Statement by Ralph Nader on the Seizure of the South Central Farm in Los Angeles

On this day of infamy, an agrarian revival in the middle of urban impoverishment was stamped out by a developer whose price was met by the City of Los Angeles but whose obstinacy prevailed all the way to the bulldozers he hired to destroy the carefully cultivated little gardens.

The developer has acquired a 14 acre albatross. His destructive behavior is only the opening chapter in a struggle to reacquire this nationally famous demonstration of community self-reliance — the largest urban farm in America. Between the expected citizen mobilization and the pending legal actions, the developer will have a busy summer. Any corporation showing any interest in building a warehouse there will have to reassess the present valuation of its corporate trademarks and good will.