The John Locke Foundation has launched a new initiative called Sowing Resilience.

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Hi there,

The John Locke Foundation has launched a new initiative called Sowing Resilience.
* It promotes policy solutions that:
+ Protect and enhance North Carolina’s vital agriculture industry
+ Increase food security
+ Makes food more accessible

You can watch the trailer for the upcoming documentary series for Sowing Resilience right here ([link removed]) !

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It’s not just North Carolina’s history… Farming is also the backbone of our economy

So why does farming matter so much to North Carolinians?
* Agriculture is North Carolina’s top industry
+ Farmers, distributors, and thousands of other hardworking North Carolinians play a critical role in our food supply
* But sadly, 1.6 million state residents live in “food deserts”
+ “Food deserts” are a geographic area where residents have limited access to affordable, nutritious food

All of this info probably leaves you with a simple question. How can a state whose top industry is agriculture have food deserts? In our upcoming docu-series and research report, which will be available on Monday, August 12, we’ll examine the root causes behind food insecurity, grocery inflation, and more.
* COVID-19 was bad, but it combined with numerous broad (and often arbitrary) laws and executive orders created a special nightmare…
* The effects of the lockdowns and supply chain disruptions fueled a significant amount of uncertainty leading to disruptions in delivery and skyrocketing prices (you might remember the unbelievable high price of eggs)
+ All of this happened because local farmers struggled to get their food to consumers…and that resulted in the euthanasia of millions of animals and unharvested crops
* All the while, communities across North Carolina, often the most in need, lost important access to fresh food

This is unacceptable John.

And it’s why we are committed to Sowing Resilience

Thankfully, there is a way forward. And Sowing Resilience is ready to highlight the North Carolinians leading the way.
* Like Fran and Taylor ([link removed]) , who purchased a historic property with the goal to farm sustainably for themselves. But by 2018, their operation had evolved into Montgomery Sky Farm ([link removed]) , which produces a wide variety of sustainable products for local restaurants and markets, collaborates with different businesses, and assembles produce boxes.
* And Julia Castellano ([link removed]) , who started Little Loaf Bakery and Schoolhouse ([link removed]) , a bakery in Wilmington. Castellano and her staff not only sell food to the community, they also offer classes ([link removed]) to the community on breadmaking, cake decorating, and everything in between.
* And Dr. Peter Morris ([link removed]) , who is the Executive Director of Urban Ministries of Wake County, which served approximately 43 families per day before the pandemic, but grew to about 85 families per day during Covid, and has not declined much since then.

These are just a few of the many people working to improve our food supply, and helping connect North Carolina’s agricultural strengths to those who need it the most.

John, if you want to hear about more farmers, innovators, and entrepreneurs who are leading the charge in Sowing Resilience, you can do so here ([link removed]) .

Esse Quam Videri,

Brooke Medina


** See Our New Video
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** More from Locke
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1. 🗽🗽🗽What is the True Meaning of "Freedom?" ([link removed])
* While most Americans praise freedom, your definition of what freedom might mean can vary depending on your political leanings
+ President Franklin D. Roosevelt, architect of The New Deal, famously stated that “freedom from want” is absolutely essential because “true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence.”
o FDR’s definition means that people are guaranteed certain necessities of life, like food, housing, and even some semblance of economic security(which is difficult to define)
o Today, this viewpoint is popular with progressive proponents advocating for an “economic bill of rights” or the Green New Deal

That sounds like a recipe for big government, so what else does “freedom” mean?
* Another way to look at it is helpfully provided by Murray Rothbard: “the absence of invasion (or aggression) by another individual against any man’s person or property”
+ This definition has several advantages
o It does not require involuntarily taking any production or labor of others to be satisfied
o As long as no person is invading or engaging in aggression against another individual’s person or property, freedom can be universally enjoyed

Okay that makes sense, so what’s the argument against it?
* A Common critique of free-market capitalism is that people are not free if they have to work to earn wages
+ We’ll ignore the irony given the fact that Lenin, one of history’s worst tyrants and communist leader, once said, “he who does not work shall not eat”

2. 🗳️🗳️🗳️ It’s time to go… ([link removed])
Wait… what needs to go?
* Okay, so North Carolina still has a literacy test on the books..
+ Alright, you’ve mentioned this before… what’s wrong with that?
o Historically, this test was used specifically to limit the rights of black citizens to vote
o It’s only technically on the books right now, because the Voting Rights Act of 1965 banned tests like these at the federal level
+ So if the test can’t currently be enforced, why should I care?
o First and foremost, removing this irrelevant law would be a symbolic break from the past
o In an unlikely (but possible) ruling from the federal courts, this law could go suddenly back into effect.
+ If this is already illegal why hasn’t it been removed yet?
o It has been tried and failed
# The first attempt was in 1970, and only 44% of North Carolinians voted to repeal the literacy test
o Since then legislators have been cautious
o However, a bipartisan group of legislators canto come together and agree that this relic of the past needs to go
o They could then put it on the 2026 primary ballot, where we can leave this stain on North Carolina’s history where it belongs… in the rearview mirror.


3. 📈📈📈 Voter registration is still on the rise in North Carolina ([link removed])

So, what’s going on?
* Democrats, Republicans, and “Unaffiliated” had a larger-than-usual net rise in voter registrations during the last full week of July ([link removed]) (July 21-28).
* Democrats were up 443, Republicans up 2,063, and “Unaffiliated” rose 3,499.
* While the rise in Democratic registrations may be pretty small, they've actually had a net loss most of the past few weeks.

So, why is this happening?
* It’s pretty common to see a steady increase in voter registration every four years.
* During the summer before a presidential election, voter registrations spike.
* And by October, the trickle becomes a torrent, with tens of thousands of voter registrations added each week.

What’s the takeaway?
* The total net changes for the “big three” registrations from July 25, 2020 to January 30, 2021 ([link removed]) : Democrats down 54,017, Republicans up 56,186, and “Unaffiliated” down 4,756.
* Democrats currently outnumber Republicans by 134,322 registrations ([link removed]) in North Carolina. If 2024 is similar to 2020, that advantage will decline by more than 100,000.
* That will put Republicans in a position to overtake Democrats in total registrations sometime in 2025 or 2026.

Read our full report here ([link removed]) .
Donate ([link removed])

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