While Mrs. Obama plants an organic garden on the White House lawn and tours around the country promoting her pet project of adding salad bars to public school cafeterias to fight childhood obesity, Mr. Obama’s out of control and power crazed Executive Branch – namely the FDA, USDA, and CDC are sponsoring terrorist raids against organic health food store operators and small farms all over the nation.
The latest raid took place yesterday at Rawesome Foods, a private club in Venice CA. The armed raid was the culmination of a year long investigation in which undercover government operatives purchased unpasteurized goat milk, cheese, yogurt and kefir at farmer’s markets and at Rawesome Foods, a private organic food club.
While this raid and the subsequent arrest of three innocent citizens was clearly outrageous and illegal in every sense of the word, my biggest concern is how the private contracts between Rawesome, its primary farm supplier Healthy Family Farms and its customers are being completely ignored and swept under the rug by government authorities.
The contract, after all, is a primary vehicle in the exercise of this economic system we call Capitalism. When the contract falls upon shaky ground and is not recognized by the governing authorities as the binding and legal agreement that it is, the entire economic system becomes seriously at risk.
In the case of Rawesome, the issue appears to be the use of herdshare or boarding agreements for its dairy goats. Other goat farmers in California have experienced similar problems. Mike Hulme of Evergreen Acres in San Jose received a cease and desist letter from the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office. Mr. Hulme along with several owners of the goats boarded at his farm are suing the State and County for denying their fundamental right to enter into an agreement to board livestock.
Since when are citizens of the United States of America denied the right to enter into private contractual agreements with each other?
This shocking development has occurred in tandem with the escalation of the Federal government’s efforts to destroy private food organizations whose intent is to obtain nutrient dense foods directly from small family farms. Clearly the government will stop at nothing – including denial of fundamental rights – to prevent consumers from circumventing the disastrous and recall plagued food distribution system monopolistically controlled by Big Ag and Big Food.
If you live anywhere in Southern California, please plan to attend the protest rally on the Los Angeles Courthouse steps on August 4 at 8am PDT.
This protest is about more than Rawesome, although getting these three innocent citizens released as quickly as possible is certainly of paramount importance. This protest is about the sanctity of the contract, freedom of food choice and the right to conduct private business without the interference of government authorities.
If you are not in the Los Angeles area and want to help, please consider donating to the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund which assists business owners, consumers, and farmers with legal advice and representation during times of harassment such as this.
Sarah, TheHealthyHomeEconomist.com
* This post is linked to the Save Our Farm Freedom Friday blog carnival!
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{ 114 comments… read them below or add one }
Seriously? Using this as an excuse to slam the President? It’s so hard to take your writing seriously when you do that. What a shame. This issue deserves much better, more thoughtful coverage than you seem to be capable of providing. For the record, these dangerous, troubled, and troubling agencies have been a problem since long before Obama took office. Why not just stick to facts without slanting everything with your own personal bias that detracts from the issue at hand?
I support the President and I did not take what Sarah said to be a slam against him. The “slam” was against the agencies within the executive branch which continue to unlawfully act out against the rights of the American people. I think the irony of the First Lady’s healthy living agenda during a time in which farms are being raided for supporting their communities with healthy food was one worth mentioning, but not necessarily a dig at the President himself. Personally, I think the problem is that President Obama has what he would consider to be bigger fish to fry right now and that is partially why the FDA and USDA are gaining so much control. Sadly, that’s leading to quite dangerous and frightening consequences such as today’s events. I wish that food freedom rights were a bigger priority to those who can actually do something about it.
I take that back. WE THE PEOPLE can and will do something about this problem. I have faith in that. Vote with your food dollars, don’t obey unconstitutional laws, and stand up for your rights.
Hi Emily,
It is not so easy to vote with your dollars when there are raids on small farmers happening throughout the United States on a regular basis that have never even been reported. How can people use their dollars to buy real, nourishing food if most of our small farmers are eventually driven out of business?
I believe a more powerful revolution needs to take place that involves millions of Americans. We CAN gain our constitutional rights back, including our natural right to eat real food. However, America needs to first wake up to what is really happening to the world around them, and be willing to be involved in the fight for what our country and constitution truly stands for.
Absolutely, Erica. I know for me personally it is becoming exceedingly difficult to buy real, nourishing food in my state (Hawaii). Raw milk is 100% illegal, grassfed meat is not sold in any stores within 30 miles of me, and even at farmers’ markets here, much of the produce is grown unorganically. Monsanto has infiltrated us in ways that are truly sickening.
So, the choices I am left with include raising dairy animals and chickens myself (working on that currently), ordering real meat from other islands via a food buying club through our WAPF chapter leader, and then seeking out whatever sustainable farms are left here locally to purchase as much as I can from.
But you are absolutely right. It needs to go even deeper than that. Awareness is key, and most people haven’t got a clue of what they are allowing themselves to be poisoned with from the mainstream food supply. However, there are literally millions of raw dairy consumers taking up at least 3% of the market share that we know of. We are a powerful bunch — and we need to not only stick together and support one another (just as those in CA have done for Rawesome and HFF), but spread the word as much as we can.
Hi Emily,
Yes, we are a powerful bunch, and I’m so glad that the raw dairy movement is growing! I just hope that this doesn’t give our government the opportunity to try harder with raiding our small farmers and the heath food stores that sell their products.
Emily I am with you! These problems happened many administrations ago, they are just coming to a head on Obama’s watch. Too bad for him. I didn’t vote for him, but it must be extremely difficult to ‘babysit adults’. We the people have to come back to our roots of freedom and take it back one issue at a time. Food sovereignty is the core issue, because once that is taken away, we are truly puppets at the mercy of misinformed government officials, who in the end never really cared about us anyway.
First time commenter here, but I just HAD to respond to this. It isn’t a dig at the President, it’s about the hypocrisy. The First Lady, and by extension, the White House, can’t tell us to eat better while they simultaneously take away our avenues of doing so.
It’d be like Nancy Reagan running the “Just Say No to Drugs” campaign while Ronald Reagan was trying to legalize them.
VERY good analogy!
BTW Just Say No was a huge failure. The amount of drugs out there available to teens and the amount of teens using them is staggering not to mention tragic. Don’t get me started on teen pregnancy after all that’s been taught in the schools; didn’t work either, so I’d be doubtful Mrs. Obama’s program will amount to any good either. Sure sounds good, but so did the others!
The Federal Agencies that are out of control are Mr. Obama’s responsiblity. HE is the head of the Executive Branch. This is Civics 101. The buck stops with him with these raids which are being coordinated and pushed at the Federal level in the case of Rawesome.
Yeah, I’m sorry he has “bigger fish to fry”; it’s still his responsibility. It’s what apparently the majority of the country voted for. It’s what we pay him for.
Well said, Sarah!
I certainly agree and understand that it is the President’s responsibility. Unfortunately, it isn’t being made a priority — and that, I think is shameful. I think it’s going to take a much greater push from the American population to spur the changes that need to occur in the white house to protect our freedoms and stop injustices like these. Now is the time to push!!
Is this really an Obama/federal issue? We can buy raw milk in Washington.
We can buy it in PA but only 5 or 6 hours away! We can buy it only from the farmer in New York but I still drive 45 an hour and a half to get there.
Raw milk sales are not legal in Maryland or DC.
Wow! That’s an eye opener!
You can buy it for now Renee. I thought I could buy it in Illinois with no problem but all of a sudden the Amish farmer are telling me that they can only sell it for animal consumption. Sure I’ll buy it “for my animals” , but when did that happen? The only regulation we used to have was bring our own containers and go to the farm.
Yes, that “for pets only” thing is being seen more often in various states. Ridiculous!
@ Debbie we’ve been “playing” the for animal consumption only game in FL for years. Have to get a Pet food liscence if you want to sell and then many get hassled. I’m fortunate to have my own goats and a friend with cows. I have not felt comfortable to even give milk to anyone for 3-4 years after USDA harrassed some friends. Its a sad state when we lose our freedom to chose quality food or to share.
Let us all do whatever we can to protect our food supply from complete corporate takeover and protect farmers and consumers from the misguided harassment they now face. Clearly, the target here is unprocessed dairy and the farmer/consumer right to enter into a private contract. The raids and enforcement actions are always promulgated under the pretense of “food safety” — but when raw dairy is 35,000 times LESS likely than other foods to make you sick, and industrial food is routinely contaminated with pathogens, one can see industrial food is running scared and doesn’t want to lose market share to small-scale producers, so they enlist government agencies to do their bidding. It’s the status quo protecting the status quo, but it’s time to stand up for what’s right.
The winged monkeys at our government agencies don’t have the intelligence or the ambition to do this on their own initiative. It might make more sense to take the battle to their corporate sugar daddies. I wonder if the protest rallies wouldn’t be more affective if they were held at the busier grocery stores. Let the patrons realize that they are the real victims when they purchase and consume knock-off foods. Our founding fathers might approve of a little civil disobedience.
Ciao, Pavil
I think the relevant issue is our personal freedoms which disappear more everyday. Thanks for sharing this info Sarah.
And that’s not going to stop as long as we have a congress more interested in corporations than in the people of the USA. We long ago lost a bunch of our rights and we’ll continue to lose more, as about four large corporations hold most of the power, and the banking industry holds the rest. Get ready for less rights, not more rights. That’s the reality headed our way and it doesn’t matter much who’s in control. Obama is a mere marionette whose strings are pulled by corporate lobbyists.
Well said, D.!
Do something! sign this petition, http://www.ftcldf.org/petitions/pnum1079.php
Congressman Ron Paul has once again introduced a bill that would allow the interstate shipment of raw milk and raw milk products for human consumption. This comes straight from the farm-to-consumer legal defense website.
Love Ron Paul and what he’s trying to accomplish!!! Fantastic man, fantastic visions for Liberty!
Signing petitions, especially online petitions, really doesn’t help anything. But it does serve to make the people who signed it feel good – as if they’ve actually done something to help the cause. Sometimes those petitions actually do more harm than good. They also call attention to a problem which might just go away on its own if left alone.
Hey, short of a gun-toting revolution, this country is going nowhere but down in the history books as being the most successful country at breaking its own laws. Our Constitution calls for basic freedoms. Which freedoms do we actually have which aren’t eroding away or being taken away on a daily basis?
I don’t agree. I signed an online petition just a few weeks ago to stop development on the beach down the road from where I was raised here in FL (Honeymoon Island).
The force of the petition stopped the development project preserving this gorgeous beach!
A local issue, Sarah. These others are national issues and much bigger than just signing an online petition. But as I said, sign them if you wish, but most of them don’t do much. It used to be most helpful to start at a city level and work up. Well, that idea is totally useless now. Even at the State level it’s pretty much a non-starter. I’m personal friends with one of our local house reps (we go to the same church on are on a few committees together) and she was helpful with some of the raw milk issues in my state a few years ago, but now that’s back to being an issue here again, too. It seems these “laws” only help for a short period of time, to gloss over the issue and sooth the headache temporarily.
I’ll call my raw milk pet food if that’s what the gov’t wants, but if they know we’re consuming it ourselves what’s the point? It’s going to become an issue again all over the US just like it has in my state.
Nothing is forever in the world of polidicks, I guess. ;->
Again, I don’t agree. Petitions sent to our congressmen and women in DC do cause them to consider the political ramifications of their votes. I have seen petitions do good work over the years in stopping destructive legislation and forcing the addition of amendments to others.
And like Sarah mentioned, consider donating to the farm-to-consumer legal defense fund. We need to back and support our farmers.
I already give to FTCLDF and have been a WAPF supporter for several years. But my money can and will only go so far, too.
Yes, it is a federal issue. The unelected, unaccountable bureaucracies that Sarah mentioned in the article are run from the exective branch of the US govt (president). Their power only increases, never decreases. The agencies grow with each new administration. People freak out when anyone suggests cutting them. I don’t see an end to this as long as statists on both sides continue to justify their version of big govt. Sarah, nice job bringing up the contract issue; I have not seen anyone else hit the story from that angle. This is bigger than food.
“Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God. Every generation needs a new revolution. God forbid we should ever be 20 years without such a rebellion. The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions that I wish it to be always kept alive. It is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government,” Thomas Jefferson.
Yes, their power never ends. And where does that power come from? A company would not be beholden to the government if it 1)didn’t take LARGE subsidies and 2) made a product that was worthy to feed the American people!
Thanks Joanna .. yes this is MUCH bigger than just food. I’ve often said to my husband that if I were president, my first day in office I would sign an executive order to shut down the FDA, the second day I would sign one to shut down the USDA, and the third day I would sign one to shut down the Dept of Education. Of course, for this reason I could never be elected! HA HA.
I think you should throw your hat in for the 2012 election! LOL
All you need do, Sarah, is create an election platform to support these agencies… and then turn on the American dime when in office! You know, just play politics!
And on day 4 you could de-fund the National Endowment for the Arts, Planned Parenthood and a few other similar type unconstitutional departments. There would quickly be a budget surplus instead of a budget deficit.
8AM PDT LA COURTHOUSE STEPS! The Rawesome Raid and The Sanctity of the Contract — The Healthy Home Economist http://t.co/afXHEcs
We have a savings list – things we are saving money for (we are not buying anything on credit). Diary cow just got moved to #2 on the list. Here in PA sales are legal and my source is within 5 miles but I will not take any chances.
It does seem the states where raw milk is legal are having the toughest time. This is counterintuitive and leads to the inevitable conclusion that government is indeed attempting to stamp out people’s access to raw dairy.
And when they do, what will be next?
Thank you for posting this Sarah! You have a nice following and I love the word is getting out there. I live in San Diego and I can’t help but feel very threatened. I am a member of a local food club. Our food club is local, but we actually ship in from a farm in PA because our milk selection is so sparse (in a state where it is legal to sell raw dairy??). I couldn’t agree MORE that I want LESS government control/intervention. My husband is active duty in the military. I told him of Rawesome last night and I said “We live in a free country, yet I may be UNABLE to buy my family the food I know is absolutely necessary for their well being – how is that ‘FREE’ and what are you truly defending?” He was appalled with the news and, though of course not slandering his “Commander in Chief,” completely agreed that he sees our freedoms as American people IN GENERAL (far beyond Milk and Grass Fed Beef) slipping away. All we can do is support those organizations that still are on our side and pray that the ones that are not on our side lose steam in their battle against….wait…what is their battle against again?????
Thanks again Sarah and my fellow bloggers/followers.
Nikki
It’s all completely insane. I’m actually an aussie living in the states so the individual state laws around this stuff confuses me. And I have no knowledge of the fda et al. In australia selling raw milk for consumption
It’s all completely insane. I’m actually an aussie living in the states so the individual state laws around this stuff confuses me. And I have no knowledge of the fda et al. In australia selling raw milk for consumption
The bigger the government, the smaller the citizen. Our gov. is out of control. I can barely recognize this country. It is the fault of the president, who has more time for golf than running the country. Although, the more he’s gone, the less time he has to destroy it. If we are indeed a free country, then I chose to buy raw milk. I have a contract. I am an adult and able to enter into a contract and I want the gov. to leave me the heck alone. This is scary stuff. We lose more of our liberties every day. Kim, I support none of his policies. You’ve apparently done your homework on food, Kim, now try looking into the policies of this administration and educate yourself. NBC et.al. are in the tank so look deeper.
The Rawesome Raid and The Sanctity of the Contract — The Healthy Home Economist http://t.co/GRwHkQo
I really like this website. It is inspiring to me the commitment that Sarah has towards caring and feeding her family. It is unfortunate that she felt the need to get into the political debate. I hope she isn’t going into religion next. For all of you that think total deregulation will solve our problems step over the border to Mexico ( a totally deregulated government) and while you are there enjoy their food!
On this blog, food is very much a political issue because access to Real Food is being attacked by our government. Have you seen the documentary Farmageddon yet?
America needs to wake up or in a few years the only food we will have a choice to consume will be factory farm produced franken foods.
That is certainly the hope of the GOP.
Wait…I am confused…are you saying that Mexico doesn’t have amazing food? Because it has one of the richest, most beautiful of local cuisines! One of my favorite culinary destinations!
Hi Lori Swenson,
I think it is very important that Sarah acknowledged this issue. What happens if our government performs raids on most, if not all, of our small farmers? Most of our small farmers are not in a good financial position to be continuously raided, and have thousands of dollars worth of food be thrown into the garbage. What will happen if their businesses were to eventually shutdown? Where will we be able to go to purchase nourishing food? This issue should be in the minds of every individual in this country because it concerns everyone!
“If people let government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny,” Thomas Jefferson.
Regarding Mexico, there are many small farmers there that sell real, organic food that doesn’t need to be labeled as such. Many Mexicans know where to purchase good quality food like all the rest of the countries in this world that you would consider “deregulated.” They seem to be very healthy people since they purchase from trusted local farmers. This is how it has always been, even in the United States over 100 years ago.
I agree with you. Trusted local farmers is the key. Selling some products broadly will not be as successful as when they are sold with a relationship between the seller and the buyer. I have traveled to Mexico and enjoyed the food greatly. However their health standards for food are frightening to me. Flies on open hanging meat are only the beginning of things you see there. Also the working conditions of the people producing the food. The fat cats have rendered a lot of working people powerless. I am greatly concerned for family farms, I grew up on one. The biggest obstacle to that is an unfair marketplace where government subsidies big business.
Mexico a deregulated country???!!! You really don’t know what you are talking about. Mexico is a Socialist country — highly regulated! You can only buy government-owned gas at the government-owned gas station, for example. You cannot easily start a business. After a century of tight government control, the Mexican people have learned how to “beat the system.” They go around the system, rather than work with it — as we do in the U.S. (My husband is a Mexican citizen, and we live on the US/ Mex border.) Mexicans have very little respect for leadership because of nearly a century of the government’s tight grip on things. Because of so many years of regulation, Mexicans have lost all faith in their government and its laws. They are quick to break the law in little ways, such as selling and buying illegal merchandise here. REGULATION has created the problems in Mexico, NOT deregulation. My mother-in-law once suggested that we sell some illegal liquor in the U.S. that she could buy in Mexico. I was shocked. My mother-in-law is a lovely, law-abiding woman. I would never do something illegal — because I have been trained to follow my country’s laws. My mother-in-law sees laws that keep a person from selling a product a nuisance that should be overlooked because making a living is more important than obeying the government.
The current president, and the last one were the first to try to de-regulate Mexico. They have had some success, thus the economy of Mexico is growing and is much stronger than in that of the U.S. as a result.
President Calderon is trying to clean up decades of corruption, much of it closely tied to the drug-trafficking industry, but the drug industry has gotten very powerful, and is nearly impossible to beat — because of over-regulation. Now here we are, becoming the over-regulated nation.
I’d like to hear how Mexico is a totally “deregulated” country.
She seems to be confusing Mexico’s lack of the rule of law with no regulation. In reality Mexico has regulations coming out of the ears.
If Ms. Swenson or anyone else is genuinely interested in such things, a good place to begin is freetheworld.com. They do an objective analysis of the nations and their economic systems.
In North America, it seems easier to board a child than a goat…
Exactly. See, most small farmers are not wealthy and that is who the gubment attacks because that’s where they can win. When our country starts threatening to put people in jail for growing a front-yard garden and for consuming our foods of choice (rather than corporate produced, lifeless foods) we will be attacked because it’s a freedom they don’t want us to have.
It’s making more and more sense why the Communist Party just endorsed Obama for 2012.
You know, I’m no longer surprised at anything the government does. I think it is above and beyond repair and many of us know that.
I am unable to follow the train of thought on some of the above statements. The food subsidies which are totally geared towards big business ( Cargill and its buddy McDonalds) are creating the food you detest. This started way back with the corn subsidies which brought forth High Fructose Corn syrup and the grain feeding of animals to make meat faster and cheaper. In the recent debt reduction fight did you see the GOP willing to cut any of these farm subsidies? They were screaming bloody murder to keep them in place because their lobbyists are paying for their campaigns. You are fighting the small fight and ignoring the big issue. If these subsidies are discontinued and fair commerce results it will not only help the small farmer but it will also make these foods less attractive financially. I know that you are already voting with your feet by not supporting these businesses. Be careful not to ignore the forest for the trees. Pandering is when a politician gives you something he doesn’t care about to get you to ignore the big stuff.
Why do you assume I am Republican? I am an Independent and don’t agree with how either party handled the debt reduction fiasco. Both parties are to blame for our current mess.
Sorry, I tried not to assume anything. I do think your attack on Obama was unfounded and a distraction from the big issue. The Democrats are surely not without blame. At this point I think that if anyone believes the GOP is going to do anything to hurt their golden goose they are off their rocker. The Dems are a close second. In my state if you are an Independent you give up your rights to vote in the primaries.
I would like to humbly suggest reading the book Animal Farm by George Orwell. For those defending Obama I would like to suggest that you stop listening to what is voiced by our government and pay attention to its actions. By the way, you will not find evidence of what is going on through popular media, you must dig deeper.
I LOVE THAT BOOK! I read it in the fifth grade and have always been suspicious of government ever since that tender age of 10. I doubt many schools include it on the reading list anymore as schools want to bring up robots who can regurgitate information and take standardized tests well, not teach children to THINK.
Well said, CMMOM! People really need to dig deeper rather than only listening to the mainstream media.
Lori:
You see the picture of the burly police officers with bullet proof vests, you read how those men were courageously taking on the bad guys in a organic food store, and you read the point of the story that the government won’t let its citizens eat what they want, and your first thought is to be offended because Sarah mentioned Obama?
The government as a whole is taking away, has been taking away, our individual rights for quite some time. Not an individual political party. It’s not the GOP and their lobbyists, and the Democrats a “close second.” There’s no battle of ideology going on in Washington, only a power struggle.
Coming to this understanding allows one to rise above the fray and then to focus on the real issues at hand.
Well said, Ray. Has anyone looked into the news lately regarding the Council of 13 or “Super Congress” set up for the debt ceiling? I am very shocked that there aren’t any large protests in front of the White House at this point.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/31/super-congress-debt-ceiling-deficit-deal_n_914272.html
“In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way,”
President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Lori, Corporate “phood” industries support the GOP on a far wider percentage per capita than the democrats. “GOP screaming their heads off”… ?? Yeah, screaming because they didn’t want to lose their lobbyists and the corporate $$ which follows. If that’s the kind of thing you support, the smaller farms won’t stand a chance in the long run. Sort of on the same par as paying farmers NOT to grow certain crops.
Both parties brought the USA to where we are now, and both parties will keep us there. It’s in their best interests not to help small farms, even though in reality they are no threat at all to the Dean Foods and Cargill’s of the world. It’s greed, pure and simple for every last buck.
Wow, I must really be a bad writer because you totally don’t understand my point.
Lori, you are quite a good writer. I think D is either aggressively agreeing with you, or drank some bad raw milk.
I agree with you though, as long as this petty fighting continues, the larger, real battle will never be fought. I don’t understand why corporate America has such a huge stranglehold over our govt…republican and democrat alike. I guess money really is the root of all evil.
I think you are correct, and I agree with D also.
1st Lady Obama touts organic gardens as the FDA, USDA, CDC are bullying – terrorizing organic food providers across US http://t.co/ykkAFSH
In truth the buck stops at the top of the chain of command. If the president was concerned for freedom like he has said he is many times he would immediately tell the TSA to get it’s prying fingers and x-rays out of our pants and tell the FDA and the CDC to back off on beating up tiny dairies and farmers stands. He certainly has the power to do that. The fact that he does not do so but instead makes jokes about such things tells me he is not really interested in freedom–at least not on those issues. So it does not matter if it is a republican or a democrat in the white house if it is an alphabet agency doing the oppression you better believe that if the president wanted to stop it he could.
It is disingenuous of any political official to tell us to all “eat local and eat healthy” while at the same time their henchmen are taking away our ability to do so.
Sarah, have you seen HR 1830, proposed in May 2011? http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h112-1830 “To authorize the interstate traffic of unpasteurized milk and milk products that are packaged for direct human consumption.”
Here’s the solution: Everyone buy a cow, plant a garden, can your harvest, homeschool your children, disconnect your televisions, work from home, visit your neighbors and turn off your cell phones, walk where you need to go, burn wood for heat.
See? Problem solved.
Working on a few of those. Buy cow–need a different house for that. Garden–check….Can harvest—check homeschool–check disconnect television–not unless I have to Visit my neighbors–check Turn off cell phones—why? Burn wood for heat–ok for a fireplace, but if everyone does it talk about air pollution YIKES!
Sarah, I just wanted to say that I voted for Obama & would again, but I am also dismayed that this is happening under his watch. I don’t trust ANY politician, frankly. Even if their intentions are good, the system is too broken for them to effect much change. It’s time for a revolution.
Yes, Kay! It is certainly time for a revolution!
Ok, I agree, but how do we start?
By informing as much people as possible. It is certainly not easy to bring millions of people together to fight for our rights. However, the more people the better. If people in the past could initiate powerful revolutions without the use of televisions or the internet, imagine what we can do.
Brilliant observation, Erica!
Start by getting involved in political action groups that write, email, and essentially raise a voice.
And just as important, go beyond the idea that this politician is bad, and that one is good. I could write paragraphs of how both Bush and Obama have violated their own professed ideologies, but the larger point is that the government continues to creep in to our daily lives no matter who is in office.
If everyone would make a list of the values that mean the most to them and hold their politicians to those, it would be a much different place.
YES, this is exactly how I feel. Was having a hard time articulating it above.
This is a very serious time in our nation. Our rights are being taken away left and right, and if we do not wake up there will be nothing left of our freedom. For those who support President Obama, I would ask if you really love freedom. Don’t get me wrong, Republicans aren’t really any better. Not only would we have a lot more freedom if we got rid of a bunch of the above mentioned agencies, we would save a lot of money. Maybe we could also balance the out of control budget as well.
Sometimes when I read through some of the comments of those who DON’T see the link between our food supply and a government hell-bent on controlling everything….well, I just feel angry at the lack of KNOWLEDGE! People are ignorant because they have been taught not to question, just pass the test. (Familiar?) The Nazis did it too..they dumbed down the population so they would NOT dare to question what their government was doing? It is in the details. Look around and see what is happening to our freedoms! THANK YOU SARAH! EDUCATE All of us on whatever needs addressing! If it’s on Obama’s watch, then HE should pay attention and take the heat. Keep up the good work Sarah! Also, I just want to thank everyone out there who IS paying attention! We have to support each other and keep telling our friends and families what is going on; they are purposely being kept in the dark! (media) God bless and SAVE America.
Well said, Watchmom3!
Hi everyone,
Here is an update on what’s happening with Rawsome. Please watch this exciting video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=-x7qXP7rt7w
Oh Good Lord! I tried watching that video and it made me dizzy and nauseous after about 2-3 minutes. Who on earth hired that dood to be the cameraman? Whew! I think I’ll wait for someone else to report later. The original story I saw was on Yahoo! News so yes, the regular media is covering it (not just alternative media as Mikey Adams is reporting) but probably not to the same extent.
LOL, D. Yes, the cameraman was definitely annoying.
Free citizens should be able, by definition, to enter in to private, consensual contracts with one another. But the water was muddied long ago, and many people who would argue for such freedom will argue against it just as easily if the scenario suits them.
Try arguing against the 40 hour work week, and see how popular that makes you at your next dinner party. If two sentient adults ought to be able to enter in to a private, consensual contract, then that would apply to a laborer who agreed to work a 50 hour work week at a straight hourly rate. But it is against the law for two people enter in to such an agreement.
Point being is that the population as a whole, even those who find this raid as outrageous as it truly is, are not interested in liberty, but only in what benefits them directly. Only when things go wrong in their back yard do they become concerned, or only when their ox gets gored, so-to-speak.
Hi Ray,
I believe if people looked into what is truly going on to the world around them, there would be revolts in the streets of America right now. However, many people are sadly not informed. The situation regarding Rawesome concerns everyone. It denotes how powerful our government really is in taking or expanding our rights. They have the power to make or break the people of America. They’ve already lessened the power of our Constitution so that they could expand theirs. Don’t you think this alone is scary enough?
RE: Constitution
Yes, that’s my point.
We lost our right of contract somewhat gradually but essentially the Supreme Court slowly undid “Lochner v. New York” during the New Deal era. The undoing of that decision, and the tragically broad interpretation of the commerce clause, and it’s been all downhill from there.
Some others were throwing political bombs earlier in the comments, but it’s really a matter of the individual and the government. Any time power concentrates, the individual gets crushed. I highly recommend Richard Epstein’s “SImple Rules for a Complex World.”
Thanks for the recommended book
Ironically, processed pasteurized milk is partly responsible for the epidemic of chronic disease while raw milk has no where caused this much illness. Yet they attack the raw milk!
Hi Sarah,
I really enjoy reading your blog. I admire your passion for keeping your family healthy and well nurtured. A lot of your articles are very inspiring, BUT I really hope you keep politics out of your blog. I canget my politics elsewhere and the last thing I want to read about on your blog is your political viewpoints. All this senseless inflammatory anti-government rethoric is really disappointing coming from such an intelligent and well educated person as yourself. PLEASE, keep politics out of your blog or you will most likely lose a lot of readership.
Respectfully,
Olga
She is posting about whole food, on a whole food blog. And it happens to involve the government and how this government is attempting to restrict what sentient beings can and cannot eat.
Therefore, regardless of whether she is right or wrong, her post is not “senseless.”
Your logic is terribly flawed.
I have to comment though that I have my suspicions about whether or not you actually read her blog very often. Personally I read it everyday but don’t usually comment so maybe I’m wrong and just haven’t seen your name because I don’t do comments usually. But she comments quite regularly about our rights being infringed upon by not being able to legally drink raw milk, etc so if you were really that put off by her “anti-government” rhetoric, it seems that you would have been long gone by now.
Hi Ray, please comment more often.
I’ve really enjoyed reading your comments on this post about the erosion of our contract rights since the New Deal. You are very clear thinking and I like your perspective on things!
Well said, Ray!
Hi Ray,
just like you I read Sarah’s blog every single day. I find the informaiton here very valuable and inspiring. But because I am very busy taking care of my 21 months old I almost never write any comments. Yes, Sarah does comment once in a blue moon on the issues of government abusing its powers. For some reason though this particular article stroke a nerve in me. It comes across as very Glen Beckish. Which is again very disappointing coming from such an open-minded and well-educated person as Sarah.
Respectfully,
Olga
Olga,
Please take this in a positive spirit, but what is important is the values at stake here. Should an individual have the ability to decided what they can eat? Really, how much more basic can the subject of citizens’ rights get?
Getting more upset about the mention of Obama than this awful violation of individual rights just seems out of balance somehow.
Hi Olga, feeding my family well and keeping them healthy can only be done if the government stays OUT of my kitchen. Consequently, I have no choice but to be political about what is happening about my family’s threatened access to Real Food. The two are inextricably intertwined.
Same here, Sarah! My local egg farmer who sells pasture raised eggs is also very nervous about the intense government restrictions on our food. He’s afraid that he may not be able to sell eggs anymore in the future if our government keeps raiding small farmers and people who grow their own food. I’m very nervous too since he’s one of the very few egg farmers I know of that sells truly pastured eggs.
To be honest, I’m very happy that you continue to shed some light on what is truly happening in America. People need to know what is happening to our food and to our small farmers. No one should take these situations lightly. If they do, they may very well be living in a too comfortable situation where their community hasn’t been exposed to any food raids yet.
I don’t want to wait until my local farmers are forced to shutdown their businesses for me to get serious about this situation. This situation concerns everyone! I think it’s time for people as a whole to look out for others and their country rather than only looking out for themselves. After all, a country divided is not a country at all.
It occurs to me that if you view Sarah as intelligent and well educated person you would not want to silence her on this very important issue! Questionable.
In Australia the raw milk is sold as ‘bath milk’ or there are share cow groups. The policing is not as full on as the US., but they are on alert, and people have been caught out ‘breaking the rules’.
What!!!! Politics are helping to erode our food security, and rights to healthy food.
Olga, you need to write to your Congressman and tell them to keep the politics out of our health and well being!
PS> Blog on Sarah!
Keith,
I read this blog to learn about how to feed my little one and my husband in a better and healthier way. I am very grateful to Sarah for providing all of this invaluable information for free.
I will not be posting any comments on this topic anymore and will not let myself be dragged into yet another blah-blah about “government – the boogie man”. There is too much of this all over the cable TV.
Respectfully,
Olga
Hi Olga,
She doesn’t claim that our government is the “Boogie Man.” She is just stating the unfair actions that they are involved in with our food. I find it very alarming that some people would tolerate such malicious behavior coming from our own government. It is complacency that has brought us to where we are today—- BIG government.
“Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God. Every generation needs a new revolution. God forbid we should ever be 20 years without such a rebellion. The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions that I wish it to be always kept alive. It is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government,” Thomas Jefferson.
Another raid on a Rawesome foods http://t.co/756j3Nw
Hi everyone,
This is a better quality video for the update on Rawesome:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vz8NHIuU_DA&feature=player_profilepage
As much as disagree with how the government brought in the SWAT team and disposed of all that food, I felt like there had to be a reason why the did what they did. Please read this very informative article. http://thetableofpromise.blogspot.com/2011/08/something-about-this-rawsome-thing.html
I don’t want something like this putting us behind on our journey of food awareness.
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