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.
Protests are 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, The Healthy Home Economist
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.
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
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
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?
8AM PDT LA COURTHOUSE STEPS! The Rawesome Raid and The Sanctity of the Contract – The Healthy Home Economist http://t.co/afXHEcs
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.
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!
“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, 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.