>>>I find it highly doubtful that in World War I, individual victory gardens in the US could have done much at all to feed Europe. Just common sense.<<<
The Victory Gardens both during WW I & II were not to feed Europe - they fed your own family & friends - this freed up 40%+ of commercialy grown crops to be diverted to Europe and our troops overseas instead of domestic consumption.
Don’t underestimate the absolute need for acquiring and using the skills of gardening and preserving today. Already passed by the house and if the Senate passes H.R.2749, the FDA will gear up to enforce newly passed asinine provisions. I won’t get on my soapbox here, but I will say that genetically modified, pesticide use, herbicide use become ‘best practice’ which is mandated under this bill. Our new Food Czar was a Monsanto Attorney. If you are not familiar with them, I suggest you google it and decide for yourself.
I would check around to see if this is still a problem. The bill has been amended as follows (Of course, this is just the House bill. The Senate bill could be different, and the two resolved in conference committee, which could rewrite the bill before an up or down vote in both chambers, always an opportunity for mischief):
(1) DEFINITION OF FACILITY- Paragraph (1) of section 415(b) (21 U.S.C. 350d(b)) is amended to read as follows:
‘(1)(A) The term ‘facility’ means any factory, warehouse, or establishment (including a factory, warehouse, or establishment of an importer) that manufactures, processes, packs, or holds food.
‘(B) Such term does not include farms; private residences of individuals; restaurants; other retail food establishments; nonprofit food establishments in which food is prepared for or served directly to the consumer; or fishing vessels (except such vessels engaged in processing as defined in section 123.3(k) of title 21, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulations).