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Healthy Home Economist / Archives / Gardening / Jail For Planting a Vegetable Garden?

Jail For Planting a Vegetable Garden?

by Sarah Pope / Affiliate Links ✔

front yard garden

In the latest example of government gone amok, Jill Bass of Oak Park, Michigan faces up to 93 days in jail for planting a beautifully maintained vegetable garden in her front yard. Ms. Bass has already been issued a ticket and now faces misdemeanor charges for her industriousness.

The cash strapped Oak Park, which should arguably spend its dwindling financial resources and efforts on more serious municipal matters, contends that Ms. Bass’ garden violates city code which requires front yards to consist of “suitable live plant material”.

Huh?

Last time I checked, vegetables growing in a garden are indeed alive!  With regards to “suitable”, a plant that can be consumed by the people tending it does seem to qualify, don’t you think?

It seems the City of Oak Park considers pesticide and chemically fertilized grass to be more “suitable” front yard greenery than a humble vegetable garden.

Such foolishness reminds me of the stories I used to hear back in my Cold War school days when our Civics teacher would tell a roomful of wide-eyed and incredulous children about Russian peasants being hauled off to jail for growing their own food!   In Communist societies, no one “owns” anything .. any vegetables that were grown had to be commissioned and approved by the State.

Nothing like that could ever happen in the good ‘ole US of A, right?

One can only hope that Ms. Bass’ neighbors and the community of Oak Park will flood the city phone lines with complaints about such over the top harassment. Imagine that tax dollars are actually being used to pay for this outrage.

Take a look at a picture of Ms. Bass’ vegetable garden and how beautifully it is maintained by clicking here.

She can come and plant a garden in my front yard anytime!  Fortunately, my community allows it!

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Category: Gardening
Sarah Pope

Sarah Pope MGA has been a Health and Nutrition Educator since 2002. She is a summa cum laude graduate in Economics from Furman University and holds a Master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

She is the author of three books: Amazon #1 bestseller Get Your Fats Straight, Traditional Remedies for Modern Families, and Living Green in an Artificial World.

Her four eBooks Good Diet…Bad Diet, Real Food Fermentation, Ketonomics, and Ancestrally Inspired Dairy-Free Recipes are available for complimentary download via Healthy Home Plus.

Her mission is dedicated to helping families effectively incorporate the principles of ancestral diets within the modern household. She is a sought after lecturer around the world for conferences, summits, and podcasts.

Sarah was awarded Activist of the Year in 2010 at the International Wise Traditions Conference, subsequently serving on the Board of Directors of the nutrition nonprofit the Weston A. Price Foundation for seven years.

Her work has been covered by numerous independent and major media including USA Today, ABC, and NBC among many others.

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Since 2002, Sarah has been a Health and Nutrition Educator dedicated to helping families effectively incorporate the principles of ancestral diets within the modern household. Read More

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