FEATURES 

• New Choices in Dental Implants Michael Baylin, DDS, provides new information
• Dental Cavitation Surgery Louisa Williams, ND, explains all the important details
• A GAPS Case Study Natasha Campbell-McBride, MD, describes the harm from modern dental procedures

DEPARTMENTS

• President’s Message: Dental Issues
• Letters: Letters to the Editor of Wise Traditions
• Caustic Commentary: Sally Fallon Morell takes on the Diet Dictocrats
• Know Your Fats: Sally Fallon Morell presents findings on trans fats
• Homeopathy Journal: Joette Calabrese describes homeopathic treatments for dental problems
• All Thumbs Book Reviews
  • Thumbs Up
    • What About Immunizations?
    • Son of a Farmer, Child of the Earth
    • The Gall Bladder Survival Guide
    • Secrets of How to Feel Twenty Years Younger
    • Radical Medicine
    • Poisoned for Profit
    • Folks, This Ain't Normal!
• Tim's DVD Reviews
  • Thumbs Up
    • American Meat
    • Pure Bread Sourdough
  • Thumbs Down
    • Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead

• Growing Wise Kids: Jen Allbritton explains what to do when time is tight
• Food Feature: Sally Fallon Morell reports on the offal cookoff
• Soy Alert: Kaayla Daniel describes sulfur deficits of plant-based diets
• Legislative Update: Judith McGeary on looming animal ID regulations
• A Campaign for Real Milk: 
  • The Walkerton Dairy Herd Association
  • Getting Raw Milk Out of the Line of Fire in Minnesota: A Call to Action
  • Why Pasteurization?
  • Real Milk Updates, Winter 2011
• Healthy Baby Gallery: More Wise Traditions babies!
  

President’s Message

Dr. Weston Price carried out his monumental nutrition study by looking at teeth. When he found a population group with excellent dental health, that is, freedom from dental decay and absence of dental deformities, he felt safe in assuming that the overall health of the population was also excellent.

To borrow a phrase from Sandrine Hahn's Nourishing Our Children campaign, "The teeth tell the tale." Well formed dentition is a sign that the nutrition during the formative years was excellent, and that the whole body is likely to be sturdy and well-proportioned, with strong resistence to disease.

Dental caries and infections are not only a sign of poor nutrition, they are also a cause of health problems in other parts of the body; to make matters worse, dental materials such as mercury-based amalgam fillings and titanium implants create additional problems, from outgassing of mercury in the mouth to energy-sapping galvanic currents.

This issue is devoted to solving some of the knottier dental problems, starting with some encouraging letters from our readers. Their experience confirms that the first step in addressing poor dental health is a nutrient-dense diet. Such a diet really can help stop infection and even heal tooth decay—something conventional dentistry says is impossible.Then we focus on fixing the problems that ensue from inappropriate dental materials or poorly done dental surgery that leaves cavitations in the jaw. We learn about new zirconium implants and the best techniques for cavitation surgery. And we follow a case study in which careful removal of amalgam fillings was key to the steady recovery from numerous health problems.

For those who attended Wise Traditions 2011, thank you for being there! And for those who could not attend, we missed you! Recordings of all the conference presentations are available from Fleetwood Recordings, through a link on the home page of www.westonaprice.org. We will reproduce the plenary presentations in the next issue of Wise Traditions. Suffice it to say, our 12th annual conference was a learning experience for all, not to mention a great way to network and see old friends.

As the year draws to a close, I wish especially to thank the wonderful staff at the Weston A. Price Foundation—who keep the phones answered, mailings timely and books balanced; who do research and write articles; and who present a cheerful and well-informed face to a public hungry for reliable information. Staff members join me in wishing all of our members a wonderful holiday and a new year filled with prosperity and good health.

Pete Kennedy gave an update on what is happening at the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund. Currently their main case involves the interstate ban on raw milk sales. The Raw Milk Freedom Riders succeeded in getting the FDA to clarify their position on crossing state lines with raw milk. The FDA now says it has no intent to prosecute individuals crossing state lines with raw milk. Since that seems to contradict their previous stand and previous legal position, the court is now asking the FDA to clarify their clarification. In other news, FTCLDF is planning to launch podcasts soon.

Roy Walkenhorst was up next to talk about his PBS series Healing Quest. In 2012 the series will be featuring the Weston A. Price Foundation in several episodes. One of the general themes will be how to stay healthy without falling down the pharmaceutical rathole.

Sarah Pope has produced several excellent videos for the WAPF website and she updated the leaders on what is still to come. Sandrine Hahn gave updates on her Nourishing Our Children project and announced a new project called Nourishing Our Cells.

John Moody, an active chapter leader in Kentucky, spoke next. He manages a buying club that handles around half a million dollars worth of healthy food per year. He has produced a food club and co-op handbook that is available on his website (www.foodclubsandcoops.com). He gave a number of pointers on running a food club and on how to bring down prices. A very important point about running such a subversive operation is how to be ready for trouble. As Pete Kennedy found out earlier by a show of hands, most chapter leaders are members of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund. John is one and has made good use of that membership. Two great questions to ask if you are raided are: Do you have a warrant? and Do you want to speak to my attorney? Those two questions can be a real buzzkill for raiders. You should also be ready and expect laptops to be confiscated.

Judith McGeary went over the latest news on a new animal ID initiative that will be harder to fight than NAIS because it is more subtle. They are planning to federalize existing state programs. They are trying to make some regulations more palatable by only applying them to animals crossing state lines. The catch is, if you buy chicks from out of state, which most small poultry farmers do, the regulations will apply. The same goes for cattle. The FDA is currently in the rule-making process for food safety and reinspection fees are one of the more onerous impositions being debated, especially for small farmers.

The Weston A. Price message is being taken to the middle schools by Kathy Niflin. She is teaching kids and their parents how to read labels. There is also a shortcut. If it has a label, it probably isn’t good for you. She has even shown raw milk to school children and nobody got hurt. She is planning to branch out to colleges, FFA and 4H.

After a very tasty lunch, the participants broke up into focus groups on middle school outreach, Healing Quest, Animal ID, Buying clubs, Nourishing Our Children, La Leche and breastfeeding alternatives, and a brainstorming session on next year’s conference in Santa Clara, California. You won’t want to miss it.

This article appeared in Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts, the quarterly magazine of the Weston A. Price Foundation, Winter 2011.

About the Reviewer

[authorbio:boyd-tim]

The problem is that we don’t have a functioning free market system where the act of being a consumer is enough to drive change. In the idealized market system, the sellers of goods—in this case, food—respond to consumers’ buying decisions by providing the goods the buyers want. But the idealized market system assumes many things, including the free flow of accurate information and numerous sellers in competition with each other, so that the buyers can exercise informed choices. Looking at the food system as a whole in this country, neither of these conditions is met. So we need people to be citizens, not just consumers. The easiest way to be a citizen, rather than just a consumer, is to sign up for email alerts and act on them. (If you are not getting email action alerts from WAPF, please contact the office and we will make sure that you do.) You can also help educate your community by talking with your friends and co-workers about these issues, and encouraging them to become involved.

The next step is to develop an ongoing relationship with your legislators. Call and talk with their staffers about how important food issues are to you, and invite them to visit your farm (or, if you’re not a farmer, make arrangements with a local farmer). Meeting with your legislators in person is a very powerful way to put a face to the issue and impress upon them the significance of food issues to their constituents.

Becoming an activist can be a daunting task, and many people don’t know where to start. But you don’t have to do any of this alone. WAPF has resources to help you, including recordings of the conference session on effective activism, available at www.fleetwoodonsite.com/index.php?cPath=40_307.

To see the latest action alerts from the Weston A. Price Foundation, visit http://www. westonaprice.org/2011-action-alerts.

FDA CONSIDERS FEES ON SMALL BUSINESSES

The issue of “food safety” has been, and will continue to be, one of the major challenges on the policy front. At the national level, FDA is continuing the process of implementing the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). This fall, the agency requested public comments on the issues of the fees to be imposed for re-inspections. The FSMA directed the agency to recover the costs of re-inspections through user fees. In theory, this makes sense: with the government struggling with funding, businesses that fail to pass inspection “should” pay the costs. The problems start, however, when that theory is applied by the FDA. The first issue is when the fees would be imposed. Given the morass of laws and regulations that govern food production, it is almost always possible for an agency to find something wrong at a facility. But that violation may have nothing to do with whether or not the food is safe. In its comments to the agency, WAPF urged FDA to impose re-inspection fees only when there is a violation that poses a “credible risk of serious illness or injury to the public” during the initial inspection. The second issue is the total cost. Astonishingly, the FDA calculated that it would need to charge $224 per hour to cover the costs of its re-inspection program. The charges would apply to all of the time spent preparing for an inspection, traveling and writing reports, in addition to the re-inspection itself. Not only does that rate reflect exorbitant costs by the agency, but the application of an hourly rate creates an incentive for even more inefficiencies. For example, an hourly fee encourages agency officials to utilize multiple inspectors when only one may be needed.

With this high hourly rate, the fees for reinspection could easily total several tens of thousands of dollars. Such fees would quickly drive many small businesses out of business. In addition, by charging an hourly fee based on travel time, the agency would impose a significant penalty on rural businesses simply because of where they are located.

As stated in WAPF’s comments: At a time when Congress is debating how to reduce the regulatory burdens on small businesses, it is wholly counter-productive for the agency to create a fee structure that makes it impossible for a small business to survive a simple re-inspection. In contrast, large businesses are more able to absorb additional costs and already have a competitive advantage due to economies of scale. The fee provisions under FSMA should not be applied in a way that favors, yet again, large businesses over small. By adopting the Tester-Hagan amendment to the FSMA, Congress recognized that businesses that gross under five hundred thousand dollars annually (to be adjusted for inflation) are in a special category. Given the small profit margins many such businesses have, any fees imposed by FDA could be destructive. Congress also recognized that businesses that sell directly to consumers are accountable to their customers through an efficient, transparent system that cannot be duplicated by government regulation or inspections. Even as the businesses grow, a bill for several tens of thousands of dollars for a reinspection would be prohibitively expensive. The Small Business Administration (SBA) uses a range of definition for what constitutes a “small business” in the field of agriculture and food. For food manufacturing, SBA generally provides that businesses qualify as “small” when they have between five hundred and one thousand employees, depending on the precise industry classification. (See http://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/Size_Standards_Table.pdf Subsector 311.) In order to pay that many employees’ wages in addition to the facility and input costs, these businesses presumably have a gross income of several tens of millions of dollars. While this amount may not seem small, it is understandable in the context of the food industry, in which the dominant companies have gross incomes in the billions of dollars.

After discussing all of these factors, WAPF recommended in its comments to FDA that fees should be completely waived for facilities grossing under half a million dollars annually (adjusted for inflation) and significantly reduced, on a tiered basis, for facilities grossing up to twenty-five million dollars annually. WAPF also urged measures such as capping total fees, waiving fees for travel time, and providing additional reductions or exemptions for facilities that sell directly to consumers.

THE FIGHT AGAINST GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS ENTERS A NEW PHASE

While FDA spends significant resources regulating small producers selling to willing consumers, it continues to shelter the real offenders against food safety: companies selling genetically modified (GM) foods to consumers who don’t even realize what they’re eating. In the 1990s, at the urging of the companies who stood to make a fortune from their patented products, the FDA found that GM crops were “substantially equivalent” to non-GM crops, allowing them to be introduced into the food chain without labeling and leaving consumers in the dark about what they are eating. This finding of substantial equivalence is absurd. If there truly were no significant differences, then the companies could not have gotten patents. Moreover, research in the years since has thoroughly disproven this fiction. Study after study shows allergic responses and worse from eating GM crops (to read just a few, go to www. farmandranchfreedom.org/gmo). The Center for Food Safety has filed a formal petition with FDA to require labeling of foods made with genetically modified organisms (GMOs) as ingredients. Over three hundred organizations are supporting the effort, and, as of the time this article went to press, over three hundred fifty thousand comments had been submitted to FDA in support of the petition.

TAKE ACTION: Tell FDA that you want them to require labeling! You can submit comments multiple ways:

ONLINE: www.regulations.gov/#!submitComment;D=FDA-2011-P-0723-0001 FAX: 301-827-6870

MAIL: Division of Dockets Management, Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061, HFA-305, Rockville, MD 20852

You must include the docket number at the top of your comments: FDA-2011-P-0723

The other major news on the fight against GMOs comes from California. In November, a ballot initiative that would require the labeling of all genetically modified foods sold in California was submitted to the Attorney General’s office. If enough petition signatures are collected, the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act will be on the California ballot in November 2012. The Wise Traditions conference this year included the most up-to-date information on GMOs and their health effects, presented by Howard Vlieger. A recording is available at http://www.fleetwoodonsite.com/index.php?cPath=40_307. As the fight against GMOs gain traction, it is vital to spread this information to as many people as possible.

Animal ID

Having dropped the plans for the National Animal Identification System (NAIS), USDA is back again for Round Two. In August 2011, the agency proposed a rule that imposes costs and paperwork burdens on farmers, ranchers, backyard poultry owners, sale barns, vets, and state agencies in order to track animals that cross state lines. Though less sweeping than the NAIS, the proposed animal traceability rule is still burdensome. In particular, the proposed rule would require individual tagging of poultry that cross state lines, except for the birds that belong to factory farms. This will cause problems for people who order day-old chicks from out-of-state hatcheries, go to live bird markets, or use a slaughterhouse across state lines. The proposed rule also requires that all cows crossing state lines be identified and accompanied by a certificate of veterinary inspection. Moreover, vets and sale barns will have to keep records on all the cows for five years, long after most of the animals will have gone to slaughter.

Fundamentally, like NAIS, the proposed rule is a solution in search of a problem. The USDA has again failed to identify the specific problem or disease of concern, and the real focus of the program is helping the export market for the benefit of a handful of large corporations.

Along with other organizations, WAPF sent out an alert urging people to submit comments. Thanks to the hundreds of WAPF members who responded! The public comment period ended on December 9, and now we await USDA’s response.

This article appeared in Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts, the quarterly journal of the Weston A. Price Foundation, Winter 2011.

About the Author

[authorbio:mcgeary-judith]

Yet “everyone knows” plant-based diets prevent heart disease. Indeed this myth is repeated so often that massive numbers of educated, health-conscious individuals in first world countries are consciously adopting third world style diets in the hope of preventing disease, optimizing health and maximizing longevity. But if the WHO statistics are correct, plant-based diets might not be protective at all. And today’s fashionable experiment in veganism could end very badly indeed.

HOMOCYSTEINE AND HEART DISEASE

A study published in the August 26, 2001 issue of the journal Nutrition makes a strong case against plant-based diets for prevention of heart disease. The title alone, “Vegetarianism produces subclinical malnutrition, hyperhomocysteinemia and atherogenesis,” sounds a significant warning. The article establishes why subjects who eat mostly vegetarian diets develop morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular disease unrelated to vitamin B status and Framingham criteria.

Co-author Kilmer S. McCully, MD, “Father of the Homocysteine Theory of Heart Disease,” is familiar to WAPF members as a winner of the Linus Pauling Award, WAPF’s Integrity in Science Award, and author of numerous articles published in peer-reviewed journals as well as the popular books The Homocysteine Revolution and The Heart Revolution. In 2009 Dr. McCully was one of the signers of the Weston A. Price Foundation’s petition to the FDA in which we asked the agency to retract its unwarranted 1999 soy/heart disease health claim. (See www.westonaprice.org/soy-alert/soy-heart-health-claim.)

Dr. McCully teamed up with Yves Ingenbleek, MD, of Université Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg, France, which funded the research. Dr. Ingenbleek is well known for his work on malnutrition, the essential role sulfur plays along with nitrogen in metabolism, and sulfur deficiency as a cause of hyperhomocysteinemia.

The study took place in Chad, and involved twenty-four rural male subjects ages eighteen to thirty, and fifteen urban male controls, ages eighteen to twenty-nine. (Women in this region of Chad could not be studied because of their animistic beliefs and proscriptions against collecting their urine.)

The rural men were apparently healthy, physically active farmers with good lipid profiles. Their staple foods included cassava, sweet potatoes, beans, millet and ground nuts. Cassava leaves, cabbages and carrots provided good levels of carotenes, folates and pyridoxine (B₆). The rural Chadian diet is plant-based because of a shortage of grazing lands and livestock, but subjects occasionally consume some B₁₂-containing foods, mostly poultry and eggs, though very little dairy or meat. Their diet could be described as high carb, high fiber, low in both protein and fat, and low in the sulfur-containing amino acids. In brief, this diet is the very one recommended by many of today’s nutritional “experts” for overall good health and heart disease prevention.

The urban controls were likewise healthy and ate a similar diet, but with beef, smoked fish and canned or powdered milk regularly on the menus. Their diet was thus higher in protein, fat and the sulfur-containing amino acids, though roughly equivalent in calories.

Dr. McCully’s research over the past forty years on the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis has shown the role of homocysteine in free radical damage and the protective effect of vitamins B₆, B₁₂ and folate. Indeed, many doctors today recommend taking this trio of B vitamins as an inexpensive heart disease “insurance policy.”

In Chad, both groups showed adequate levels of B6 and folate. The B₁₂ levels of the vegetarian group were lower, but the difference was only of “borderline significance.” However, as the researchers point out, “A previous study undertaken in the same Chadian area in a larger group of sixty rural participants did demonstrate a weak inverse correlation between B₁₂ and homocysteine concentrations in the twenty subjects most severely protein depleted . . . It is therefore likely that the hyperhomocysteinemia status of some of our rural subjects in the present survey might have resulted from combined B₁₂ and protein deficiencies. The correlation of B₁₂ deficiency with hyperhomocysteinemia could well reach statistical significance if a larger group of subjects were studied.”

ANIMAL PROTEIN AND SULFUR

Clearly it’s wise for people on plant-based diets to supplement their diets with B₁₂, but protein malnutrition must also be addressed. And the issue is not just getting enough protein to eat, but the right kind. The bottom line is we must eat protein rich in bioavailable, sulfur-containing amino acids—and that means animal products. Vegans at this point will surely claim the issue is insufficient protein and trot out soy as the solution. Soy is indeed a complete plant-based protein, but notoriously low in methionine. It does contain decent levels of cysteine, but the cysteine is bound up in protease inhibitors, making it largely biounavailable. (For more information, read my book The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America’s Favorite Health Food, endorsed by Dr. McCully, as well as our petition to the FDA noted above.)

So what did Drs. Ingenbleek and McCully find among the study group of protein-deficient people? Higher levels of homocysteine, of course. Also significant alterations in body composition, lean body mass, body mass index and plasma transthyretin levels. In plain English, the near-vegetarian subjects were thinner, with poorer muscle tone, and showed subclinical signs of protein malnutrition. (So much for popular ideas of extreme thinness being healthy.)

The plant-based diet of the study group was low in all of the sulfur-containing amino acids. As would be expected, labwork on these men showed lower plasma cysteine and glutathione levels compared to the controls. Methionine levels, however, tested comparably. The explanation for this is “adaptive response.” In brief, mammals trying to function with insufficient sulfur-containing amino acids will do whatever is necessary to survive. Given the essential role of methionine in metabolic processes, that means deregulating the transsulfuration pathway, increasing homocysteine levels, and methylating homocysteine to make methionine.

Ultimately, it all boils down to our need for sulfur. As Stephanie Seneff, PhD, and many others have written in Wise Traditions and on the WAPF website, sulfur is vital for disease prevention and maintenance of good health. In terms of heart disease, Drs. Ingenbleek and McCully have shown sulfur deficiency not only leads to high homocysteine levels, but is the likeliest reason some clinical trials using B₆, B₁₂ and folate interventions have proved ineffective for the prevention of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Over the past few years, headlines from such studies have led to widespread dismissal of Dr. McCully’s “Homocysteine Theory of Heart Disease” and renewed media focus on cholesterol, C-reactive protein and other possible culprits that can be treated by statins and other profitable drugs. In contrast, the research of Drs. McCully and Ingenbleek suggests we can better prevent heart disease with three inexpensive B vitamins and traditional diets rich in the sulfur-containing amino acids found in animal foods.

In the blaze of publicity surrounding the video Forks Over Knives and other blasts of vegan propaganda, few people are likely to hear about this study. That’s sad, for it provides an important missing piece in our knowledge of heart disease development, a strong argument against the plant-based dietary fad, and a bright new chapter in what the New York Times has called “The Fall and Rise of Kilmer McCully.”

This article appeared in Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts, the quarterly journal of the Weston A. Price Foundation, Winter 2011.

About the Author

[authorbio:daniel-kaayla]

TEAM 1: ORGAN MEAT RAGOUT

Representing Virginia and Maryland, Chef Pedro Matamoros of 8407 Kitchen Bar, Silver Spring, Maryland and Elaine Boland of Fields of Athenry Farm, Purcellville, Virginia prepared Chef Pedro’s & Elaine’s Ragout, "Down and Dirty Makes You Flirty – Pumped with Iron Helps You Run Your Siren!

Ingredients included beef heart and tongue, ox tail, beef liver, lamb liver, heart and kidneys, vegetables, tomato paste and herbs.

TEAM 2: FALSTER'S HACKEPETER

Representing Texas, Chef Nancy G. Falster, Southern Grace Personal Chef Service, Winnsboro, Texas and Karl E. Falster, Sr., Falster Farm and Miniature Cattle Ranch, Winnsboro, Texas, prepared a traditional German raw meat dish called Hackepeter. Falster Farm beef, liver and heart were being brought together in a delicious and natural concoction with rare German flair.

Nancy Falster of Falster Farm - Mini Cattle Ranch,
Winnsboro, Texas, not only prepared the delicious
Hackepeter, but also prepared sprouted cinnamon rolls,
and sprouted biscuits and sausage gravy for the Farmto-
Consumer Legal Defense Fund breakfast fundraiser.

INGREDIENTS

4 pounds grass finished, ground steak
2 pounds grass-fed beef liver, ground
2 pounds grass-fed beef heart, ground
4 whole farm fresh eggs lard or butter or 1/4 pound pancetta (to sauté veggies)
3 sweet onions, preferably organic
6 carrots, preferably organic
8 cloves garlic, preferably organic
1 cup spinach basil pesto (recipe follows)
1/2 cup chopped fresh oregano
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley sea salt and pepper to taste

For pesto:
2 cups organic baby spinach
2 cups organic basil leaves
6 cloves garlic
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Mix the meats and let the blood drain. (Note: you can cut the liver in strips and soak it in lemon juice a couple of hours before grinding.) Keep meats in fridge, chilled.

Fine chop the veggies, by hand or with pulse on processor. Using the fats or pancetta, sauté the vegetables and the fresh chopped herbs gently to sweat. Add seasonings. Allow the vegetables to cool completely, draining through a colander to remove excess juices.

While vegetables cool, make your pesto: Using food processor chop spinach, basil leaves and garlic. Slowly add extra virgin olive oil to make a paste, adding additional olive oil if necessary to thin the paste. Add parmesan cheese and pulse until blended. Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking.

Mix the meats with eggs, cooled vegetables and pesto. Toss with clean hands to make sure to mix it really well. Press into a container (such as a ring mold or shallow bowl) to form the desired shape and chill until very cold. Use lettuce or parsley as decorative garnish and enjoy with any number of “picker-uppers,” such as endive leaves, sourdough toast or good quality crackers.

TEAM 3: CHICKEN LIVER PATÉ

Also representing Texas, Mike and Connie Hale of Windy Meadows Family Farm, Campbell, Texas presented Windy Meadows Pastured Chicken Liver Paté. The offering was dedicated to the memory of Mrs. Betty Williams, of Tyler, Texas, a very strong supporter of the Weston A. Price Foundation for many years.

INGREDIENTS

1 pound pastured chicken livers, trimmed of white fibers and cut into quarters
1 large onion, chopped
1 pound mushrooms, sliced
1 stick butter
1 teaspoon dill weed
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon finely crushed dried rosemary
1 large minced garlic clove
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2/3 cup white cooking wine
8 ounces cultured cream or cream cheese
sea salt to taste
cayenne pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Sauté livers, onion and mushrooms in butter in a pan until onions and mushrooms have softened and livers are no longer pink. Add dill, dry mustard, rosemary, garlic, lemon juice and white wine. Simmer until liquid is somewhat reduced, then remove from heat. Combine and blend with cultured cream or cream cheese until as smooth as possible in a blender, in smaller batches if necessary. Season to taste with sea salt and cayenne pepper.

Pour into a serving container or lined mold, cover and chill overnight. Paté will firm up when cooled. Unmold, smooth with a butter knife or offset spatula, garnish, and serve with red pepper wedges, cucumber slices, whole grain crackers or sourdough toast. The paté can be frozen, but may “weep” on defrosting.

Becca Griffith proudly displays her award
winning Mini Pork Bliss Terrines.

TEAM 4: PORK BLISS TERRINES

Representing Minnesota and Wisconsin Becca Griffith, Weston A. Price Foundation Member from Minneapolis, Minnesota and Randy and Lynn Anderson of Anderson Farm, Arkansaw, Wisconsin prepared the winning entry, Mini Pork Bliss Terrines, "Where every bite is offally hearty."

INGREDIENTS

2 pounds ground pastured pork
2 pounds heart, kidney and livers
1/4 cup lard
1 egg
1 1/2 tablespoon coarse sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons apple powder*
1/4 cup crispy almonds, ground into a coarse flour
1 onion, minced
9 dates, minced
1 package gelatin (or 2 1/2 teaspoons), soaked in 1/4 cup water

SPICE MIX

Pinch of the following:
Allspice
Basil
Black Pepper, freshly cracked
Cayenne
Coriander
Fennel
Garlic Powder
Mustard, ground
Onion Powder
Oregano
Paprika, Smoked
Sage
Thyme

INSTRUCTIONS

In a small bowl, soak gelatin powder in water and set aside. In a food processor, blend organ meat mixture (note: it is better if you have more heart and kidney than liver) with a half portion of the ground pork, half of the spice blend, all of the lard, egg, nutmeg, salt, pepper, garlic and apple powder. Transfer contents from the food processor to a large bowl or bowl of an electric mixer and add remaining ground pork, ground crispy almonds, onion, dates and soaked gelatin powder and mix by hand or machine until well combined. Place into mini-muffin tins just to the rim. Cover each muffin tin pan with parchment paper. Bake at 320 degrees F for 20-22 minutes. Remove from oven, and cool for approximately one hour. Loosen each mini terrine, but keep in tins. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Serve chilled or at room temperature. These also freeze well.

*Note on apple powder: Dehydrate honeycrisp apples and then powder in a Vitamix. Chef Becca added the apple powder as an experiment, to serve as a binder after her first recipe modification had flopped. The apple powder seemed to change the texture and really enhance the flavor.

AWARD WINNING CONFERENCE FOOD
Voted Conference Menu of the year by the Journal of Living Food (http://journal.
http://journal.livingfood.us/2011/11/10/menu-of-the-year-award-live-feed-from-top-food-andhealth-conference-2/), the meals at the conference were delicious, as always. Pictured above, chef and food coordinator Monica Corrado. Below, traditional all-raw conference cheesecake and conference food was enjoyed by all ages.

This article appeared in Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts, the quarterly magazine of the Weston A. Price Foundation, Winter 2011.

About the Authors

[authorbio:fallon-morell-sally]

As time marches on, I enjoy the various phases, stages, and changes life brings. And in this ebb and flow, there have been times when I haven’t been able to live out my ideal as food provider to my family. Let’s face it, nourishing a family with traditional food practices—procuring and preparing ingredients of superb quality—can be a nearly full-time job in itself, not to mention costly. Throw kiddos who are not accustomed to real foods into the mix, and it can be quite the adventure! Where is the middle ground, the compromise of doing the best by your family and avoiding battles? How can families eat foods they enjoy, yet still supply their bodies with life-imparting nutrients? And don’t forget about tight schedules, which make things even stickier. There are still ways to make wise choices without giving in and rolling through the closest drive-thru just to survive the day.

IS THIS YOU?

A friend of mine is raising four lovely, thriving children who are active in sports and clubs that keep the family so on-the-go that meals together are hard to schedule. Another mom I know works hard in the kitchen to prepare nourishing foods but is run ragged with her life’s responsibilities. Moreover, when it comes time for her family to sit down and eat, the kids balk at her creations. Perhaps you can recognize another friend who came to traditional foods later in life when her children were older and less than receptive, making changes surrounding food a tedious chore. Everyone has a story.

I don’t claim to have walked in anyone else’s shoes, but I do know that each family must find its own balance and flow in life, including the areas of food and wellness education. The evidence that supports the acts of preparing food and instilling its value into children is clear; the more they know and appreciate the hows and whys of food, the better equipped they’ll be to live fully with highly functioning brains, vital bodies and steady emotions.

What helps me make food a priority in my family is keeping life simple. This looks different from one family to the next, but the idea remains the same. It is implementing this simplicity that is the tricky part. Can something be changed to allow for more time in the kitchen? Schedules trimmed? Allowing only one sport or club per child each semester? How well can you get to know your crockpot? Can a social volunteer position be given to someone else for a season? There are many possible choices, but a different answer for everyone.

SACRED GATHERING

Molly Wizenberg, blogger and author, reminisces about her family’s dinners growing up in A Homemade Life. “It was the steady rhythm of meeting in the kitchen every night, sitting down at the table, and sharing a meal. Dinner didn’t come through a swinging door, balanced on the arm of an anonymous waiter: it was something that we made together. We built our family that way—in the kitchen, seven nights a week. We built a life for ourselves, together around that table.”¹

Wizenberg’s sentiments hit home for me, weaving delicious food into everyday life that unites my family. This means that all things “food” take up a big part of my day: buying, preparing, cleaning, planning (which might include a little creative flare), researching recipes and food experimentation, setting a welcoming and fun table, and thinking up ways to include my children in the whole process. Oh, and I can’t forget having the mental room left to remember to pull out the red “You Are Special” plate when one of my boys has done something extraordinary! This encompasses my food objectives, minus the wind-blown, easily-flustered Mommy rushed from an over-scheduled, busy day.

These food-focused undertakings support what I believe to be a fundamental real-food truth: it does more than nourish our physical bodies, it also feeds our souls. Connecting around a table ties our heartstrings to family and friends alike and provides those increasingly precious opportunities to engage in good old-fashioned face-to-face conversations.

Time magazine published a piece, “The Magic of the Family Meal,” wherein author Nancy Gibbs asserts, “. . . there is something about a shared meal—not some holiday blowout, not once in a while but regularly, reliably—that anchors a family even on nights when the food is fast and the talk cheap and everyone has someplace else they'd rather be. And on those evenings when the mood is right and the family lingers, caught up in an idea or an argument explored in a shared safe place where no one is stupid or shy or ashamed, you get a glimpse of the power of this habit. . .”²

The benefits achieved from consistent family meals come by way of teaching kids civility, bestowing wise judgment, and imparting core family values. Experts on the subject of adolescent development have found through studying this table-centered practice that the more often families share a meal, the more likely children are to choose to eat vegetables, maintain a healthy weight, and do better in school. In fact, a report from Columbia University states, “Compared to teens who have five to seven family dinners per week, those who have fewer than three family dinners per week are nearly twice as likely to report receiving mostly C’s or lower grades in school.”³

Children who experience shared family meals are also less likely to eat trans fats, drink sodas, develop eating disorders, smoke, abuse alcohol and take drugs.⁴ Those youngsters gathering at the table with their parents at least five times a week are two times less likely to use tobacco or to drink alcohol and one-and-one-half times less likely to smoke marijuana.⁵

Anthropologist Robin Fox, who teaches at Rutgers University in New Jersey, brings a historical perspective to family meals. He asserts that food is too easy to come by these days, giving a lesser sense of significance to a once sacred event. Fox says, “When we had to grow the corn and fight off predators, meals included a serving of gratitude. It's like the American Indians. When they killed a deer, they said a prayer over it. That is civilization. It is an act of politeness over food. Fast food has killed this. We have reduced eating to sitting alone and shoveling it in. There is no ceremony in it."⁶

The act of building ceremony around meals is as nourishing to our loved ones as the traditional foods we strive to serve; it is part of raising well-rounded, compassionate children that grow into adults who make wise choices for a fruitful and enjoyable life.

MAKE FAMILY MEALS WORK, SOMEHOW, SOMEWHERE

Does the idea of dinner conjure up a vision of the 1950s mom, dressed to the nines, from her lipstick to stiletto heels? Get rid of ideals—just making it happen is what matters. For me, amidst the chaos I may be dealing with in my personal surroundings, cooking dinner somewhere between three to five is when it is easiest for me most days (even in my ratty pajama bottoms and bunny slippers sometimes!). While my time frame may change as family life takes on new dimensions, this currently is my usual routine.

But for your family, in whatever age or stage it might be, dinner could look different. A picnic blanket spread out on a private grassy knoll before your child’s ball game might make do for the family table on occasion. Or your main meal together may not even be dinner. Families with a parent working night shift, for example, may choose breakfast to be their sacred family meal. Working around sporting events and after-school activities may mean some families eat dinner at 8 p.m. instead of the typical 5:30. Try one thing, try another, and keep trying until something works, and then stick with it.

OPTING FOR SECOND BEST

I admit I have a weakness for not settling for second best. I want the crème de la crème for my family, which usually means the most expensive ingredients and the most time-consuming involvement. With every fiber of my being, I believe this investment is worth each nutrientdripping morsel and tick of time; however, as the busy-ness of life continues to grow along with the size of my family, there have been times when I have had to compromise. And that is okay! Suffering anxiety that every speck of food must be flawlessly prepared, organic/biodynamic, and soaked to perfection can be counterproductive to my overall goal of gentle, lifelong physical and mental wellness.

In an engaging book titled The Happiest Mom, author Meagan Francis says this, “I’m not recommending that you completely give up your standards, but by embracing a slower pace and setting realistic goals, you’ll cultivate more happiness for the whole family.” While raising her five children, Meagan discovered that we need to be gentle with ourselves, and permit ourselves sometimes to compromise gracefully for the sake of family bliss. This is a lesson I am (slowly) learning.

First, stop comparing yourself to others. There are some families that appear to be real food superheroes: baking sourdough bread, brewing kombucha, fermenting sauerkraut, culturing kefir, raising a backyard cow . . . you know who I mean. This may even be you, but if it’s not (which is most of us), let go of the belief that you must reach these same goals; give yourself some wiggle room to grow and change. Your time will come when these projects or aspirations will find their way into your days.

Next, take heart that “second best” is not necessarily “second-rate” (of course, this could mean something different to those in the midst of healing certain health conditions). Using some canned foods (e.g. salmon, sardines and beans), brown rice pasta, jarred salsa, store-bought tostadas, bagged corn chips, serving a smoothie as a side dish, or eating the same meal three nights in a row may help you find a sense of calm and do-ability in the busy-ness of creating family meals. Refer to the WAPF shopping guide for direction on the best and second best choices (it is available for purchase or comes free with Foundation membership).

Finally, rework priorities getting in the way of regularly serving a soul-nurturing family meal at least five times a week. Purposefully schedule enough downtime to embrace everything under the umbrella of feeding your family well and make meal prep, clean up and inventive creations a team effort, while steadily elbowing out distractions (such as TV and phones). And when the going gets frazzled, frenzied and fast, allow yourself to make “second best” adjustments where needed to ensure that shared family meals happen. Remember, you are doing much more than giving your family vitamins and brain-building fats when you dedicate attention to food—you are gluing your family together with lifelong bonds, while slowly and surely launching your precious babies into the world with a strong sense of security, confidence and belonging, and a solid foundation of Grandma-approved manners.

REFERENCES

1. Wizenberg, Molly. A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table. Simon and Schuster, New York. 2009. p 2

2. Gibbs, Nancy. "The Magic of the Family Meal."Time. Originally published Sunday, Jun. 04, 2006. Found at http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1200760,00.html

3. The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA). "The Importance of Family Dinners VI." September 2010. Found at http://www.casacolumbia.org/upload/2010/20100922familydinners6.pdf

4. Gillman, Matthew W. "Family Dinner and Diet Quality among Older Children and Adolescents." Arch Fam Med. 2000; 9:235-240.

5. The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA). "The Importance of Family Dinners VI." September 2010. Found at http://www.casacolumbia.org/upload/2010/20100922familydinners6.pdf

6. Gibbs, Nancy. "The Magic of the Family Meal." Time. Originally published Sunday, Jun. 04, 2006. Found at http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1200760,00.html

SIDEBARS

MEAL PREP STRATEGIES
CROCK IT: The crockpot is one of my favorite kitchen appliances. Its simplicity and prep speed make it fantastic for the fast-paced family. Pulling together a Mexican meat and bean casserole after the kids catch the bus at 8:30 a.m. may be your best option, or tossing the ingredients in for a heavenly stew at 8 p.m. to sit in the fridge until morning might be the time-ticket for someone else. My piece titled "The Slow Cooker Rules" can be found at www.westonaprice.org for more on this subject. Also check out Stephanie O’Dea’s blog, A Year of Slow Cooking, crockpot365.blogspot.com. O’Dea gives a “verdict” of how the meal appealed to her husband and children; I like its trial-and-error feel.

ONCE A MONTH COOKING : It sounds a bit intimidating, but it can be fun, especially when tackled with a game group of  friends. The idea is to take a day or two to create restaurant-sized amounts of several dishes that are frozen into mealsized portions to eat throughout the month. This is a good money saver too. Check out books on the subject from the library or surf the web for ideas and recipes that work well with this concept.

MEAL ROTATION : Make two or three large meals and rotate them throughout the week with small changes, such as using fresh side dishes or creating a new meal with the leftovers. Take for example a big pot of your family’s favorite soup and a stew meat crockpot dish. Serve a simple rice side with your soup for two nights and on night three make the rice into a pilaf, fried rice patties or, if the soup is gone, make a whole new fried rice dish. And after enjoying stew two nights, on night three pull the last of the meat apart and mix it with a few different types of shredded cheeses and a scattering of chopped cilantro for quesadillas.

FAST BUT NOURISHING DINNER FORMULAS
Listed here are twelve gratifying, not too “weird” dishes with easy-to-find ingredients and simple, nourishing whole
foods. Use these recipeless ideas for inspiration on those nights, weeks, months or phases of life when you need to lighten
your load in the kitchen. Some of these formulas may seem atypical for dinner, but allow your mind to think outside the
dinner-box to invent fresh, “strange” ideas; it may be just what you need to keep sacred family mealtime alive in your
abode. One rule for these meals to work: keep your Food Essentials (see side bar on page 54) on hand to be able to whip
them up without too much fuss. And many of these dishes make lovely breakfasts!

SALMON AVOCADO BOAT . Canned wild salmon salad (made with mayo, preferably homemade, chopped onion and
cucumber with a dash of mustard) stuffed in an avocado half, served with fruit and crackers to scoop up the excess salad.

PEPPERING THE DOGS . Packaged grass-fed beef hotdog (no bun), sliced red peppers, slice of well-buttered bread (preferably
sourdough) with a clump of sauerkraut on the side.

ROAST AND SMOOTHIE DUO . Slow-cooked, pasture-raised roast with vegetables (brown a salt and pepper-seasoned
chuck roast on all sides in a skillet over high heat in fat, toss it in a slow cooker with about a cup of water and a good
amount of chopped carrots, potatoes, onions and celery) cook on low for up to ten hours. Serve with kefir (dairy or
coconut water) smoothie made with favorite fruit, coconut oil and a cucumber blended in.

QUICK CHINESE SHRIMP . Sauté frozen vegetables (Chinese blend) in sesame oil, add fresh or thawed shrimp (preferably
wild-caught) and season with soy sauce, sesame seeds, pepper, etc. Serve with rice or another favorite grain like
quinoa if desired.

PIZZAZZY GRILLED CHEESE . Thinly sliced apples are a special touch inside a grilled cheese sandwich, as are bites of
leftover meats or fish. Serve with a handful of cherry tomatoes, pickle, and sliced summer sausage stacked on a toothpick.
Roasted Bratwurst and Veggies . Cut root vegetables into one-inch pieces (potatoes, carrots, turnips, parsnips)
and slice red onions into wedges. Apple wedges will also complement these flavors. Toss the veggies, apples and brats
together with a good sprinkling of olive oil with a couple shakes of salt, roast in a 400°F oven for 30 to 40 minutes, turn
at least once to allow for even cooking. Serve with rice or leave as is.

EGG WRAP -TASTIC . Sauté veggies (onion, carrot, pepper, zucchini) in ghee, butter or coconut oil. When soft, crack a
few eggs on top with a little chopped chicken liver if available. Cover and allow the eggs to cook slightly, then mix in and
create an egg/veggie scramble that wraps nicely into a tortilla. Add leftover meat, cheese, beans, hot sauce, sauerkraut, etc.

VAT -O-SOUP . No recipe needed for a simple, use-up-all-your-veggies soup. Toss a good amount of grass-fed butter
or coconut oil (maybe 8 tablespoons) into a big pot. Sauté several chopped onions until translucent. Toss in whatever
else you have (carrots, purple potatoes, cauliflower, cabbage, peppers, green beans), sauté a little longer, then pour in a
quart or two of chicken broth (preferably homemade) and fresh or frozen tomatoes (I prefer frozen whole tomatoes as
the skins peel right off with a little rub under warm water) and maybe a jar of tomato paste to intensify tomato flavor.
Toss in herbs of your choice (basil is lovely), some paprika and unprocessed salt. Once everything is soft and to your
liking, make a paste of about three tablespoons arrowroot powder and water and stir the mixture into your soup to
add a touch of thickness. When serving, pour a little sauerkraut juice into each bowl for added flavor and a probiotic
boost. The variations on this are endless: add miso, frozen peas, roasted peppers, leftover chicken pieces, beef chunks
or taco filling. Other simple soup ideas: split pea, chicken and rice, corn chowder, veggie-filled chili, butternut, egg drop.

PLAIN OL ’ BEANS AND RICE . The additions to these simple foods include cottage cheese, cornbread, sausage, ham or
bacon, tomatoes, cilantro, sour cream, avocado or guacamole, salsa, grated cheese, carrot ribbons (made with peeler)
and a lacto-fermented vegetable. Your favorite combination can also be wrapped into a lettuce leaf for a fun twist.

TOSTADAS , TACOS AND BURRITOS . Most meats go well with these meals (beef, chicken, shrimp, canned salmon,
liver) and anything goes with toppings (similar to Plain ol' Beans and Rice). Buy refried beans in a can or make your own
from canned beans by sautéing chopped garlic in some bacon drippings, lard or other oil, then pour a can of organic
beans into the skillet and mash. Top with leftover meat and your fixings. Take your tostada or regular corn tortilla and
load with beans and meat and toppings (or skip the beans and use just meat and toppings). Taco salad using all the same
ingredients is also a winner with the addition of crunched up tortillas chips.

NICE ‘N’ EASY FRIED RICE . Sauté vegetables of your choice (garlic, onion, broccoli, cabbage, peas, peppers) in your
favorite oil or fat until tender and add leftover rice. Beat a few eggs together with a tablespoon or two of soy sauce and
sesame oil and pour it into your veggie/rice mix and sauté until eggs are cooked.

EGG AND HAM CUPS . Oil a muffin tin, line each cup with ham or turkey ham slices, fold or cut to make it fit. Crack
an egg in each meat-lined cup and top with salt. Bake at 400°F for 10 to 15 minutes. This tasty, yet uncomplicated idea
is from Kids’ Fun and Healthy Cookbook by Nicola Graimes. Serve with small green salad sprinkled with a handful of
berries and nuts, and a drizzle of olive oil and squeeze of lemon.

This article appeared in Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts, the quarterly magazine of the Weston A. Price Foundation, Winter 2011.

About the Author

[authorbio:allbritton-jen]

Pure Bread Sourdough

Most sourdough bread in the U.S. is made with white flour, commercial yeast and vinegar. The vinegar gives it the sour taste. Gwen Lund shows us how to make European-style sourdough from whole grain and your own leavening. She makes it look easy and she makes me hungry. In this video you learn how to make and keep your own starter for bread that uses natural leavening and no commercial yeast.

I won’t give away the whole plot but she likes to use a baking stone with corn meal to keep the loaves from sticking to the stone. She scores the top of her loaves three times to prevent the crust from cracking during expansion in the hot oven. After baking, the loaf should be allowed to cool for several hours. It is easier to slice the next day. The details of how it is done vary somewhat depending on altitude. At lower altitudes she recommends using a basket for the bread to rise in. She has some she likes from Austria but if you’re not stopping by Austria any time soon you can probably get similar baskets wherever you are.

Gwen demonstrates several variations of sourdough bread: pumpkin seed bread, cinnamon swirl (getting hungry again), scones, focaccia, pita, tortillas, bread sticks, and crackers. They all look good and I give this video a thumbs UP. Just don’t watch it when you’re hungry.

This article appeared in Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts, the quarterly magazine of the Weston A. Price Foundation, Winter 2011.

About the Reviewer

[authorbio:boyd-tim]

Fat, Sick, & Nearly Dead

Australian Joe Cross came to America for sixty days but didn’t eat the food while he was here. Instead he went on a juice fast. Joe weighed over three hundred pounds and suffered from an unpleasant skin condition. He spent about a month in New York and later took a road trip across the country to California.

Before setting off on his road trip, Joe stopped in to see Dr. Joel Fuhrman. Naturally Dr. Fuhrman was very supportive of the juice fast. I couldn’t help noticing Fuhrman’s frightening food pyramid visible in the background of a few shots. Vegetables were at the base and as you ascended the pyramid, the better the food, the less of it you are supposed to eat.

During the first few days of Joe's juice diet he admitted to feeling lousy, didn’t want to get out of bed, and he looked weak. After an adjustment period and probably some detoxification, he felt better, or was at least able to look like he felt better.

As Joe traveled across the country he talked to a lot of people. Many of them were very funny. He asked an older woman if diet was important and her response was, “If you don’t want to be constipated, you got to eat the right food.”

Many were quite clear that they thought he was crazy. A common response from those who tried his juice was a wrinkled nose and a comment that they would not join him on his fast. He asked a teenage girl if she would change her mind about eating fruits and vegetables if she knew they would keep her healthy. She said no. When he asked her why not, her response was, “Because I’m sixteen.” Yes, she most certainly is.

In Kansas Joe stopped to shoot the breeze with a gun shop owner whose brother was a vegetarian and had cancer. That man obviously was not enticed by the juice fast. Another man had a similar response. He said he would rather die happy than starve and live a long time. Or at least it would seem like a long time.

The DVD includes animated scenes of the mythical hunter-gatherer who runs hard on an empty stomach every day. The hunter-gatherers I’m familiar with did not live that way. Modern hunters like to use guns which are very good for killing one animal and scaring the rest of them away. Looking at an example from the continent Joe Cross comes from, the Australian Aborigines were smarter hunters. For instance, they would use hollow reeds as snorkels and sneak up on a group of ducks or geese from under water. They would quietly pull everything they wanted under while the other birds had no idea what was going on. They got a lot more than one at a time that way and it didn’t require a lot of running around on an empty stomach.

I also have my doubts that traditional healthy cultures like the Aborigines stayed healthy by juicing. It is pretty clear even in the film that you can’t live on juice alone forever, and it is a little murky exactly what the recommended diet is aside from one dominated by plants. One common denominator shared by all those who pursue the several variants of juice fasting is that they quit fast food. That makes me wonder what might happen if they forget the juicing and just give up the fast food.

Joe did find some people desperate enough to try the juice fast, most notably Phil the trucker. Both Joe and Phil lost a lot of weight and resolved other health problems as a result of the fast. They both seem like nice guys and it is heartwarming to see them looking healthier and happier. I have seen similar results with people like Richard Morris, except he didn’t do the dreaded juicing fast. He ate a WAPF diet and wasn’t miserable while doing it. I’ll leave it up to the reader to decide which method you would prefer. I’m not a fan of juicing but the thumb is DOWN mainly because, once again, fat-soluble vitamins are ignored and vegetables are claimed to be more nutrient dense than animal foods.

This article appeared in Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts, the quarterly magazine of the Weston A. Price Foundation, Winter 2011.

About the Reviewer

[authorbio:boyd-tim]

American Meat

The contrasts between two different styles of farming are highlighted in “American Meat.” On one side, we see a factory farmer. I should choose my words carefully here. I could say he is raising hogs but that implies a natural environment filled with thriving life. This, however, is a factory producing units of pork and related byproducts. Technically the hogs are alive but they are not enjoying life since they’re not allowed to do what they like to do. These animals merely exist rather than truly live.

On the other side we see Polyface Farm, a sustainable, “beyond organic” farm where pigs are happy, spending their time outside doing what they like to do. The pig-ness of the pig and the chicken-ness of the chicken are respected and encouraged rather than seen as behaviors to stymie or genetically modify out of the species. Polyface Farm is an environment teeming with thriving life.

These differences go beyond just the animals. The farmers and the people on the factory farms don’t look happy. They are trapped in a system that relentlessly enslaves them to neverending debt. There is a lot of anxiety over keeping the whole thing going for one more year. At farms like Polyface, I’m sure there are challenges but the farmers and the people have a positive outlook. They believe in what they are doing and they are happy.

One of the featured factory farmers decided to make the move toward organic. He was not able to find a market that enabled him to go fully organic but he did improve his farm to a more humane operation. He had to admit the pork tasted better and, much to his surprise, the pigs actually liked being outdoors, even in the winter in Wisconsin. Go figure. The quality of food he was producing was clearly better but he still seemed to think that factory farming was more economical. Is it really?

The end of the movie focuses on Richard Morris, who trucks food for Polyface Farm. At one time he worked in the corporate world and made a six-figure income. Now he probably doesn’t even come close. Did he make a bad financial move? If you’ve read his book, A Life Unburdened, you know that corporate life and cheap junk food were killing him. While pulling down that hefty paycheck he weighed over four hundred pounds, was hypertensive, diabetic, and suffered a long list of health problems. All that money was not helping his condition, and the cost of poor health is enormous. Smart economics must take into account the high cost of an unhealthy lifestyle. If you are producing nothing of true value, nothing you would use yourself, while drowning your sorrows in the cheapest food you can find, this must have a negative effect in the long run. Doing something you don’t believe in has to eventually suck the life out of you. The result can be cancer, obesity, mental illness or other modern ailments. How economical are they?

Thinking outside the cubicle, Richard Morris has lost at least one hundred fifty pounds, is no longer hypertensive, diabetic or otherwise unwell. He is healthy, happy, and believes in what he is doing. Can you put a price tag on that?

Another aspect of economics touches the question of why organic or local food from small farms costs more than factory food. Organic food is not inherently more expensive to produce. Part of the reason for ostensibly cheap factory food is externalized costs. The cost of the environmental damage caused by factory farms is cleverly separated from the farms, and the price of cleaning it up is shifted to taxpayers or other industries. Poor health of their customers is another cost not charged to the factory farm. A big root cause of the price difference is government subsidies to factory farms. One person in the DVD suggested that the solution to that is for the government to subsidize organic farms.

Subsidies sound like such a good idea but when you think it all the way through, some ugly problems arise. Subsidizing factory farms created the unfair playing field that makes it difficult for small farms. Einstein himself said the same thinking that caused the problem is not going to solve it. More subsidies will just create more economic imbalances. What if we quit subsidizing nutrient-sparse junk food and other useless products? We should also realize we are controlled by those who fund us. Maybe we should let government control everything. They’re doing such a great job. Do we really want government bureaucrats, who know nothing about farming, to control farmers? You have to admit that control becomes extremely oppressive when government not only dictates what farmers produce and how they produce it, but also what citizens are allowed to eat. I think it is an insult to farmers (and anybody else) to suggest that they can’t make a good living without help from the government. I’ve talked to a lot of them who don’t want any help. The best way to help is to leave them alone and let them do their jobs.

This movie illustrates some important points to ponder and I give it a thumbs UP.

This article appeared in Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts, the quarterly magazine of the Weston A. Price Foundation, Winter 2011.

About the Reviewer

[authorbio:boyd-tim]