Posted on 08/11/2011 6:57:51 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Raw food enthusiasts fit right in here, in the earthy, health-conscious beach communities of Venice and Santa Monica, along with the farmers’ markets, health food stores and vegan restaurants.
But this week, the police cleared the shelves of Rawesome, an establishment in Venice Beach, loading $70,000 of raw, organic produce and dairy products on the back of a flatbed truck.
And then, on Thursday, James Stewart, the proprietor, was arraigned on charges of illegally making, improperly labeling and illegally selling raw milk products, as well as other charges related to Rawesome’s operations. Two farmers who work with Rawesome were also named in the district attorney’s complaint.
Though it is legal to sell unpasteurized milk products in California, Rawesome, which has operated in Venice for more than six years, never obtained a license to do so — or, indeed, any type of business license.
Lela Buttery, a trustee at Rawesome, said it had no license because it was not a store. Instead, she called it a “club.” Club members paid an annual fee, which allowed them to peruse the produce, milk products and honey on Rawesome’s shelves, which they paid for — $7 for a pint of raw goat’s milk — to cover the cost of production. Members also signed waivers to signal they understood the risks of consuming raw food.
Rawesome is staffed by volunteers, who take home food for their efforts, and no one, Ms. Buttery said, is making money from his or her work there.
The raid on Rawesome has riled people here who say that unpasteurized milk is safer and healthier. About 150 raw food advocates gathered at the Los Angeles County Courthouse on Thursday to oppose the crackdown.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Anyone who hears that rabbit story and their blood doesn’t boil that is NOT an American. Throwing off this oppression should be the centerpiece of the GOP campaign.
This has never made sense to me. I thought the Libs loved organic.
Isn’t breast milk served unpasteurized to INFANTS?
Why aren’t the SWAT teams protecting these innocent children!
But if they're cleared, they'll bring it all back, right?
/s...
I care nothing for this raw movement, but raiding these clubs/markets with guns drawn is just rediculous. When will the camels back break?
...the authority to enact laws necessary and proper for the regulation of interstate commerce is not limited to laws governing intrastate activities that substantially affect interstate commerce. Where necessary to make a regulation of interstate commerce effective, Congress may regulate even those intrastate activities that do not themselves substantially affect interstate commerce.
J. Scalia, Gonzales v Raich
______________________________________
Justice Thomas says that's bunk:
Respondents Diane Monson and Angel Raich use marijuana that has never been bought or sold, that has never crossed state lines, and that has had no demonstrable effect on the national market for marijuana. If Congress can regulate this under the Commerce Clause, then it can regulate virtually anything, and the Federal Government is no longer one of limited and enumerated powers.
J. Thomas, Gonzales v Raich
No license, so this is probably them being upset they didn’t get their license fee and their bribes.
All about the Benjamins.
Because it’s the illegal aliens who sell food to health food stores,.Trust me you don’t see many people selling goat’s milk here in the LA area.
Feds? The article seems to involve California police and California law
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.