Chapter Update, Winter 2008

About sixty chapter leaders gathered for the traditional post-conference chapter leaders meeting at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport Hotel. After everyone introduced themselves, Michael Schmidt spoke briefly about the key role women play in bringing about change. He praised the postive female energy in the Real Milk campaign and the Weston A. Price Foundation. Sally Fallon followed up with comments that the scientific male energy must be joined to the female energy in order for raw milk and our dietary message to be successful. She noted the various compilations of scientific studies at Realmilk.com and urged chapter leaders to become familiar with them.

Jeffrey Smith spoke next about successful tactics for activism, especially relating to GMO issues. The most powerful tactic is simply to refuse to buy GMO food. Health food stores can also be important allies. Even one major religious group against GMOs would be enough to put an end to GMO food. Tremendous resources are available from www.responsibletechnology. org. He stressed that getting rid of GMOs should be easy and he expects to be out of a job in about a year. His anti- GMO campaign is a good activity for chapter leaders.

Mark Kastel from the Cornucopia Institute spoke next about the fundamental mistakes that modern agriculture is making. Soil is quickly depleted, microbes are killed and there is no incentive for quality. Farmers are convinced that conventional techniques are the only way to farm. Even when they convert to organic they can’t believe they don’t need antibiotics. The industry is bankrupting the US. We are told we have the cheapest and safest food supply in the world but that is offset by the most expensive health care in the world. We are not the healthiest population in the world by a long shot. He ended up with some practical advice on how chapter leaders can create their own media events, dinners with local farmers, maintain a chapter website or a newsletter. The Weston A. Price Foundation has partnered with the Cornucopia Institute on several initiatives, including an effort to rescind pasteurization requirements for organic almonds.

Larry Wisch reported on the latest news from Three Stone Hearth community kitchen. Business has been good despite the slow economy, and they recently had the best month ever. They have never advertised. They are currently serving 300 families per week. They have had people from all over the US come to intern at Three Stone Hearth. Their lease will expire in June 2009 and they are going to have to move. Larry sees this as an opportunity to upgrade to a better place.

Next, Lenna Knowlton, director of Meals that Heal gave her report. She had a surprise baby at 44 years old and developed lupus after the delivery. She was able to recover thanks to eating according to WAPF principles. For those who are intimidated by the hefty Nourishing Traditions, she has come out with a simplified version of the book. For truly healthy eating, she made a few simple suggestions: buy good stuff; if it says it’s healthy, it probably isn’t.

Shan Kendall offers cooking classes in Nevada City. She is the Gold Country chapter leader. She has been very active and busy. Through an excellent Powerpoint presentation, she gave everyone a good idea of how much work goes into a cooking class. Her classes focus on the basics, such as lacto-fermentation, broth, grain preparation and organ meats. She has also held potlucks, workshops, and sponsored an appearance by Jeffrey Smith. Her Powerpoint and class materials will be posted on the chapter leader resource section at westonaprice.org.

After lunch, four focus groups were formed. One group talked about the upcoming chapter leader handbook, another was on spreading the word about GMO food, another on cooking classes and the fourth on one-on-one recruiting. Afterwards, everyone went out to change the world.

 

This article appeared in Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts, the quarterly journal of the Weston A. Price Foundation, Winter 2008.