Health department raids community picnic and destroys all food with bleach

A Distinctive World ^ | March 2012 | Unknown

[No One Special]

Health department raids community picnic and destroys all food with bleach

We were told our food was unfit for consumption and demanded that we call off the event...

Quail Farm

The evening was everything I had dreamed and hoped it would be. The weather was perfect, the farm was filled with friends and guests roaming around talking about organic, sustainable farming practices. 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.

Community Dinner at Quail Farm

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.

We were told our food was unfit for consumption and demanded that we call off the event because:

EH Specialist II Mary Oakes

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.)

At this time Monte, trying to reason with Susan to find a possible solution for the problem, suggested turning this event from a "public" event to a "private" event by allowing the guests to become part of our farm club, thus eliminating any jurisdiction or responsibility on their part. This idea infuriated Susan and threatened that if we did not comply the police would be called and personally escort our guests off the property. This is not the vision of the evening we had in mind! So regretfully, again we complied.

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

Bleach is poured on organic food

I can't tell you how sick to my stomach I was watching that first dish of Mint Lamb Meatballs hit the bottom of the unsanitized trash can. Here we were with guests who had paid in advance and had come from long distances away anticipating a wonderful dining experience, waiting for dinner while we were behind the kitchen curtain throwing it away! I know of the hours and labor that went into the preparation of that 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).

Farm food is destroyed

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. Okay, so let me get this right. So the food that was raised here on our farm and selected and gathered from familiar local sources, cooked and prepared with skill and love was even unfit to feed to my pigs!?! Who gave them the right to tell me what I feed my animals? 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.

Food Lined up to Be Destroyed by Health Department

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! At some point in all of this turmoil Monte reminded me that I had the emergency phone number for the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FTCLDF) on our refrigerator. I put it there never really believing that I would ever have to use it. We became members of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund several years ago as a protection for us, but mostly to add support to other farmers battling against the oppressive legal actions taken against the small farmers trying to produce good wholesome food without government intrusion. The local, sustainable food battle is being waged all across America! May I mention that not one battle has been brought on because of any illness to the patrons of these farms! The battles are started by government officials swooping down on farms and farmers like SWAT teams confiscating not only the wholesome food items produced but even their farm equipment! Some of them actually wearing HAZMAT suits as if they were walking into a nuclear meltdown! I have personally listened to some of their heart wrenching stories and have continued to follow them through the FTCLDF's updates.

Please Help By Signing the Petition!

[No One Special]

Go to the site to see a youtube video.

---

The Thugocracy you voted for that others are paying for

That’s the reality that people can no longer run away from. It’s what they voted for. It’s what they let the Leftist alliance do to this nation they call America. Which has already turned into Obamaca."

Hat Tip Sake White

[allmost]

The State was merely guiding you poor lost child. Do you now feel repentance? Any enjoyment you may have have had would have taken away from the State? Do you not see your failure?

[Candor7]

Are you beginning to get it?

Read this:

http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/05/barack_obama_the_quintessentia_1.html

[mojito]

Dear Flabbergasted Liberal, welcome to the world that you created.

[C210N]

There is nothing illegal by the health department. You were merely crucified in this instance, as a warning to you and others. You may now proceed, cautiously, having been properly and legally crucified, with new found respect and subservience to our overlords.

[muawiyah]

We’ve discussed this bit several times. Starting out this was a commercial operation. Everybody else has to abide by the rules.

[struggle]

Tell them to go get the police and start eating.

When the police arrive, ask them if they have a search warrant and accuse the government worker of trespassing, assault, battery, extortion, whatever. Tell them that every person in this party will need to be arrested and taken downtown and refuse to leave. Then they will file a complaint and call their local news outlet.

Continue eating until they bring the search warrant (they won’t) and when finished, offer the government worker a toothpick.

[Fiji Hill]

This story has been floating around the Internet for the past few months.

[Drill Thrawl]

Starting out this was a commercial operation. Everybody else has to abide by the rules.

But, but, but they were good tax paying, dem voting liberals. The rule were not supposed to apply.

[trailhkr1]

But, but, but they were good tax paying, dem voting liberals. The rule were not supposed to apply.

Where does it say they were dem voting liberals?

[mosesdapoet]

This report lacks the basic 3rd W ingredient in reporting.
Who and What arw there almost (date) but
Where ? Also while posting the location as perhaps a keyword it should also be in any report

[No One Special]

I’ve read that. It’s scary and should be known to all Americans. Paging Dan Blather.

[RightOnline]

Time to take sides, folks.

That includes you drooling, idiotic, robotic little bureaucrats.

[stockpirate]

Funny, I’ll bet by and large that these people are hard-core leftists, now they will learn just what the rest of us knew.

I’m not signing anything until I learn more about what their beliefs are.

[KoRn]

These crimes against the people by the state aren’t going to stop until the ‘enforcers’ themselves are help PERSONALLY responsible, not allowing them to hide behind and within the bureaucracies they represent. They might think twice before raiding a picnic or closing down a lemonade stand if something REALLY negative happens to THEM.

Something to consider would be for citizens to organize. Conspire to ‘shun’ these people. When something like this happens, everyone in a community could conspire to refuse to do business with anyone working for this health department. For example: They need a plumber? Suddenly they’ll be unable to find one that will do any work for them....ect...ect. The list could go on and on.

[GraceG]

[ Tell them to go get the police and start eating.

When the police arrive, ask them if they have a search warrant and accuse the government worker of trespassing, assault, battery, extortion, whatever. Tell them that every person in this party will need to be arrested and taken downtown and refuse to leave. Then they will file a complaint and call their local news outlet.

Continue eating until they bring the search warrant (they won’t) and when finished, offer the government worker a toothpick. ]

Even better if the county Sheriff is like Joe Arpiao invite him and have him come to it, then when the health dept. comes he can arrest them for trespassing ininvited on private property.

[No One Special]

I got the approximate date from the comments. I could not find an author but it is evidently an owner of the Quail farm in Nevada. I would expect that’s enough information to verify the report should it prove necessary.

[GraceG]

This MAKES me wanna hold a picnic in a park just DAREING them to come and take my food away.

Post it on craig’s list and everything.

And have everyone invited bring a recording device with them.

JUST DARE THE SOBS to try to come and arrest EVERYONE!

[No One Special]

Imagine what a sympahetic Hollywood could do with your scenario. :-)

[Sirius Lee]

i wouldn’t be surprised to find out that big ag was on the other end of that phone call. Monsanto and the likes have been using the government to go after small farmers, and government is only too happy to comply as it fits in with their agenda to prevent people from being able to feed themselves “off grid”.