to pay the farmers a fair price for their products, the products have to be stored in freezers, shipped with special packaging and dry ice, etc. – all middleman services that increase the price.
In addition to these additional costs, our meats have to be processed in USDA certified processing plants to meet federal laws to sell food between states. There have been some seasons where we have had little to no chickens for sale, for example, because small-scale poultry processing plants that meet the standards for USDA inspectors are very few, and many go out of business after only a few years of trying to make it.
And because these products are not subsidized, typically only the upper middle class and wealthier consumers can afford them.
And with the current lock downs, more people are purchasing online, putting strains on our inventory as well.
The “herd share” or “animal share” model defined by Baylen Linnekin above, is a far better economic model, if we want to be serious about food security in this country. This model has served well in many parts of the country, because the farmer is not selling retail, and is not participating in the commodity food distribution system at all.
By allowing their neighbors and fellow state citizens to invest in their farm, by purchasing shares in their operation which gives them ownership of part of their livestock, they are producing a legal, contractual relationship with members of their community, which should bypass the many regulations that are designed only for the commodity food distribution model.
Courts around the country have a mixed-bag record of upholding these contractual rights, so maybe it is time to pass federal laws protecting such contracts?
Do you have a herd share operation? Are you a farmer who is interested in starting a herd share operation for members of your community and state?
If so, you can contact us at HealthyTraditions.com. Put “Herdshare” in the subject of your email, and if there is enough interest, we will create a directory of herdshare programs around the U.S. so consumers have choices once the commodity-based food system fails.
The current U.S. food distribution system might survive the coronavirus crisis, but it would not take much to bring it to a screeching halt, sadly.
See Also:
Resource
Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund – Start here if you are interested in starting a herdshare program in your community.
Disclaimer: Brian Shilhavy is the Editor of Health Impact News, and the founder and owner of Healthy Traditions.