Government Forces Private Citizens to Pour Bleach on Home-Grown Organic Food

[Mark]

Government Forces Private Citizens to Pour Bleach on Home-Grown Organic Food *Video*


this is a true story!!!!!!!!!!!

“He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.”

The Declaration of Independence
July 4, 1776

With 48 million Americans on federal food assistance we are bewildered by the latest government outrage from Nevada, where a  group of private citizens gathered together at Quail Hollow Farm for a Farm-to-Fork dinner consisting of an organic spread prepared by Chef Gio were forced to dispatch and sanitize hundreds of pounds of food with bleach.

As invited guests began to arrive, mingle and satiate their appetites, one unexpected individual, operating under the auspices of the Southern Nevada Health District, had another plan in store for dinner.

The following outrageous first-hand account of the incident should make your blood boil. If it doesn’t then we don’t know what will.

Via Laura Bledsoe of Quail Hollow Farm:
http://www.farmtoconsumer.org/quail-hollow-farm-dinner.htm

[Video of the Event Can Be Viewed Below]

Our guests were excited to spend an evening together. The food was prepared exquisitely.  The long dinner table, under the direction of dear friends, was absolutely stunningly beautiful. The music was superb. The stars were bright and life was really good.

And then, …

for a few moments, it felt like the rug was pulled out from underneath us and my wonderful world came crashing down.  As guests were mingling, finishing tours of the farm, and while the first course of the meal was being prepared and ready to be sent out, a Southern Nevada Health District employee came for an inspection.

Because this was a gathering of people invited to our farm for dinner, I had no idea that the Health Department would become involved.  I received a phone call from them two days before the event informing me that because this was a “public event” (I would like to know what is the definition of “public” and “private”) we would be required to apply for a “special use permit”.

If we did not do so immediately, we would be charged a ridiculous fine.

Stunned, we immediately complied.

We were in the middle of our harvest day for our CSA shares, a very busy time for us, but Monte immediately left to comply with the demand and filled out the required paper work and paid for the fee.  (Did I mention that we live in Overton, nowhere near a Health Department office?)  Paper work now in order, he was informed that we would not actually be given the permit until an inspector came to check it all out.

She came literally while our guests were arriving!

In order to overcome any trouble with the Health Department of cooking on the premises, most of the food was prepared in a certified kitchen in Las Vegas; and to further remove any doubt, we rented a certified kitchen trailer to be here on the farm for the preparation of the meals.  The inspector, Mary Oaks, clearly not the one in charge of the inspection as she was constantly on the phone with her superior Susan somebody who was calling all the shots from who knows where.

Susan deemed our food unfit for consumption and demanded that we call off the event because:

1. Some of the prepared food packages did not have labels on them.  (The code actually allows for this if it is to be consumed within 72 hours.)

2.  Some of the meat was not USDA certified.  (Did I mention that this was a farm to fork meal?)

3.  Some of the food that was prepared in advance was not up to temperature at the time of inspection. (It was being prepared to be brought to proper temperature for serving when the inspection occurred.)

4.  Even the vegetables prepared in advance had to be thrown out because they were cut and were then considered a “bio-hazard”.

5.  We did not have receipts for our food.  (Reminder!  This food came from farms not from the supermarket!  I have talked with several chefs who have said that in all their years cooking they have never been asked for receipts.)

…

The only way to keep our guests on the property was to destroy the food.

We asked the inspector if we could save the food for a private family event that we were having the next day.  (A personal family choice to use our own food.)  We were denied and she was insulted that we would even consider endangering our families health.  I assured her that I had complete faith and trust in Giovanni our chef and the food that was prepared, (obviously, or I wouldn’t be wanting to serve it to our guests).

I then asked if we couldn’t feed the food to our “public guests” or even to our private family, then at least let us feed it to our pigs.  (I think it should be a criminal action to waste any resource of the land. Being dedicated to our organic farm, we are forever looking for good inputs into our compost and soil and good food that can be fed to our animals. The animals and compost pile always get our left over garden surplus and food.  We truly are trying to be as sustainable as possible.)

Again, a call to Susan and another negative response.

…

Not only were we denied the use of the food for any purpose, to ensure that it truly was unfit for feed of any kind we were again threatened with police action if we did not only throw the food in the trash, but then to add insult to injury, we were ordered to pour bleach on it.

Now the food is also unfit for compost as I would be negligent to allow any little critters to nibble on it while it was composting and ingest that bleach resulting in a horrible death.  Literally hundreds of pounds of food was good for nothing but adding to our ever increasing land fill!



This is the land of the free?

If you control the oil you control the country; if you control food, you control the population.

-Henry Kissinger, Former U.S. Secretary of State

[/i]

When a farmer cannot prepare a farm-to-plate home cooked meal for friends and guests without intervention by a government agency we have a problem – one that goes against every founding principle of this nation.

This is just the latest example of the police state moving into every facet of our lives. They want it all. Total control. They want to know who you talk to, what you say, where you meet, what you eat, and what you’re thinking. Failure to comply will unleash a beast so powerful and with tentacles so widespread that it can, with no qualms or conscience, destroy your life, liberty and right to pursue happiness.

Laura the farmer and her healthy organic food eating friends are domestic terrorists for attempting to serve bio-hazard materials for consumption. And, if you haven’t given your government a reason to be considered one yet, we can assure you that you’ll do something soon enough. They’re watching, ready to pounce at a moment’s notice.

http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/outrage-government-forces-private-citizens-to-pour-bleach-on-home-grown-organic-food-video_11102011

[Mark]

[Mark]

State authoritarians recently raided a picnic at an organic farm after State health authorities were informed that the farm was hosting a picnic without their permission.  The raid took place at the Quail Hollow Farm,  operated by Laura and Monty Bledsoe, which is a type of Community Supported Agricultural farm.

CSA farms basically bypass retail markets and sell their goods directly to consumers by using a “membership” type model, such as Costco employs.   Obviously such a model means consumers get incredibly fresh, cheap organic produce because the food bypasses the major food processing plants and their associated distribution chains.  It also means that the farm operates as a type of private club, which is generally subject to different rules than a public retail outlet.

The Quail Hollow Farm hosted a “farm to fork” event, where the public could come and sample the fresh organic meat and produce that the farm produced.  The farm had hired a professional chef and a professional catering kitchen truck to prepare and serve their food to their guests.  However, the farm made one critical mistake in its preparations for this event; they forgot that everyone must ask permission from the State before they can engage in any kind of commerce.

Once State authoritarians learned that the farm was hosting a picnic without their permission, they descended like flies upon a dying carcass.  The authoritarians demanded the farm purchase permission from them to host the event or face an enormous fine; which the farm agreed to do.  But clearly, this just wasn’t good enough for the authoritarians.

After purchasing permission to host the event from the Nevada Health District, the farm was told that the permit would be delivered by a health inspector on the day of the event.  So the farm went about preparing for the event as it normally would, fully expecting to be issued a permit on the day of the picnic.  Well it turns out that Mary G. Oakes, the health inspector for the event, didn’t show up until their guests were arriving!

By the time the inspector showed up, the farm had already begun preparation of the food for the event.  This threw the inspector into an authoritarian rage, who began yelling “NOTHING TAKES PLACE UNTIL YOU HAVE MY PERMISSION!”  When the farmers asked why they couldn’t continue preparing food as the inspection was underway, the inspector simply stamped her feet and said “because I said so.” – no valid reason was ever provided.

Since the farmers had begun preparing food without her permission, the inspector decided to drum up any reason she could to shut down the event.  So the inspector came up with four specific reasons why the food was not fit for human consumption.  Those reasons being:

1.  No labels on the food – [Which isn't a valid reason because State law has a grace period of three days from the time of harvest before labels must be applied.  And obviously, labels have nothing to do with the quality of the food in question.]

2.  Some meat was not USDA certified – [Again, this is not a valid reason.  Because this meat was grown and sold on the farm itself, it is not required to undergo a USDA inspection.]

3.  Some meat was not up to temperature – [The professional chef and catering service were in the process of heating the food when she took the temperature readings.]

4.   The cut vegetables were considered a biohazard!  I kid you not.

 Clearly this inspector’s claims were totally outrageous.  Further, everyone attending the picnic was willing to consume the food regardless of the claims made by the authoritarian, but the authoritarian decided that they were simply too dumb to know what was best for themselves.   So the authoritarian ordered all of the food destroyed  - we are talking a tremendous quantity of food being destroyed here.

The farmers begged and pleaded with the inspector to at least let them salvage some use for the food by allowing them to feed it to their livestock – but the inspector even refused this!

THE INSPECTOR FORCED THE FARM TO POUR BLEACH OVER THE PERFECTLY GOOD FOOD IN ORDER TO RENDER IT UNUSABLE FOR ANY PURPOSE – INCLUDING COMPOSTING.  So not only was the farm out of food to serve its customers, but the farm couldn’t even compost the aftermath because of being forced to pollute the food with bleach.

Unfortunately, the farm failed to immediately contact their legal representation when the inspector began making outrageous demands.  However, after things began unraveling, the farm made a call to their lawyer who advised them to ask the inspector if she had an arrest or search warrant, and to escort her off the property if she did not have one on her person.

The inspector did not have a warrant, so she was escorted off the property.  But the story doesn’t end there!  The inspector came back with the police!

After returning with the police in tow, the inspector began making the same outrageous demands and ordered the police to arrest the farmers for kicking her off the farm.  Fortunately for the farmers, the police who responded to the call did not feel that the inspector had a legitimate criminal complaint, and so they refused to arrest the farmers for kicking her off their farm.

During all of this, the farmers simply wanted to know why the inspector was making all these outrageous demands and why they couldn’t serve the food to willing consumers who knew full well what kind of food was being served.  The inspector’s repeated response was “because I said so.”

Of course, the State is simply looking out for your best interests as consumers.  They would never destroy small farms simply because they bypassed Big Ag’s distribution chain of looters.  They simply have your health and safety in mind.  The State is your friend.  The State helps businesses prosper by forcing them to destroy perfectly good organic food.  After reading this article, I hope you stop by McDonalds and pick up some nice USDA approved choice beef that has been steroid injected to the hilt while being served on a bun of processed and genetically modified wheat.




If you would like to contact Mary G. Oakes about her behavior, her contact information is provided here:

Mary G. Oakes, PhD, REHS
Environmental Health Specialist II, and Squasher of the Quail Hollow Farm Farm to Fork dinner event:
(702) 759-1681 office
(702) 538-6424 cell
oakes@snhdmail.org

http://www.libertariannews.org/2011/11/10/authorities-raid-picnic-in-nevada-force-chef-to-pour-bleach-on-good-food/

[Mark]

Police Raid Small Family Farm, Charge Family, Seize Animals Because they were Free Range

Schenectady County, New York – Earlier this month, a family farm in rural New York was raided by police after the owners were cited on a number of trumped up regulatory violations. Joshua Rockwood, the owner of the farm, is being accused of mistreating his animals, and the local government has began confiscating some of them.

Police initially visited Rockwood’s property on February 25th to investigate reports of unlicensed working dogs, weeks before the raid. Unfortunately, Rockwood voluntarily showed local police around his property, which he had not yet tended to that day because of their unexpected interruption.  After showing them around, they began to critically assess every aspect of the farm, writing a number of citations for arbitrary offenses.

The very next day, Rockwood had a veterinarian visit the farm to check on the animals to confirm that they were well taken care of and in good health. According to numerous reports, the vet said that the animals were just fine, and did not seem to share the concerns that the officers alleged during their walk-through.

A second veterinarian was also called in to verify the health of the animals and they also found them to be in perfect health.

A week later, police returned again to notify Rockwood that he was to appear in court the next Thursday on a number of charges relating to the animal’s food and shelter. In total, 12 different charges were brought against Rockwood, but he has posted a number of photos to a Facebook support page, which shows the animals with sufficient housing, and plenty of food.

Rockwood has been charged with 12 counts of animal neglect and abuse – some of the charges relating to frozen water bowls and tanks – despite the animals still having access to water. His dogs and horses have been seized and taken away.

Rockwood treats his animals better than most factory farms do, but since he uses traditional farming methods, his farm will fail regulatory inspections, while factory farms will pass.

Meanwhile, New York is one of many states that are currently considering “ag-gag” laws, which place criminal penalties on activists who expose animal abuse at factory farms.

The controversial ag-gag laws prohibit “recording an image or sound without the operator’s permission; gaining ‘access to an agricultural operation under false pretenses;’ asking for a job at a place for the purpose of making recordings; and making a recording while trespassing.”

The irony here is that the state will lock you in a cage for filming the horrific atrocities at a factory farm while simultaneously trumping up ridiculous and petty violations if you aren’t a factory farm. Just who does the state “protect” by doing these things?

Rockwood has launched a $50,000 gofundme campaign to raise money to post bond for his horses and to pay for the disrupted legal fees and lost business he has incurred and will incur due to the publicity and effort involved in defending himself. He means to go to court to try to fight the charges and to win back his reputation, his rescue dog, and his horses.

Because of his caring and generous customers and supporters they are almost halfway to that goal.

Read more at http://thefreethoughtproject.com/family-farm-raided-animals-seized-trumped-regulatory-charges/#9UozYEGfOtshhG2P.99