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Food co-op hit by SWAT raid fights back

Deadly Sushi

The One, The Only, Sushi
SUPER Site Supporter
How in the HELL can THIS SHIT happen in AMERICA!?!?!
This is what the US should be about, not against!!!!!! :soapbox:




By Bob Unruh

Jacqueline and John Stowers

A LaGrange, Ohio, family whose food co-op connecting local consumers with local farmers was raided by sheriff's deputies is fighting back with the help of two organizations aimed at protecting the basic rights of Americans.

"We hope that the Lorrain County Court of Common Pleas recognizes that government is overreaching in this case and is basically engaged in intimidation tactics to frighten people into believing that they cannot provide food for themselves," said Pete Kennedy, a spokesman for the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund.

The organization, which is intended to protect and defend the rights of farmers and consumers to have direct commerce, has announced it is working with the Center for Constitutional Law at the Buckeye Institute, which has filed a court complaint alleging authorities "made a haphazard unannounced entry into the property with guns drawn, as other officers surrounded the property, with guns drawn," then "confiscated the family's personal food supply, personal computers
, and personal cell phones."

The complaint names the Ohio Department of Agriculture, the Lorain County General Health District and the state's attorney general. A spokeswoman at the Department of Agriculture said its officers were at the scene in an advisory role. A spokeswoman at the county health agency refused to comment except to explain it was a "licensing" issue regarding the family's Manna Storehouse.

A prosecutor assigned to the case declined to respond to WND's request for a comment.
Kennedy said his organization works in support of allowing farmers and consumers to have "direct commerce with each other free from government interference and harassement."
"This is an example where, once again, the government is trying to deny people their inalienable, fundamental right to produce and consume the foods of their choice," said Gary Cox, general counsel for the FTCLDF. "The purpose of our complaint is to correct that wrong."
The organizations have reported the raid came at Manna Storehouse, a private food cooperative run by John and Jacqueline Stowers. In a video posted both on YouTube and on the Buckeye Institute's website, the couple explained how they just wanted to provide a resource for both farmers and consumers.



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Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Ok maybe my 'tinfoil hat' in on just a little bit too tight, but I think the US is well on its way to having a fascist government that really needs people to be dependent upon its systems. I'm not saying it has anything to do with Bush or Obama, but is really something that has been evolving for many decades.

The Manna Storehouse in Ohio was set up by government (State of Ohio, not Federal) agents. It is a food cooperative, and works on a barter and trade system with its own members, it is not a food retailer or wholesaler to the public. As such it legally is allowed to operate under different regulations.

Ohio wants to gets its fair share of taxes and wants Manna and its trading partners to cease operations. The fact is that Manna operates legally but 'outside' of the traditional (taxable, regulated, controlled) food distribution channels.

So back under my too tight tinfoil hat I have to think that there is a reason that the state wants Manna under its thumb. In fact other similar operations have faced similar problems from other states. What we now have, after decades of 'social advancements' is a society in our westernized nation where we are becoming totally dependent upon government and its regulated industries. There are overlapping systems (food, financial, regulatory, municipal) that we all depend upon and the systems also need us for their power. We have lost our ability to be an industrial nation, we now are a service nation, and even as a service nation we outsource service. If we were an industrial producer we would actually be able to trade things that other nations need, but we don't do that anymore. Now we rely on Chile for grapes in our off season, Oranges from Australia, and even parts of Africa for crops that we demand in 'off season' but at the same time we lost our own ability to 'put up' food the way our parents/grand parents did. We simply depend on others for almost every facet of our lives including simple basic needs like food. It is leading, inevitably to a world government.

Seems to me that what happened in Ohio with the Manna Storehouse is very large incentive to encourage all Americans to grow their own food to the extent that they can do so. They should trade and barter it with their neighbors and they should strive to buy and trade locally. Sort of like the "Victory Garden" concept that was put in place during WWI or WWII to take the pressure off the systems and to help reduce dependence on foreign nations.

[/rant]
 
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