Cargill, a giant United States meat processor, is recalling 36 million pounds of ground turkey produced at an Arkansas plant. The meat has been linked to a nationwide outbreak of salmonella food poisoning. This, in the face of a raid and three arrests at Rawesome, a natural foods buying club where no one has ever gotten ill.
The private natural foods buying club, Rawesome, in Venice, California was raided again by local law enforcement agents who discarded $10,000 in raw milk products, seized cash, computers and product. In a raid on 2010, law enforcement agents entered the private buying club with guns drawn and pointed at shelves of organic food (see these incredible circumstances). It is this 2010 raid at Rawesome that also lead to raids and seizure of $250,000 in raw milk cheeses at Morningland Dairy, though their cheese was also never associated with illness or outbreak.
On August 3rd, 2011, Rawesome was raided once more as part of a year-long sting that also targeted Healthy Family Farms, a Ventura, California farm which supplies both the buying club Rawesome as well as area farmers markets. Three people were arrested.
Why aren’t these law enforcement agents raiding Cargill factories and arresting their employees at gun point? Isn’t it a crime to infect, sicken and kill people? Are they seizing and destroying turkeys that are contaminated?
No. They are not. In fact, it took four months for the recall of this tainted meat to occur. That, after 76 people were sickened and one person unfortunately died. There were no armed officials violently seizing and destroying property at Cargill plants.
Clearly, this is not an issue of food safety. It is an issue of who controls what and for how much. The California government wants it’s share of the bounty when it comes to sales. The private buyer’s club does not have to pay any taxes — the participants are owners of the animals and are entitled to receive the bounty from these animals without taxation.
This is what is so upsetting to the state government. They are not getting their “share” of the bounty in the form of tax dollars. They are trying to require the Rawesome Foods facility to pay for licensing so that they can then tax them. But Rawesome is not a public grocery store. It is a private buyers club. Doesn’t it always come down to dollars?
In American (and sometimes I forget that we are here in America) we have rights: We have the right to own and use property. We have the right to use the beneficence of the property. We have the right to contract with others to take care of that property.
So why are they not seizing sick turkeys from Cargil? Cargil is a huge conglomerate and can pay lobbyists, inspectors and officials to keep things quiet for as long as possible in spite of the dangerous and dirty food they are selling.
Here is yet another reason to get connected with your food supply and get involved in these issues. Get involved here:
Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund
Social Media Revolt against Government Raids
Resources:
Natural News.com
Weston A Price Foundation Press Release
Photo Credit: Farm Sanctuary.org
This post is linked to: Real Food Wednesday, Healthy 2Day Wednesday, Foodie Wednesday, Creative Juice Thursday, Full Plate Thursday, Simple Lives Thursday, Pennywise Platter, Fresh Bites Friday, Fight Back Friday, Friday Food, Sugar-Free Sunday, Melt in Mouth Monday, Monday Mania, Weekend Carnival, Traditional Tuesday