Whole Foods Squelches Free Speech in Sebastopol

WHOLE FOODS MARKET MANAGER ARRESTS
INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED FOOD JUSTICE ADVOCATE

Mill Valley, California (November 19, 2019) - Food Empowerment Project
Founder and Executive Director Lauren Ornelas was arrested by Whole Foods
Market on November 16, 2014, for handing out educational pamphlets in front
of Whole Foods Market (WFM) in Sebastopol, California. The store manager had
complained to police, and when the officer did not make the arrest, the
manager chose to make a citizen's arrest.

Ms. Ornelas was a participant in a peaceful, legal protest by longtime Whole
Foods Market shoppers and animal advocates as part of a national boycott
asking WFM to stop the sale of domestic rabbit meat-a new item recently added
to the WFM meat case.

Ms. Ornelas, who runs a vegan food justice non-profit and has been vegan for
over 26 years, said after her arrest, "The Whole Foods Market manager had me
arrested because they don't want their customers to know about their bunny
'meat.' WFM does not need to be responsible for the deaths of even more
animals." Margo DeMello, President of House Rabbit Society, adds, "Whole
Foods Market has consistently hidden behind their wholly inadequate 'humane
standards' and unsubstantiated claims of customer demands when rolling out
their new bunny meat program. They have also chosen to source their rabbits
from Iowa--an Ag-Gag state that does not allow outside verifications of
conditions and standards. Whole Foods is attempting to create a demand for
bunny meat and is not being transparent about how these animals lived and
died."

https://www.waccobb.net/forums/wacco...3_20-00-32.png

The Rabbit Advocacy Network, an international coalition of organizations,
animal lovers, and activists led by Mill Valley's SaveABunny and Richmond's
House Rabbit Society, has been protesting WFM's June 2014 decision to begin
selling bunny meat--the country's third most beloved furry companion animal.
In response, WFM has replied with form letters promoting their humane
standards, has blocked social media users from posting comments about bunny
meat, and has deleted negative customer feedback on WFM's Facebook pages.

Marcy Berman-Schaaf, the Founder and Executive Director of SaveABunny, Inc,
a San Francisco Bay area-based nonprofit rabbit rescue and adoption center,
says, "New Zealand white rabbits are a gentle, loving, docile breed often
referred to as the 'golden retrievers' of bunnies. They are as intelligent
and sensitive as cats and dogs, can use a litter box like a cat, and live
with millions of Americans as beloved family members. We expected better
community values from Whole Foods Market."

Ms. Ornelas' leafleting activity in front of the store was legal, in
accordance with the Supreme Court ruling Pruneyard Shopping Center v. Robins
(1980), which established that, in California, private shopping centers
become de facto public space when it comes to the exercise of an
individual's free speech rights, and California Supreme Court ruling Ralphs
Grocery Company v. United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 8 (2012),
which narrowed Pruneyard to those areas which are designed to encourage
shoppers to congregate and relax, like the Sebastopol Whole Foods Market's
outdoor seating area.

Arresting a peaceful protester who was exercising her constitutionally
protected free speech rights reinforces the fact that Whole Foods Market has
something serious to hide in their rabbit meat program.

For further information, visit <https://www.rabbitadvocacynetwork.org>
www.rabbitadvocacynetwork.org

False imprisonment is the unlawful restraint of a person without consent or legal justification. False imprisonment can be committed by words, acts, or by both[i]. The common law tort of false imprisonment is defined as an unlawful restraint of an individual’s personal liberty or freedom of movement[ii]. In order to constitute the wrong it is not necessary that the individual be actually confined or assaulted[iii].

More at:
https://falseimprisonment.uslegal.co...-imprisonment/

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Posted in reply to the post by wisewomn:

WHOLE FOODS MARKET MANAGER ARRESTS
INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED FOOD JUSTICE ADVOCATE

Mill Valley, California (November 19, 2019) - Food Empowerment Project
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Whether you agree with the arrested protester or not, I suggest that anyone who shops at Whole Foods learn more about this company, where its foods come from, how it operates and who it supports. Information is out there and is yours to discover. (Full disclosure: I do not shop at Whole Foods.)

It is about time, indeed, it is overdue to boycott Whole Foods. These people are phonies. They misrepresent the truth and on plenty of occasions have sold products based on either a gross exaggeration, a deception, a half truth, or a downright lie.

Furthermore, the owner is a publicly declared enemy of government sponsored healthcare of any kind, including the Affordable Care Act. He needs to go down, along with all these shingles he's hung out to bait the public that he has gotten filthy rich off of while at the same time stepping on our feet, taking advantage of people's gullibility, and now using Mafia tactics.

SHOP AT COMMUNITY MARKET INSTEAD!!!

Community Market also has a new store in Sebastopol. It opened earlier this year and it kicks a** on W.F. We need to support our local communities and not allow large corporate networks like W.F. leech huge sums of money from us. They take the money we have given them and use it for purposes that might be unsustainable, or support unfair trade practices either here or in other countries, and make political donations that put the wrong people in power who later hurt us and our communities.

Community Market slogan:

FOOD FOR PEOPLE,
NOT FOR PROFIT!
Since 1975.
A family of workers committed to serving our community.

just spoke with Colin, manager at sebastopol whole foods, who just confirmed story below.for more information about the WF policy, he suggested calling the legal department 510 428-7400let us know results if any. best, jude

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Posted in reply to the post by wisewomn:

WHOLE FOODS MARKET MANAGER ARRESTS INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED FOOD JUSTICE ADVOCATE...

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Is this post present time or a tale of the future? ... I suggest an edit.... :Yinyangv:

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Posted in reply to the post by wisewomn:

WHOLE FOODS MARKET MANAGER ARRESTS
INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED FOOD JUSTICE ADVOCATE

Mill Valley, California (November 19, 2019) - ...

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Tastes like chicken!

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Posted in reply to the post by authenticeye:

Is this post present time or a tale of the future? ... I suggest an edit.... :Yinyangv:

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