Government intensifies persecution of gardeners in attempt to criminalize self-sufficiency

(NaturalNews) Home gardening is a deep-rooted (pun intended) American tradition. Since the nation’s beginnings, gardens have formed an integral part of the landscape, providing healthy, fresh food for millions of families.

Home gardens are a way to save money, increase self-sufficiency and make sure the food we eat is organically grown and free of pesticides and other chemicals.

Unfortunately, there has been a growing trend towards criminalizing home gardeners, but the good news is that more and more of them are successfully fighting back against government attempts to pronounce home gardening as an illegal activity.

A recent article published by GovtSlaves.info explored several cases in which citizens were told their home gardens violating the law. In all of these stories, the home gardeners decided to stand up for their rights and were generally successful in challenging the legal rulings against them as well as raising awareness and gaining support among the rest of the citizenry.

The first case tells the story of Tom Carroll and Hermine Ricketts, a Miami Shores Village, Florida, couple who have planted an organic garden in their front yard for the past 17 years.

In 2013, Miami Shores authorities ordered Carroll and Ricketts to uproot their garden or face fines of $50 per day on the grounds that it violated a recently amended zoning ordinance regarding “home aesthetics.”

Carroll and Ricketts decided to stand up for their rights. They lost the first battle against the Miami Shores Code Enforcement Board, which ruled against the couple. They were then forced to uproot the garden to avoid the fines.

However, Carroll and Ricketts continued to seek justice. They enlisted the the help of the Institute for Justice, an Arlington, Virginia-based public interest law firm that was getting ready to launch its National Food Freedom Initiative to “defend Americans’ food choices from arbitrary regulations.”