Page 56 - Agenda 21

Page 56 of 121

of the market. Private land ownership is also a principal instrument of accumulation and
concentration of wealth and therefore contributes to social injustice; if unchecked, it may become a
major obstacle in the planning and implementation of development schemes. Social
justice, urban renewal and development, the provision of decent dwellings and healthy conditions for
the people can only be achieved if land is used in the interests of society as a whole.”

“Public ownership or effective control of land in the public interest is the single most
important means of...achieving a more equitable distribution of the benefits of development whilst
assuring that environmental impacts are considered. Land is a scarce resource whose management
should be subject to public surveillance or control in the interest of the nation;... Governments must
maintain full jurisdiction and exercise complete sovereignty over such land with a view to
freely planning development of human settlements...; Public ownership of land … is justified in so far
as it is exercised in favor of the common good.”
Vancouver, Habitat: United Nations Conference On Human Settlements. http://www.un-
freezone.org/habitat1.shtml

“The USDA “census of agriculture” is a government-run farm surveillance program designed to
register and inventory detailed private data on farm assets, operations and personnel. A census form is
mailed to each farmer in the United States, accompanied by threats of compliance and a warning that
farmers who do not comply will be visited in person by government agents.

These agricultural census forms — see a link to a scanned copy below — demands farmers reveal the
following information, all of which is compiled into a vast government database:

• # of acres of land owned
• Physical location of the land
• # of acres of croplands harvested
• # of acres of pasture land
• # of acres leased for cash
• # of acres irrigated
• How much money you’ve received from state or federal agricultural programs
• The exact number of acres grown and harvested for each crop: corn, oats, peanuts, cotton, rice,
soybeans, wheat and many more
• # of acres of hey or forage crops
• # of acres used for Christmas trees or maple syrup
• Detailed inventory of your greenhouses, vegetable seeds, mushrooms and “propagative materials”
• Detail inventory of tobacco plants, berries, aquatic plants, sod, flowering plants and more
• # of acres of beans, cantaloupes, potatoes, corn and various melons
• # of acres of various fruit and nut crops including apples, grapes and pears
• The total dollar value of all the crops you sold
• Detailed inventory of berries, including blueberries, strawberries, blackberries and more
• Details on the number of cattle and calves
• Value of all cattle sold
• Details on pigs, horses, sheep, goats and other animals
• Details on aquaculture operations, including type of plants grown
• Details on poultry production, # of chickens, what kind, how much money, etc
• Details on bees, alpacas, bison, deer, elk, rabbits and more
• Full details on all production contracts including chicken eggs, feed, seed and more
• Full reporting of all income from farm-related sources
• Full details on all farm labor, how many people you hired, what you paid, etc.
• Grain storage capacity on your farm
• All production expenses: A full accouting of money spent, almost a full tax return all by itself