by 
For anyone that’s ever read books on oppressive regimes, this kind of thing should send shivers up your spine. In December of 2008, a SWAT team came in and raided the private home of family that was running the Manna Storehouse.
There were agents from the Department of Agriculture present, one of them identified as Bill Lesho. The search warrant is reportedly suspicious-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.
Why this is so alarming is that in the last year Congress has passed, and the President has signed into law, yet more controls on the food supply. It was thought that it could even start to be illegal to grow your own vegetables in your private garden. And yet while it didn’t get to be that severe, there were cases of those that grew their own food that could not sell the excess—either because of business taxes or food control.
I understand the dilemma—we want to make sure that the food people eat is safe. However, when you start to give up all your decision making—all risk—to the government, you are giving up your freedom.
And that’s a scary thing indeed.
