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Police raid raw food cooperative

August 5, 2011

Raw food enthusiasts in California took a hit this week as police raided a Venice Beach cooperative, removing $70,000 of raw, organic produce and dairy products from the shelves and placing the goods onto the back of a flatbed truck. [New York Times]

On Thursday, James Stewart, proprietor of Rawsome, was arraigned on charges of illegally making, improperly labeling and selling raw milk products, as well as other charges related to the co-op’s operations.

Two farmers who work with Rawsome 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.

A trustee at Rawsome said a license wasn’t obtained because the operation was not a store but a “club” in which members paid an annual fee to peruse the shelves and purchase selected items.

They also signed waivers indicating they understood the risks of consuming raw foods.

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.

“It’s our right to choose what we want to put in our bodies,” said Lela Buttery, a trustee. “When members filled out an application, they were saying they wanted natural bacteria in their systems. We don’t want labeling. We don’t want animals full of antibiotics.”


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After a year long investigation, the FDA conducts a multi-agency raid with an armed SWAT team on Rawsome, a private food coop in Venice CA where people go by choice to buy healthy food. They put the people who run the coop in jail. No one has ever gotten sick let alone died from food purchased at Rawsome. Meanwhile, 3,000 people per year DIE from food poisoning in America, that’s 8 per day. 50 million people a year get sick from food poisoning, that’s 137,000 per day. Perhaps our limited government resources are being misappropriated.


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Allow me to shed a bit of perspective on this story: A guy sells unpasterized (not illegal in Ca), improperly packaged foods to people who have consented to purchase it fully knowing the risks and he brazenly does this apparently without a business license…


http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-katrina-bridge-shooting-20110806,0,4887609.story


Law enforcement, and all of its divisions thereof, really needs to take a good, hard look at themselves…they are becoming what they stand against.


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Raw milk and unpasteurized cheese are VERY dangerous not just to those that eat it but to any one around them. milk and cheese – any dairy product – can transmit Tuberculosis and brucellosis foot and mouth disease and many others that are highly transmittable. this can not only cause a disease out break among humans but also wipe out and entire population of livestock.


Pasteurization was invented for a reason and there is a reason we are still using it close to 150 years after it was first discovered ( although some say the Chinese were using it since the 1100’s) and it does not kill all the bacteria just kills enough to render the milk safe to drink. if it killed all of them then the milk would be sterile and would not go bad in a week like milk does.


really if these people want raw milk that is their issue but how dare they put my health and the health of all the livestock at risk.


and yes I am sure there are sp.lling and grammer issues in this post – so get over it,


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The clear problem here is:

“…a license wasn’t obtained…”


How dare someone attempt to do business without getting the blessing of the government! I’m shocked and appalled by such reckless abandonment! There should be fines, penalties, and fees for the offenders!


We’re from the government, and we’re here to help you…


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There are two issues here that I understand that the anti law people won’t agree with. We need oversight to make sure our food is safe. I’m sure that this guy could have made his operation legal. I’m sure that the city sent out notices telling him that he was going to be closed down if he didn’t comply with the law.


” never obtained a license to do so — or, indeed, any type of business license”


Why not? Every business needs to be licenced, my business is licenced, it’s not a big deal.


“improperly labeling and selling raw milk”


As yessireebob said, pasteurization doesn’t harm milk, it’s the hormones, antibiotics and perhaps other cr@p that we put in the cows that harms the milk but I have no problem if people want to buy unpasteurized dairy products. When selling to the public whether it be club or not we need standards so people can make a fair choice as to what they’re getting. I could care less if someone wants to sell sour milk that’s a year old as long as people know what they’re getting and the business is honest about what’s in the product. Mislabeling could kill someone. Personally all I would expect is correct honest labels and a business license and that doesn’t seem like such a big deal for the store owner to comply with. If he can’t handle that then he shouldn’t be in business.


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Improperly labeling is part of a blanket charge, not necessarily specific in this case, just a quotation of the law. There is no indication any notice was given that they had so much time to comply or be fined or anything else of that nature

The operators explained they thought since they were a club they didn’t need a business license. I guess we should consider ourselves really, really lucky that our ancestors survived all the “raw, unpasteurized food, not to mention unrefrigerated food that they consumed. I wonder if they ever had any idea what imminent danger they were in eating all that dangerous food.

In all seriousness, this is more than overkill. It’s ridiculous. Isn’t there any real crime around to give them something to do????

Once again I am struck by the fact women have the right to “choose” abortion, but I don’t have the right to choose unpasteurized milk and other raw foods. There is something majorly wrong here.


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” I am struck by the fact women have the right to “choose” abortion, but I don’t have the right to choose unpasteurized milk and other raw foods. There is something majorly wrong here.”


Yes, there is something majorly wrong here,,,your analogy. No one is telling anyone that they can’t buy/choose unpasteurized milk and raw food, people buy those things all the time. There are safety regulations with food as well as for women. A women can’t go in the dirty hotel to get an abortion and we can’t go in and buy nasty dangerous food like they did in those days that you want to go back to. But I’m embarrassed to even be comparing the two.


Improper labeling is a blanket charge? What as opposed to what, do you think that they are charged with improper labeling because the labels had the wrong color? Either labels aren’t correct or they aren’t, it’s pretty black and white.


“I guess we should consider ourselves really, really lucky that our ancestors survived all the “raw, unpasteurized food, not to mention unrefrigerated food,,,”


Visit an old cemetery and look how long the majority of people lived. We are supposed to be advancing not going backwards. It seems like there’s new wave that insist on going back to those good ole days when men carried six shooters and there were very few laws. We’ve spent millions of dollars to learn how to make our food safer so people don’t get food born illnesses and so people can live longer, it’s call progress. Not all progress is good, but we need some balance here.


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Oh man, typo city,,,’either they are or they aren’t’.


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Too funny. I read what you meant, rather than what you wrote.


Back to the issue, I don’t see how the club/business owner could expect any other outcome. It would be good if there was a program to test the safety of raw milk, but we’ve fired all the food inspectors. Now we find food problems after people get sick or die.


I do think that there are a lot of “legal” substances that have no business being in our food.


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I agree regarding things that shouldn’t be in our food. But as I said to mkaney, it should be our choice. I don’t buy (or at least try not to) anything with high fructose corn syrup or MSG (along with other things), I truly believe that they are bad for us. But millions want to buy them so fine, as long as the label says what’s in those things then I can choose not to buy them. No one should buy food without at least a basic knowledge of what’s in it.


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That is nonsense Typoqueen, the actual life expectancy of an adult has barely risen at all. In 1400-1500 A.D., a male living past 21 could had a life expectancy of 48 more years, to age 69. In 1500-1550 the same could expect to live until 71. What we have accomplished is prevention of childhood mortality, and a slight extension of the upper range. At all times, healthy people have lived to be very old.


If people just checked there many many assumptions, most of you would likely have very different opinions.


And indeed, for all intent and purpose, they ARE saying you can’t choose unpasteurized milk and raw food. Where exactly would one even buy that around here? So placing it against legal abortions to demonstrate perspective on legislative priorities is totally fair.


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I screwed up as I didn’t CCP the website. But what I found was that in 1900 the average life expectancy from birth was 49.2, in 1997 it was 76.5. Child mortality has raised the most but all life expectancies have increased even after birth.


Raw food is legal in Ca. Businesses can sell raw milk if they choose to label it correctly. If they choose not to sell it my guess would be that either 1, they don’t want to take the risk of someone catching a deadly bacteria or 2, there isn’t a market for it. With a quick Google I found a place in Santa Barbara that sells it. But if they wanted to Albertsons could legally sell it.


I still say the comparison to abortions is nuts. The difference between you and I (and I believe most people) is that we want to know what we are buying. We want our food labeled correctly. I check the labels on most of the food purchases that I buy. I want and feel that I have a right to know that what I’m reading is true and accurate. I want to know that I’m feeding my kids healthy food rather food laced with something that I feel is toxic. I do believe that most people feel that we need certain standards. Trusting that we are getting what we see on food labels is very important to us. If you don’t care about those things that’s fine but I feel that you are the minority. If the product is labeled correctly and it says that milk is laced with cyanide (perhaps extreme there) then fine, I don’t care just be honest and tell us what’s in it and let us make the choice to buy it or not.


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Hi, I am thinking of growing my own food and I just wanted to see if anybody had been raided by the police for it. I honestly can’t believe that when you type ‘police raid’ in google this is one of the top results. I thought I would at least have to do some digging (no joke intended). I know this only happened today but it makes me wonder a) How often people are arrested for producing something which they need to survive, on property they own and sharing it with their community and b) What motive is there for this insanity


In fairness pasteurisation doesnt actually involve antibiotics, and it is safer but that is a side issue to the civil liberties issue here. I am in the UK so maybe things are very different here but I just dont get how producing and consuming food can be illegal!


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It is far too common for sure, but that isn’t necessarily why it was at the top of your Google search. Google is increasingly using algorythms to determine your search habits and customize what it returns, which is misleading and inappropriate but it’s free, so oh well lol.


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http://www.acresusa.com/toolbox/reprints/Salatin_Sept03.pdf


A good read that ties right in, also get Pollan’s books, The Omnivores Dilemma


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I just picked up The Omnivores Dilemma to take on vacation. Looking forward to a good read. Had never heard of it until I saw it at the Library.


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wow, way to go police and DA. Use those precious tax dollars to protect me from the raw milk consumers.


And people wonder why our State is broke.


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This has to be a new all time low for law enforcement. Look out people they are getting closer to your rights now.


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Food seizures are happening in SLO County, though it hasn’t reached such a militant pitch.


If this is an issue important to you then contact the SLO County Ag Commissioner’s Office.


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I don’t get it. It was a club, *I* could not buy their products without joining/signing… so what exactly is the government’s beef? Call me crazy, but a bunch of raw foodies probably know more/better the risks and/or benefits involved than some licensing agency. Just a guess.


I might have to give the AG Commish’s office a jingle. Or drop by. I like showing up in person! Thanks for the tip, Russ!


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“Call me crazy” Oh goody, I love any excuse to call you crazy,,,YOU’RE CRAZY :)


Seriously though, Costco is also a club. Do I want to know that the labels on the food are giving me the correct info, you bet I do.


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