Why the Ohio Department of Agriculture SUCKS!
ByThe government is here to help again. And I have a bridge to sell you. Oh, wait. Did I say “help”? I meant to say “raid”.
Well, the ever heavy-handed, the ever bullying Ohio Department of Agriculture is at it again. The Stowers family in LaGrange, Ohio has been running a legitimate organic foods-based co-op and family farm for almost twenty years. With ten children in the house, the ODA raided their home, with the help of local police, earlier this month and held the family hostage for six hours!
They brandished guns, got rough and confiscated not only the organic food that is set aside for customers, but also stole food from the Stower’s personal pantry. Yes, you got it. The government can take our food.
Did I mention that they took all the family’s grass-fed beef? Nice Christmas gesture, wouldn’t you say?What is the claim? Supposedly these people were selling as a retail establishment.
There is no charge filed against this family or their business. The ODA has caused a tremendous trauma to this family. Imagine being raided without warning and having you and your children held hostage for hours without signs of relief.
The ODA even confiscated their computers, affecting their ability to home school their kids.
This is a strong family! They are fighting back with the help of the Buckeye Institute.
Read about it here:
http://www.buckeyeinstitute.org/article/1284
Post your comments here.
5 Comments
December 22nd, 2008 at 9:55 am
Leave it to the ODA to make mountains out of mole hills and then call stealing confiscation. Ooops did we take away your livelihood and scare the be-jesus out of you….thank you and have a nice day.
December 22nd, 2008 at 11:28 am
whoa! somebody in the community doesn’t like them. i wonder why the ODA would do this?
i’m surprised that a government agency (besides the police) would blatantly violate the 4th amendment.
hey Liz, great job on getting the word out! nice job on putting up your video on YouTube! awesome work!
thanks for this post, and thank you for your site, both are excellent! i hope that the Stowers family sees swift justice in this case!
happy holidays from the fluxlife blog!
-steve @ fluxlife
January 2nd, 2009 at 12:10 am
The fear of cowards is their weapon but it is our calling for courage. It is time for ‘Satyagraha’ to come into full bloom. Satyagraha (Sanskrit)is a philosophy/practice of nonviolent resistance developed by Mahatma Gandhi. “Satyagraha” resistance to tyranny through mass civil disobedience founded upon non-violence, inspiring action to freedom across the world. Satyagraha will lead us out of the tyranny that wants to take pure farming away from us and lead us like slaves to the corporate mansanto store.
March 13th, 2009 at 4:32 am
Hey Liz AMaZING post.
I thought you knew it was illegal to save peoples lives with food and natural products that grow from the earth as opposed to pills created by pharmaceutical companies.
I am still wondering how drug companies can legally create a pill that can “cure” you of 1 ailment then kill you from another.
But Liz I will tell you that the truth is illegal when it is financially harmful.
This is truly sad that this happened to this family that tried to help other guns drawn.
I mean give me a break.
I just hope they don’t come knocking on our doors. I would get more colorful in my language but this is a family blog so I will utter a response that was common omongst my friends and myself growing up…
“FORGET THE FEDS!!!”
peace Nii.
p.s.- i remember my mom told me a story of when she was a child in Ghana and she went to the village to see a witchdoctor that cured her of asthma.
I wonder if this witchdoctor was in America I wonder how much jail time he would have received for curing a little girl. HMMMMM?
March 27th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
There is more coming, liz. Join above link
http://wholefoodusa.wordpress.com/2009/02/27/swat-team-raid-on-homeschool-and-food-and-health-ministry-for-hungry-families/