Here is the way it went down in Vermont.
Rich Hippy dippy idiots move in enamored of the local rural ways.
They gain political power and outlaw stores like Kroger because they are outraged that some of the meat is raised with hormones and is slaughtered with machines or what ever.
They declare that all food should be bought from the local hippy dippy co op which charges 4x the price of the Kroger.
The local who they originally admired cant afford that and have to move away.
The rich hippy dippy organic types sit around blowing through their trust finds and smugly sniffing their own smug farts
Vermonters will tell you straight to your face that their farts smell better than yours; especially those Texan ones.
All that chili, you know...
And open the door for "protective" environmental and health laws to make food production a nightmare proposition for American farmers and regular Joes who'd like to try to grow something on their property and maybe sell it.
In a very sly way, with all these "protective" values, they're strangling food production the same way they've nearly strangled energy production.
Have you been to Vermont? It's uncanny how you have nailed it...I used to see them standing around on the street, noses in the air. I thought they were trying to pick up the scent of weed, but you are right...they were just enjoying the scent of their organic farts. I tip my hat to you...