Posted by Nathan Mahan on 12/07/08 10:27 AM   [Newer: Celebrating the Bill of Rights] [Older: DO NOT SUBMIT.]

Original Article URL:  http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/08/swat-team.htm

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When the government owns your income, they own your work. 

When they own your work, they own your food. 

When they own your food, they own your body. 

-N

Swat Team conducts food raid in rural Ohio December 4, 2008 See also Is This America? & The UN Plan for Food and Land Training an army of world servers

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On Monday, December 1, a SWAT team with semi-automatic rifles entered the private home of the Stowers family in LaGrange, Ohio, herded the family onto the couches in the living room, and kept guns trained on parents, children, infants and toddlers, from approximately 11 AM to 8 PM. The team was aggressive and belligerent. The children were quite traumatized. At some point, the “bad cop” SWAT team was relieved by another team, a “good cop” team that tried to befriend the family. The Stowers family has run a very large, well-known food cooperative called Manna Storehouse on the western side of the greater Cleveland area for many years.

There were agents from the Department of Agriculture present, one of them identified as Bill Lesho. The search warrant is reportedly supicious-looking. Agents began rifling through all of the family’s possessions, a task that lasted hours and resulted in a complete upheaval of every private area in the home. Many items were taken that were not listed on the search warrant. The family was not permitted a phone call, and they were not told what crime they were being charged with. They were not read their rights. Over ten thousand dollars worth of food was taken, including the family’s personal stock of food for the coming year. All of their computers, and all of their cell phones were taken, as well as phone and contact records. The food cooperative was virtually shut down. There was no rational explanation, nor justification, for this extreme violation of Constitutional rights.

Presumably Manna Storehouse might eventually be charged with running a retail establishment without a license. Why then the Gestapo-type interrogation for a 3rd degree misdemeanor charge? This incident has raised the ominous specter of a restrictive new era in State regulation and enforcement over the nation’s private food supply.

This same type of abusive search and seizure was reported by those innocents who fell victim to oppressive federal drug laws passed in the 1990s. The present circumstance raises the obvious question: is there some rabid new interpretation of an existing drug law that considers food a controlled substance worthy of a nasty SWAT operation? Or worse, is there a previously unrecognized provision(s) pertaining to food in the Homeland Security measures? Some have suggested that it was merely an out-of-control, hot-to-trot ODA agent, and, if so, this would be a best-case scenario. Anything else might spell the beginning of the end for the freedom to eat unregulated and unmonitored food.

One blogger familiar with the Ohio situation has reported that:

“Interestingly, I believe they [Manna Storehouse] said a month or so ago, an undercover ODA official came to their little store and claimed to have a sick father wanting to join the co-op. Both the owner and her daughter-in-law had a horrible feeling about the man, and decided not to allow him into the co-op and notified him by certified mail. He came back to the co-op demanding to be part of it. They refused and gave him names of other businesses and health food stores closer to his home. Not coincidentally, this man was there yesterday as part of the raid.”

The same blog also noted that the Ohio Department of Agriculture has been chastised by the courts in several previous instances for its aggression, including trying to entrap an Amish man in a raw milk “sale,” which backfired when it became known that the Amish believe in a literal interpretation of “give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away” (Matthew 5:42)

The issue appears to be the discovery of a bit of non-institutional beef in an Oberlin College food service freezer a year ago that was tracked down by a county sanitation official to Manna Storehouse. Oberlin College’s student food coop is widely known for its strident ideological stance about eating organic foods. It seems that the Oberlin student food cooperative had joined the Manna Storehouse food cooperative in order to buy organic foods in bulk from the national organic food distributor United, which services buying clubs across the nation. The sanitation official, James Boddy, evidently contacted the Ohio Department of Agriculture. After the first contact by state ODA officials, Manna Storehouse reportedly wrote them a letter requesting assistance and guidelines for complying with the law. This letter was never answered. Rather, the ODA agent tried several times to infiltrate the coop, as described above. When his attempts failed, the SWAT team showed up!

Food cooperatives and buying clubs have been an active part of the American landscape for over a generation. In the 1970s, with the rise of the organic food industry (a direct outgrowth of the hippie back-to-nature movement) food coops started up all over the country. These were groups of people who freely associated for the purpose of combining their buying power so that they could order organic food items in bulk and case lots. Anyone who was part of these coops in the early era will remember the messy breakdown of 35 pounds of peanut butter and 5 gallon drums of honey!

These buying clubs have persisted and flourished over the years due to their ability to purchase high quality organic foods at reduced prices in bulk quantities. Most cooperatives have participated greatly in the local agrarian economies, supporting neighborhood organic farmers with purchases of produce, eggs, chickens, etc. The groups also purchase food from a number of different local, regional and national distributors, many of them family-based businesses who truck the food themselves. Some of these food cooperatives have become large enough to set up mini-storefront operations where members can drop in and purchase items leftover from case lot sales. Manna Storehouse had established itself in such a manner, using a small enclosed breezeway attached to their home. It was a folksy place with old wooden floors where coop members stopped by to chat and snack on bags of organic corn chips.

The state of Ohio boasts the second largest Amish population in the country. Many of the Amish live on acreages where they raise their own food, not unlike Manna Storehouse, and sell off the extras to neighbors and church members. There is a sense of foreboding that this state crackdown on a longstanding, reputable food cooperative operation could adversely impact the peaceful agrarian way of life not only for the Amish, but homeschoolers and those families living off the land on rural acreages. It raises the disturbing possibility that it could become a crime to raise your own food, buy eggs from the farmer down the road, or butcher your own chickens for family and friends – bustling activities that routinely take place in backwater America.

The freedom to purchase food directly form the source is increasingly under attack. For those who have food allergies and chemical intolerances, or who are on special medical diets, this is becoming a serious health issue. Will Americans retain the right to purchase food that is uncontaminated by pesticides, herbicides, allergens, additives, dyes, preservatives, MSG, GMOs, radiation, etc.? The melamine scare from China underscores the increasingly inferior and suspect quality of modern processed institutional foods. One blog, commenting on the bizarre and troubling Manna Storehouse situation, observed that:

“No one is saying exactly why. At the same time the FDA says it it safe to eat the 40% of tainted beef found in Costco's and Sam's all over the nation. These farm raids are very common now. Every farmer needs to fully eqiped [sic] for the possibility of it happening to them. The Farmer To Consumer Legal Defense Fund was created just for this purpose. The USDA just released their plans to put a law into action that will put all small farmers out of business. Animals for the sale of meat or milk will only be allowed in commercial farms, even the organic ones.” December 3, 2008 7:09 PM

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See The UN Plan for Food and Land

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Posted 12/06/08 11:45 AM Fu Manchu Belleville, MI

Has the whole world gone completely nuts? That was a rhetorical question, you don't really need to answer that one.

Posted 12/06/08 12:55 PM Bjorndahl Rohnert Park, CA

That article is lost on me...I really am confused about what a food co-op is, why it was illegal in the first place, and why it would be raided so violently. Does any major news network have any coverage of this?

Posted 12/06/08 12:57 PM Fu Manchu Belleville, MI

Has the whole world gone completely nuts? That was a rhetorical question, you don't really need to answer that one.

Posted 12/06/08 2:22 PM BruceKoerber Cedar Rapids, IA

Property rights are human rights! Now is the time for everyone to understand this completely. In reverse this means: The government does not own your body. They don't own your food, they don't own your work, and they don't own your income. This is known as justice. Central to justice is the fact that property rights are human rights!

Posted 12/06/08 2:33 PM ChadSweigert Annville, PA

So, I am very uneducated in this. You mean to tell me, that it is by some rediculous law, illegal to grow some veggies in my garden and sell them to someone?

Posted 12/06/08 2:54 PM StatusQuoJoe Phoenix, AZ

This is so sad, I am afraid it signals the end of the entrepreneurial spirit. I can think of no other reason than a blatant attack on this families attempts at economic freedom - unless they were not paying taxes on their income.

Posted 12/06/08 5:05 PM Felegund Jonesville, KY

That has got to be the worst example of government infringement I have seen yet. We need to get something done about this government problem, asap. I don't think we have as long to work on this as we thought.

Posted 12/06/08 5:25 PM mapetranek Cleveland, OH

Small farmers and local raw milk suppliers in Ohio have been under seige by the Ohio Department of Agriculture for quite some time now. Actually, under Governor Strickland, this action had all but halted. We haven't had an incident like this for almost two years. I am involved in a herd share in Ohio and am quite familiar with the situation. Lagrange is approximately 20 miles to the west of Cleveland, Ohio. Congressional District 9 representative is Marcy Kaptur, www.kaptur.house.gov. The governor of Ohio, who has been responsive in the past to complaints from people regarding the ODA, is Ted Strickland,www.governor.ohio.gov. We need to support local farmers, local energy and all community supported agriculture. If the majority of people were all shopping local, we wouldn't have any of these problems. When an incident like this happens, it is a scare tactic to move people away from using local resources. The big boys get scared when they think their money is slipping away. It is time for everybody to put their money to better use and only support your local businesses.

Posted 12/06/08 5:40 PM fadestyle Walnut Bottom, PA

yes it will be illegal to grow your own food soon. seriously check out this video it will explain why: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6262083407501596844

Posted 12/06/08 7:22 PM Two-if-by-Sea Wakefield, MA

this is disgusting

Posted 12/06/08 7:27 PM Planning4aCrash London, United Kingdom

Brits in London can stock up on raw milk at the London Farmers Markets, I know I do! http://www.lfm.org.uk/

Posted 12/06/08 7:32 PM Planning4aCrash London, United Kingdom

BTW, bobloblaw, you know that the cholesterol thing is a total scam?! It is a cover for the harm caused by hydrogenated oils, and cheap vegetable oils that break down into harmful lipids with heat. Food as medicine 1: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8841234327210711547&ei=kEM7ScaxAYe2 iAKH2pCqCQ&q=food+as+medicine Food as medicine 2: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7798117152905143532&ei=xkM7SafXKIrg iALg1OzBBw&q=food+as+medicine

Posted 12/06/08 7:43 PM Planning4aCrash London, United Kingdom

My goodness, I just read the article. People. We must unite and learn to say no. Had all the people in that community been linked via an early warning system, and had descended onto the farm and protested, the feds would have had to back off. United, we can win this. Don't these people recognise that they hare harming their own health by harming food producers? This is SICK!

Posted 12/07/08 12:54 AM Knighted Hudson, NH

This is all the war against those who have broken free from the rat race and tried to claim self-governance and liberty. These people found a way to help eliminate their dependency, so they must be brought to justice before the other slaves try and get out of their shackles.

Posted 12/07/08 05:00 AM celticreeler Rolla, MO

The FDA finally did its job and banned the importation of all milk products from Communist China, since it appears that melamine is even in the milk powder they use in 1)infant formula and 2)candy exported to Japan and Taiwan, among other places. Melamine, by the way, is an industrial nitrogen-containing compound, which when added to food, increases the assay for nitrogen, used as a proxy for protein content (since protein=amino acids=nitrogen content). Food higher in protein can be sold for more. Melamine's metabolites are concentrated in the kidney, cause kidney malfunction/stones and even kidney failure/death from same. When American pets were keeling over from melamine-containing poison Chinese gluten (causing kidney malfunction)in their food, I wrote to a major U.S. bread manufacturer, asking if their whole wheat bread contained Chinese gluten. No answer. I even tempted them by saying that I am a physician (true) and advise my patients to buy their products, as they switched away from partially hydrogenated oil some time ago (trans fat-containing). I no longer advise my patients to use their products, and for over a year I've been making my own whole wheat bread, without gluten, 3 loaves twice a week. Our government apparently wants us to just lie down and take it, happily stuffing ourselves with melamine and trans fats, and heaven knows what else. As I say often, "Food is medicine." It has to be right.

Posted 12/07/08 07:51 AM coolwise Sun Valley, NV

It is the big box stores and big agriculture business who are lobbying the laws to our supposedly representative government to prevent the common people to grow, trade or sell foods within a neighborhood coop or stores. The have the power and like cattle we fall in line. I am thinking differently about how I get my food lately.

Posted 12/07/08 07:57 AM voxpopuli sanford, FL

yeah, this is disgusting. i just attended a food coop the other day and couldn't believe how amazing it was. what these politicians and police are allowing is terrible. watch 'the future of food' / check out healthfreedomusa.org monsanto, the fda, the wto, codex alimentarius are responsible for a lot of this. they're destroying our food and our ability to obtain that which is healthy and unadultered. support your local farmers and buy organic.

Posted 12/07/08 08:44 AM KathyLatshaw BeaReady Smithville, OH

I'm thrilled that this outrage made it to front page at C4L and have crossposted on my Ohio district blog. We all need to do everything we can to create some buzz on this and force news coverage in addition to contacting our reps. that mapatranek posted above. Here are some more links including a mainstream newspaper article. Also, peacechicken's blog below has links to media outlets we can write/call. There is also a thread about this at Ohio Freedom Alliance. Local food cooperative searched by state http://www.morningjournal.com/articles/2008/12/03/news/mj309059.txt AC TION! SWAT Raids Co-Op in Rural Ohio http://www.peacechicken.com/2008/12/05/action-item-swat-raids-co-op-in-rur al-ohio/ SWAT TEAM CONDUCTS FOOD RAID IN RURAL OHIO http://www.christianworldviewnetwork.com/article.php?ArticleID=4287

Posted 12/07/08 10:04 AM canam San Rafael, CA

Passed this story on to Natural News in hopes that they will do an in-depth investigation to give this media coverage.

Posted 12/07/08 11:29 AM Pete Bura Westlake, OH

This story is growing legs, and 'Manna Storehouse' is returning 53,000 Google hits, up from 35,000 earlier today. This blog is pulling together the news stories, with updates and legal commentary, a good read: http://thebovine.wordpress.com/2008/12/04/more-on-the-oda-manna-storeho use-raid/ I know these people personally, and their operation is more of a ministry than anything else. It is clean, has adequate freezer and refrigerator capacity, and all fresh foods are from local farms. I would be amazed if they make any profit at all from it, much less a living. When the SHTF, we should be so lucky as to have food available from local sources such as this. May they prosper and multiply.

Posted 12/07/08 12:03 PM Renee Indiana Mishawaka, IN

I know it is a bit of an over-reaction, but it really hit me today. Our country is not ours anymore. Not even a little bit. What is wrong with this picture? So what you are saying is my folks could be raided because they grow and can organic fruits and veggies and sell them to neighbors for pennies. Where does it end? Will we stop churches from distributing food? How about the local food bank, or our homeless shelter that now has a community organic garden to pick from for free? Should we raid them? How about we just let everyone know now, don't send those peaches you canned home with the relatives this christmas, you could upset the gov't. Ridiculous. And no one will stop this insanity. I cried for my country today.

Posted 12/07/08 1:16 PM Fu Manchu Belleville, MI

Thank you Tim. I also contacted the Organic Consumers Association. http://organicconsumers.org/

Posted 12/07/08 2:49 PM CharlotteJuett Genoa, NE

Pennsylvania dairy farmers have been fighting the for the right to sell raw milk directly to consumers for years and the State Department of Agriculture has been blocking them at every turn. Farmers can get twice or more per gallon selling directly to consumers that prefer raw milk to what is available in stores, but the large dairys do not want this. Their only way to keep profits high is to keep the price paid to farmers DOWN. I, myself, grew up drinking raw milk from the the farms down the road and nothing in the world tastes better than fresh from the cow milk. You can't beat the heavy cream you can skim off the top for making all kinds of dishes. The problem is that BIG AG wants to control ALL food sources in the country and the government goes along with it, not because it is unhealthy to eat local, but because the more you centralize the production of food, the more you can control the population. Just another example of socialism at work.

Posted 12/07/08 6:28 PM Nathan Mahan Jackson, MI

Hehe, don't ask that question... IT'S CRAZY!!

Posted 12/08/08 12:52 AM boohickey11 Bowling Green, KY

I'm afraid that eventually one of these "no knock" warrants is going to end in bloodshed. If it hasn't already.

Posted 12/08/08 01:28 AM Ricky201 North Bend, WA

This is insanity! I swear a few months ago when I cured from my apathy I woke up the next day and found out that I've been living in China. This will end in blood, and some of us are starting to get thirsty for it.

Posted 12/08/08 02:49 AM StilesBC North Vancouver, Canada

Two words: Codex Alimentarius http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5800206429960925518 Mouth - Meet Red Pill.

Posted 12/08/08 04:20 AM crashnct Provo, UT

Quit a few no knocks have already resulted in the death of either a police officer, innocent bystander or the suspect themselves. And as for raiding smaller farming establishments, small farming establishments are more beneficial to local communities, cut back on their environmental love child carbon emissions because food isn't shipped hundreds to thousands of miles, is more secure from bio terrorism because the farmers interact and are more likely to notice changes in their animals, less animals to infect, less animals caged closer together for disease to spread, and more humane treatment of animals. The USDA and Ohio Dept of Ag and any states Dept of Ag should be doing everything to promote this form of Agriculture.

Posted 12/08/08 05:48 AM Donnie Mayes Alexandria, KY

Some scary stuff indeed. Hopefully it won't come to violence but people better wake up and change the political system through different candidates and a return to the constitution.

Posted 12/08/08 06:31 AM TonySutton Amherst, OH

Wow, this happened in my back yard and this is the first I have heard of it. I live in Lorain County which is also where Lagrange is. I will poke around and see what I can find out.

Posted 12/08/08 07:01 AM JJR1985 Shelby Twp., MI

The only inventory my business will be giving away to swat and doa agents are free samples of led. Matter of fact i'm having a bulk sale on my entire inventory, everything must go! The product will be government approved on a come-get-some basis. Any takers? All joking aside I agree with boohickey, one of these situations will end in bloodshed.This situation is clearly a swipe at liberty and attack on economic freedom. Considering the times, patience is wearing thin with the american public. Let's be real here...do you really think these isolated incidents will stop on small numbers of people. The funny thing is they treated this innocent family as if they were a threat! Are you kidding me...get your boots ladies and gentlemen...shits getting deep.

Posted 12/08/08 07:04 AM Melissa Florissant, MO

I recently came across an article that led me to a guy named Rob Hopkins. He wrote a book called the transition book. Basically it's about how communities can still function when the rest of the world goes crazy. I'm still in the beginning stages of research on this subject. I am sick to my stomach with all this crap of people telling other people how they can or can't live. I want to be self sufficient and most of the evidence I read tells me that is not what the "powers that be" want. I can't take it much more, is this what they want so they can declare marshal law on everyone.

Posted 12/08/08 07:24 AM Heather D Port Byron, IL

We can't have folks out there demonstrating that it is possible to survive without the assistance of the state, now can we? I mean, seriously, this coop and others like it are making it difficult for Big Brother to get the message across that everything in life should be distributed to each according to his abilities, and to each according to his needs....

Posted 12/08/08 07:29 AM ScottEStewart Princeton, KY

Has anyone found any mainstream news links to this? I've searched CNN and Fox and I've got nothing. Could the news have been censored?

Posted 12/08/08 07:39 AM CadeThacker Roswell, GA

boohickey11: I'm afraid that eventually one of these "no knock" warrants is going to end in bloodshed. If it hasn't already. It already has. Here in Atlanta, 92 year old Kathryn Johnston was killed by Atlanta police in a botched no-knock drug raid. She was armed and fired a warning shot at what she thought was a burglar. Police fired back 36 times killing her. Some of those officers are now in jail. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathryn_Johnston

Posted 12/08/08 07:39 AM Caleb Kinley Hot Springs, AR

@ScottEStewart Scott, the MSM news is 'always' censored. It's always manipulated, and it's 'never' fair and balanced.

Posted 12/08/08 07:45 AM smashysmashy dover, NH

This is epically f**ked up. Far worse than the Cheye Calvo case; and at least Calvo's case hit the mainstream media. I would like to at least hear the ODA, FDA, SWAT side of this story first, but the lack of media attention to this huge of a story speaks for itself. This is it. It is now over. Any hope of a peaceful revolution is over. We are utterly screwed.

Posted 12/08/08 07:50 AM Fu Manchu Belleville, MI

I sent this story to the Organic Consumers Association (www.organicconsumers.org) and got a reply. "Hello Matt, Thank you for sending this, we just posted this to our websites, if you get any more info please send it to us so we can keep our readers updated and figure out how to take action. all the best, Rose" The more people that know about this the better.

Posted 12/08/08 07:54 AM smashysmashy dover, NH

Awesome Fu. It is our responsibility to do everything in our power to make sure this doesn't fall off the radar. We must demand answers. I am going to be loud as hell about this one.

Posted 12/08/08 08:01 AM Felegund Jonesville, KY

Yes, Tim, there was a seperate post on this over the weekend. Pity, there was a lot of good discussion there. Ohh, and smashy- bring the thunder. Anyone who needed proof that the government is downright mental hasn't been paying enough attention.

Posted 12/08/08 08:12 AM BillNM Carlsbad, NM

When I was young our country was covered in small farms with everyone with a cow and chickens and garden. Want an egg? Just go out to the coop and get some. Want raw milk? (Not me; baby cows get off of it.) Plenty to be had as the cow is milked every day. Want some purple hull peas? Just go to the shelf and get some that were canned in the late spring. Is the preacher coming for Sunday dinner? Time to ring a chicken neck, toss it in the old cast iron pot with water heated over a wood fire and pluck it. Then singe off the pin feathers, disembowel and fry it up. I think you get the idea. There was a healthy distrust of government among many, although most of the city folks and blue collar types thought Roosevelt was really helping. No thinking going on with them. Now, most of the small farms have disappeared and we are dependent on the large farms and the distribution system. I understand that in the large chicken factories that the last bath is referred to as the salmonella bath! The collusion between government and industry has nearly overwhelmed us. Any breakdown will cause major disruptions. Get yourself a small farm.

Posted 12/08/08 08:38 AM sweetliberty San Rafael, CA

I don't understand this at all. Someone please explain it to me like I'm six. So the government basically found a small reason (non-institutional beef, whatever that means) that came from this co-op, and then forcibly entered, stole stuff, held the family at gun point and didn't formally charge them with anything? Does "tainted beef" really require a SWAT team?

Posted 12/08/08 08:42 AM Nathan Mahan Jackson, MI

Wow, my blog on the FRONT PAGE! Real fame at last! Thank you for all the comments, everyone. I've heard some of the comments got deleted, and I'm not sure what happened. Feel free to post ANY opinion here, this is a REAL free-speech zone.

Posted 12/08/08 08:44 AM Melissa Florissant, MO

Nate, your blog is the main C4L page.

Posted 12/08/08 08:47 AM Nathan Mahan Jackson, MI

I know, THAT'S AMAZING! I'll add it to my resume, haha!

Posted 12/08/08 08:51 AM Melissa Florissant, MO

This is an area that I take great interest in. I feel the real need and desire to be more self sufficient. Here are a couple of web sites I have come across: http://www.wellfedneighbor.com/ http://www.relocalize.net/ I was very excited to see others out there that have the same thing in mind and now I'm worried that crap like this couple getting raided (unless there is more to it) will prevent my ability as well as others to take the path of self sufficiency.

Posted 12/08/08 08:53 AM Melissa Florissant, MO

What happened to morality?

Posted 12/08/08 09:10 AM Nathan Mahan Jackson, MI

Daily I read a blog called www.survivalblog.com. The blogger's insights and information are world class. The idea of being "off the grid" is attractive to any critical thinker, especially those who see their liberties slipping away. That's what makes a story like this one so appalling. The Ohio Department of Agriculture is disallowing anyone from leaving "the grid," shutting down other avenues of commerce. I had the same feeling of indignation when I heard about the gold assayer who was minting Ron Paul Dollars, and how the feds broke in, stole the bullion, stole their computers, and shut their operation down. I realized that the free market is the NATURAL state of people, and that it is by definition anti-tyranny. In order for tyranny to exist, it must shut down competition to power, whether that is money (the Fed), ability to work (the IRS, FICA), protection of your life (BATF), or food (Department of Agriculture, FDA).

Posted 12/08/08 09:25 AM ScottEStewart Princeton, KY

@Bishop.Kinley I understand that the news gets censored. But to not have any information on this other than the conspiracy blogs is quite troubling, especially when this has gotten a lot of blog coverage. There's not even any information in the Lorain County, OH local news archive. http://www.chroniclet.com/ Interestingly, this seems to be forming up as a real life x-file.

Posted 12/08/08 09:49 AM shureek columbia, MO

Maybe this is the Russian coming out of me, but these guys really dont deserve a right to life...

Posted 12/08/08 09:50 AM Melissa Florissant, MO

I figured go to the source so I called the people who run Manna Storehouse Co-op, and she confirmed that they did have the police come and take there food, computers, contacts. She to me sounded like a real person to me.

Posted 12/08/08 10:00 AM Melissa Florissant, MO

I also decided to call the police department in La Grange Ohio 440-355-4469 The man who answered the phone would not give out any info. He told me to call between 7pm and 3am and ask for Sargent Densing. I will post any info that I find out. If anyone else would like to call the number is above.

Posted 12/08/08 10:01 AM smashysmashy dover, NH

CNN was just reporting on quirky quiz questions on the college applications for UK colleges. It was a 5 minute story. Because this isn't important, but that is.

Posted 12/08/08 10:02 AM TonySutton Amherst, OH

@ScottEStewart Oddly enough our better county paper (Chronicle-Telegram) does not have an article on this but their competitor (Morning Journal) does. http://www.morningjournal.com/articles/2008/12/03/news/mj309059.txt

Posted 12/08/08 10:03 AM Melissa Florissant, MO

Just read my own post, sorry for the horrible wording. I'm sure you get my point though. :)

Posted 12/08/08 10:24 AM Melissa Florissant, MO

Thanks Tony for the post on the morning journal.

Posted 12/08/08 10:32 AM Bizarro Burnsville, MN

Hey. Check out my vlog at <a href="http://www.darkdownhere.com">Darkdownhere.com</a> It’s got hundreds of hours of original and unique content that you are unlikely to find elsewhere. Updated daily with uncommon perspectives and opinions on a wide variety of issues. Bookmark us. Thanks.

Posted 12/08/08 10:34 AM Fu Manchu Belleville, MI

Whoa, looks like all the old deleted posts just reappeared and are intertwined with the newer ones... weird.

Posted 12/08/08 10:36 AM David Dudenhoefer Detroit, MI

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, LET THOSE BASTARDS COME VISIT ME...I GOT NICE SUPRISE FOR 'EM F**K THE GOVERNMENT

Posted 12/08/08 10:44 AM jsgii Dundee, NY

That is too bad that the weekend comments are lost. The family in Ohio can take the SWAT Team to court and try suing them. Other farmers should band together and sue the Ohio DOA and USDA. If Mr. Sutton or someone in Ohio can dig up some more info, maybe CFL can help in some way at least by spreading the word about this, like putting out flyers. BillNM, I still live like you did in your youth, well except the neighbor has eggs (fresh brown eggs are my favorite)and we buy some chickens from them when they butcher the old ones. I don't drink as much milk as I use to, but raw milk tastes much better than pasteurized/homogenized milk. Yes we have a small cookstove too, it is almost 14 years old and works great.

Posted 12/08/08 11:05 AM mapetranek Cleveland, OH

Interim State Coordinator/Ohio Maryanne Petranek here: Please start calling the Governor of the State of Ohio now. Emails and faxes are fine but start deluging his office now with phone calls. Mail Governor's Office Riffe Center, 30th Floor 77 South High Street Columbus, OH 43215-6108 Phone/Fax General Info: (614) 466-3555 Fax: (614) 466-9354 ALSO, start calling the Ohio Department of Agriculture: Ohio Department of Agriculture Office of Communication 8995 East Main Street Reynoldsburg, OH 43068-3399 Phone: (614) 728-6201 Fax: (614 ) 728-6310 Robert Boggs, Director Governor Ted Strickland administered the Oath of Office to Robert J. Boggs as the new Director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture on January 24, 2007. As director, Bob shares his vision for the department as he implements Governor Strickland’s Turn Around Ohio Plan. Over the last 34 years, he served the people of Ohio as a representative, senator and a county commissioner. During his career in public service, he used his agricultural background to make decisions on dozens of rural issues including linked deposits, ethanol tax credits, soil and water conservation funding, OSU cooperative extension, and rural development. As a state representative in the 97th House District and senator in the 18th Senate District, he authored and co-sponsored numerous bills that affect agriculture pertaining to Lake Erie development, water quality, inter-modal transportation, economic development, education and natural resources. Boggs, who was raised on a small dairy farm in Ashtabula County, received his bachelor’s degree in government from American University in Washington, D.C., and a master’s in public administration from Kent State University. The Ohio Agriculture Director provides leadership for Ohio’s No. 1 industry -- agriculture -- and administers numerous regulatory, food safety and consumer protection programs for the benefit of all Ohioans. I believe they are counting on the media not carrying this story. Maryanne

Posted 12/08/08 11:25 AM mapetranek Cleveland, OH

When you call the Ohio Department of Agriculture, go to option #4 and type in ADM ( for administration)You will get a delightful lady on the line by the name of Ruth Melrose. I posed one simple question: What did the ODA know about the assault on a family in Lagrange a week ago? By that, Ms. Melrose asked if I was with the media. I said no, I am a citizen in the state of Ohio. She came back on the line and told me to call the Lorain County Health Department. I asked her if the ODA knew anything about what happened and she yelled into the phone that she wasn't going to take this type of abuse from me. (?) When she quieted down I asked her for the number for the Lorain County Health Department and she resumed her exasperation by saying she wouldn't take this abuse, followed by she didn't have their number. I then told her I was reporting her to the governor's office and she gave me her name and position ( customer service). It appears she wants to be quoted because she freely gave me her name. The phone number for the Lorain County Health Department is: Lorain County General Health District 9880 South Murray Ridge Road Elyria, OH 44035 Phone: 440-322-6367 Phone: 440-244-2209 Phone: 236-8722 Fax: 440-322-0911 Maryanne

Posted 12/08/08 11:29 AM mapetranek Cleveland, OH

Lorain County Health Department: Person to speak to is Jim Boddy: phone: 1-440-284-3224 His answering machine is on, you would have to leave your name and number

Posted 12/08/08 11:49 AM mapetranek Cleveland, OH

CHANNEL 3 CLEVELAND OHIO WKYC Phone numbers Main desk: (216) 344-3333 Fax: (216) 344-3314 Ask them what they know about this story. The reporter was very nice and interested and said she hasn't heard anything about this story. I gave her the name of the family and said it happened in Lagrange, Ohio. She was going to go look it up.

Posted 12/08/08 11:50 AM Melissa Florissant, MO

The DOA's automated phone system is for some reason not working????? All the number prompts I use sends me in never ending loop...........

Posted 12/08/08 12:11 PM mapetranek Cleveland, OH

The updates to this story are many. Katie Stowers husband is serving in Iraq as she and the rest of the family were being detained by the police. “When officers from the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office in Ohio arrived last Monday at the Manna Storehouse food cooperative in LaGrange with weapons drawn and trained on Katie Stowers and her children, along with her in-laws, there was one member of the family missing. Katie’s husband, Chad, is a U.S. Navy Seabee, helping in construction projects in the midst of combat in Iraq. He’s been there, separated from his family, for the last five months, supposedly protecting our rights from abuse—the sort of abuse that appears to be taking place on an ever-more-frequent basis at farms and food outlets around the country." Follow the story at: http://thebovine.wordpress.com/2008/12/06/manna-storehouse-swat-part-3/

Posted 12/08/08 12:34 PM AuthenticAuthor Canutillo, TX

How I wish there were more sources to verify this information. So far from my research it seems as if Ohio's government is a laughing stock, no pun intended, when it comes to food regulation. However, I think it's important to note that there clearly is a lot of sensationalism being placed on this story. Has anyone found any sources of food raids from both state and federal entities that support the claim that food raids are escalating across the country? I grow some fruit here in Texas, and I have never been inspected before about this. Should I worry, or is this largely Ohio's problem?

Posted 12/08/08 1:03 PM Andrew Ward Arlington, VA

We've added the old comments from the Member Blog Spotlight onto Nate's blog. Sorry for the mix-up.

Posted 12/08/08 3:16 PM Melissa Florissant, MO

A friend of mine sent me this great website: http://www.ftcldf.org/farm-raids.html How to survive a farm raid.

Posted 12/08/08 7:01 PM JJR1985 Shelby Twp., MI

Love the patriotism on here...the government has been flexing its muscle for quite sometime now...wait till we flex ours...

Posted 12/08/08 7:22 PM filosophia Columbus, OH

This is actually a good sign, as it shows that they are getting desperate. Think about it, this raid is simply a scare tactic, and this family will no doubt get a huge cash settlement from this and probably a gag order. But in effect, this is simply a [profit-risk] situation. We all saw Fight Club where Edward Norton explains how his car company will settle out of court if it means they don't have to recall. This is the same idea. The DEA/Agriculture industry/CIA/whatever, that is behind this are trying to scare co-ops across the country by targeting this one group in rural Ohio. The money they lose in court will hopefully, in their minds, be offset by people buying from supermarkets for fear of growing veggies on their own. It is all quite absurd and just goes to show how desperate they are getting. The same goes with infiltrating the peaceful activist groups. They can't target every book club or street march, so they target a few in the hopes that people will become panicked.

Posted 12/09/08 07:42 AM Casey Tucker Milledgeville, GA

This is a ridiculous state our nation has come to. I sent a letter to my senator, who happens to be the ranking member on the Senate Agricultural Committee, to tell him about the situation. Further, I asked his thoughts on the situation, what he would do, and most importantly what he would do if something like this were to ever happen in our state of Georgia. I'll keep you posted if I get a real response from him.

Posted 12/09/08 07:52 AM TonySutton Amherst, OH

Our more reputable daily paper has finally published a story 1 week after the fact. http://www.chroniclet.com/2008/12/09/state-investigates-lagrange-organi c-food-business_122/ It answers some questions but still leaves some open.

Posted 12/09/08 07:55 AM Nathan Mahan Jackson, MI

fnbcatcher - that's a good idea. We need to preemptively let our state governments know that we will not stand for this. We need to stand up NOW so that they know we are a serious force. I'm going to write to Michigan's Department of Agriculture.

Posted 12/10/08 01:23 AM SoldierofLiberty Eastover, SC

Anyone see where the Assistant County Prosecutor said, and I quote, ""Protection of health is one of the important roles of government," Serazin said. "That's what this is all about." You can find the quote here. I kind of chuckled when I read it. Either he has no clue or truely believes it. http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/12/lorain_county_sheriffs_office.h tml

Posted 12/10/08 09:50 AM Pete Bura Westlake, OH

The ODA agent conducted a 'sting' operation of buying a dozen eggs but, oops, had to pay a $5 membership fee also and I would imagine signed an application acknowledging the terms of private sale. According to the sheriff's report, the raid involved 11 officers. Their mode of dress was not described but, c'mon, 11? The blog indicates earlier on that the Stowers family is preparing a statement.

Posted 12/10/08 09:52 AM Pete Bura Westlake, OH

Oops, deleted part of my post by accident. I was referring to http://thebovine.wordpress.com/2008/12/09/manna-storehouse-co-op-raid-part-5-big -brother-and-the-holding-company-or-the-tip-of-a-much-bigger-iceberg/, which links to the search warrant and sheriff's report.