Free Republic

The Feds raided Alfie Oakes’ Naples, Florida home and farm with a battering ram on Thursday. Alfie Oakes is an outspoken Trump supporter and owner of Seed to Table grocery store. The raid was conducted by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service which investigates criminal behavior with the Department of Defense. --snip-- According to reports, the Feds used a battering ram to bust the door down at Alfie Oakes’ home while his wife and daughter were home. IRS agents were seen carrying boxes out of Alfie Oakes’ home.

Sam's Club offers members an embarrassment of riches regarding food options. From prepared meals to baked goods like fall pies, members can complete their weekly grocery runs at their local warehouse, stocking up their refrigerators and pantries with many items sold in bulk. Equally as impressive is Sam's Club's array of frozen foods, including appetizers, entrées, desserts, and everything in between.

When Vivian de Walque, a 37-year-old Reddit user, reached for a five-pack of Reese's peanut butter cups to ease her workday stress, she wasn't prepared for what would become a viral candy catastrophe. "I figured it was a one-off, so I bite into the next one. Nope, no peanut butter. Well, there's no way I could get three in a row... right?" humorously recounting her quest through all five cups, each solid chocolate, "without a trace of peanut butter," she told Newsweek. Sharing her experience on Reddit's "mildly interesting" sub, Vivian's story struck a chord with 100,000 upvotes. De Walque,...

By getting governments to over-regulate farming, elite oligarchs like Bill Gates and Klaus Schwab aim to take control over food production in the name of sustainability. Besides ‘degrowth’ and ‘net zero,’ one other dangerous buzz phrase being bandied about by proponents of the Great Reset is “nature-positive food systems.” The stated goal of moving to new food systems is to reduce nitrogen emissions, livestock production, and meat consumption. This is to be achieved by consuming plant-based products, lab-grown foods, and insects (as a source of protein). The moot question, however, is whether such a change is at all necessary? The...

The MONTHLY Gardening Thread is a gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the...

Researchers have discovered the mechanism linking the overconsumption of red meat with colorectal cancer, as well as identifying a means of interfering with the mechanism as a new treatment strategy for this kind of cancer. Meat is a significant source of protein and fat, as well as essential vitamins and minerals like iron, zinc, and vitamins A and B. However, as is the case with many things, eating too much of it is bad for you. Despite the strong evidence associating red meat with some cancers, the underlying mechanism is less clear. Now, researchers from the National Cancer Center Singapore...

This five minute video shows where canola oil, vegetable shortening, and cattle feed come from. No wonder our spending on health care is so high. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cfk2IXlZdbI

Iowa has culled approximately 1.3 million chickens after being unable to find a market for the birds following the sudden closure of Midwest poultry processor Pure Prairie Poultry, which left many farmers stranded with the prospect of lost income. Last year, Pure Prairie had been awarded a $38.7 million loan guarantee and a nearly $7 million grant from the USDA to reopen and expand the Iowa processing plant.

A McDonald’s supplier recalled yellow onions produced in a Colorado plant in response to a deadly E. coli outbreak at the fast food chain Taylor Farms, which supplies onions to McDonald’s franchises that are the subject of a multi-state investigation by health authorities, said it was pulling products “out of an abundance of caution” and that it did not find traces of E. coli as of Wednesday. The Food and Drug Administration has pointed to Taylor Farms onions as “a likely source of contamination” and has launched an investigation into the supplier, CNBC reported Thursday. The Post has sought comment...

Yum Brands said Thursday it would be removing fresh onions from its meals at select Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC restaurants out of “abundance of caution” following an E.coli outbreak tied to McDonald’s Quarter Pounder hamburgers. The E.coli outbreak has killed at least one person and sickened nearly 50 others across the West and Midwest. McDonald’s removed the Quarter Pounder, which contains fresh onions, from its menu in Colorado, Kansas, Utah and Wyoming, and in parts of Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico and Oklahoma.

Denny's says it's closing 150 of its lowest-performing restaurants in an effort to turn around the brand's flagging sales. About half of the closures will happen this year and the rest in 2025, the company said during a meeting with investors Tuesday. The locations weren't revealed, but the restaurants represent about 10% of Denny's total. Stephen Dunn, Denny's executive vice president and chief global development officer, said in some cases the restaurants are no longer in good locations. "Some of these restaurants can be very old," Dunn said during the investor meeting. "You think of a 70-year-old-plus brand. We have...

"It's not only the lack of electricity but also of gas and water," she told AFP, 11 hours after the unplanned shutdown of Cuba's main thermal power plant triggered the collapse of the country's grid. With a frown, she said her "generation wants to continue trusting" in the 1959 revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power, but her "resilience has limits". Cuba is in the throes of its worst economic crisis in 30 years, marked by sky-high inflation and shortages of food, medicine, fuel and water.

Is this the most-wanted cereal killer? An ex-FDA employee has revealed what he claims is the most harmful breakfast cereal on the US market. Dr. Darin Detwiler, who previously served as a food safety expert for the agency, told the Daily Mail that Kellogg’s Froot Loops is the worst of the bunch, pointing out that the rainbow rings are “heavily processed and contain high levels of added sugars, artificial dyes and preservatives, which are linked to health concerns.” Given the laundry list of bad-for-you ingredients in the bagged cereal, Detwiler says excess sugar is the least odious. A 1-cup serving...

After sipping pumpkin spiced lattes in August and putting up Halloween decorations in late September, Samantha Kowalczyk already looks forward to drinking eggnog-flavored coffee and filling her Wilmington, Delaware, home with cinnamon and sugar cookie scented candles and other holiday aromas. The 30-year-old thinks seasonal flavors and scents should be available year-round. And apparently others feel the same way. In response to growing customer demand, stores of all stripes, from Bath and Body Works and online holiday decor retailer Balsam Hill to Whole Foods Market and doughnut maker Krispy Kreme, are bringing out their festive collections weeks before the Nov....

Casual dining chain TGI Friday's has closed at least a dozen of its restaurants in the last few weeks.According to the company's website and other reports, the following locations are now listed as permanently closed:New YorkMiddletown, 23 Crystal Run CrossingPoughkeepsie, 2594 South Road (Route 9)Clifton Park, 1 Southside Drive ConnecticutEnfield, Freshwater-Stateline Plaza, 130 Elm StreetPennsylvaniaAllentown, 395 S Cedar Crest Blvd.VirginiaLeesburg, 235 Fort Evans Rd NECustomers at several of the locations were surprised by signs posted announcing the sudden closures.Founded in New York City, TGI Friday's has over 200 restaurants in the US.Earlier closures were mainly in the Midwest.

For more than two years now, higher prices have been pinching consumers’ wallets and testing their patience — but there’s at least one part of their monthly budget that has more breathing room these days. For the average U.S. worker, it now takes fewer hours of work to afford a week’s worth of groceries than it did five years ago, in August 2019. That’s according to a MarketWatch analysis of wage and inflation data that shows how the price of food relative to wages has fluctuated in recent years. In other words: Despite substantial post-pandemic increases in food costs, wages...

The vast majority of America’s meat supply comes from four major companies, leaving little room in the market for smaller farms to compete. JBS Foods, National Beef Packing Co., Tyson Foods, and Cargill combined hold 85% of the market, leading to the closing of thousands of family farms. “Any time something is consolidated … you’re going to deal with more issues, like cleanliness, with health issues for animals, because now you’re cramming them into smaller spaces. You’re just worrying about quantity over quality,” says Brooke Ence, co-founder of From The Farm. Growing up in a family of farmers and ranchers,...

A “progressive” Texas baker and “Food Network” star has received harsh backlash, hateful comments and death threats over cookies she was selling bearing the face of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Haley Popp launched the blue-frosted sugar cookies which featured the Democratic Vice Presidential candidate’s likeness at her Hive Bakery ahead of Tuesday’s Vice Presidential Debate between Walz and Sen. JD Vance. “We only have a few dozen! Order online or come see us!! Who’s ready for the VP beats tonight?!,” the bakery wrote on Facebook alongside the cookie with a smiling Walz. Eight hours after sharing the post, Popp revealed...

Before you put a food item into your cart or basket at the grocery store, you likely look for a “best by” date (or something of the like) to make sure you’ll be able to use it before it goes bad. But did you know that an expiration date and other food date labels are not the same? Here’s what you need to know — from what each label means to which foods to avoid after their expiration date. Expiration date vs. date labels: What’s the difference? According to the National Science Foundation (NSF), an expiration date is typically only...

Unionized dockworkers at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports began a strike Monday that will affect the flow of goods through ports that handle about half of seaborne trade to the U.S. and could have an impact on food prices. Ports affected by the International Longshoremen’s Association strike are key hubs for food imports from places like South America and Central America. For example, about two-thirds of bananas arrive at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a statement Tuesday saying it doesn’t anticipate food prices will be significantly affected by the port strike...