Winter 2011

Sally Fallon Morell started the meeting with opening announcements and a review of the basic requirements for chapter leaders. She announced that the new chapter handbook is now available on the website and it is a good resource for any questions related to being a chapter leader. There are also plans to start a restaurant review and rating program.

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.

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.

REPORT ON THE ANNUAL LOCAL CHAPTER MEETING – Winter 2007

Chapters from around the US and also Australia, New Zealand, Norway, England and Canada met on November 11, following Wise Traditions 2007, the 8th annual conference of the Weston A. Price Foundation.

RAW MILK ACTIVISM

Ruth Ann Foster, Greensboro, NC chapter leader reported on her efforts to overturn the 2005 cowshare ban that was tacked on to legislation without hearings or opportunity for comment. Through careful research (which revealed that reports of illness from raw milk in North Carolina made conclusions without sufficient evidence) and diligent lobbying that pointed out the 96 percent loss of dairies in NC in recent years, she found a sponsor for a bill to reinstate cowshares. The bill was passed by the committee 13-6 and passed the more general vote 39-9. The bill is still very much alive. The next step for the bill takes place in May 2008. She has also spearheaded opposition to a proposal to put a dye into pet milk, which can legally be sold in the state. Liz Reitzig. chapter leader from Bowie, MD, outlined her lobbying efforts in Maryland for a bill allowing direct sales of farm products without permits. A lobbying day featuring Mark McAfee helped garner support for the bill, which legislators indicate has a chance of passage in 2008. Liz emphasized that there is nothing wrong with calling your representatives—10 times a day if necessary. “We pay them. They work for us.”

NAIS ACTIVISM

Judith McGeary, Austin, TX chapter leader, emphasized the good news regarding opposition to the National Animal Identification System: NAIS was supposed to be implemented by January 2007 and it hasn’t been. Consumer opposition has also cost the USDA tens of millions of dollars. In other good news, Arizona has passed a law barring mandatory NAIS in that state and is planning to pass even stronger legislation next year. The bad news is that we still have a long way to go.Thirteen bills to stop NAIS failed in other states. Judith stressed the importance of building a coalition and that some very diverse organizations have already come together to oppose NAIS. Other tools that can be used to stop NAIS are websites like NAIStruth.com, and letters to the editor talking about the relationship between NAIS and government waste or food supply safety. A petition signed by people from 45 different states got the attention of lawmakers.

NOURISHING OUR CHILDREN

Sandrine Hahn reported on updates to her Nourishing Our Children Powerpoint presentation.The new version is more streamlined and allows the presenter to spend less time per slide. She has added a section on water and fluoride. A study guide is now available to help learn the material. The new 107-slide presentation is available for a suggested donation of $42 from www.nourishingourchildren.org.

TEXTBOOK PROJECT

Joan Roberts, co-chapter leader for Dayton, OH, gave an update on the textbook project. The book will be aimed at high school and junior college students. Progress has been slow but steady. The book will have a lot of eyecatching graphics and color. It was also suggested that it would be good to have a CD version of the book. WAPF plans to make the textbook project a priority for 2008.

A LOCAL CHAPTER CONFERENCE

Deidre Currie and Archie Welch, Oakland County, MI, chapter leaders, reported on a Wise Traditions Conference they organized in Michigan. The conference was held on a Friday and Saturday in September and featured Jeffrey Smith, Dr. Kaayla Daniel, Mark McAfee, Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, Dr. Janet Lang, and Katie Singer.While they were disappointed at the number of attendees (200 to 250), they realize that it takes time to build support for such an event. Lessons learned: a conference that big is too much for two people, be prepared to lose money, pick a time of year that isn’t too busy for farmers, allow as much as a year preparation time, and put the registration form on the flyer. A farmers’ market at the conference featured food from all parts of Michigan, and the good news is that the raw milk farmers had all the business they could handle after that.

COMMUNITY KITCHEN

Jessica Prentice and Larry Wisch of the San Francisco chapter gave an update on Three Stone Hearth community kitchen. Since opening in July of last year, business has grown to over $17,000 per week. Their goal is to make enough for the five co-owners to live comfortably in the expensive San Francisco Bay area, have one month’s worth of vacation, and a 4-day workweek. That would make the kitchen not only financially and environmentally sustainable, but sustainable for the workers as well. Their model for community supported kitchens in other areas is almost complete. Three-month and six-month apprenticeships are available. For further information, visit their website at www.threestonehearth.com.

Chapter Update, Spring 2007

Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group Conference

Mike Haliday, WAPF Chapter Leader from Campbellsville, Kentucky, represented the Foundation at the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group Conference in January, where our materials and information received a warm reception. Reports Mike: “Very often I was made to feel like the hero of the conference, as a representative of WAPF. Many people would say things like, ‘Oh, wow, I’m so glad you all are here! This is so great!’” Several speakers at the conference mentioned WAPF, which brought many people to the booth.

PASA Conference

Carrie Hahn, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania chapter leader, poses with author and pasture-based farming activist Joel Salatin in front of the WAPF booth at the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture’s (PASA) 16th annual Farming for the Future conference in February. Janna Weil, Louise Mitchell, Kitty Leatham, Annmarie Butera, Alan Stangl and Martin Bocksenbaum all helped out. Carrie reports that several speakers over the weekend referred to the great work the Foundation is doing, which helped generate traffic at the booth.

Northeast Organic Farming Association Conference

WAPF table at the Northeast Organic Farming Association conference held in Liverpool, New York in January. WAPF Rochester Metro chapter leaders Chris and Donna Nuccitelli spoke with dozens of attendees and signed up several new members.

Above, left: A school group visiting the Nuccitelli Farm admires Mirium, the matriarch of their tiny herd. The Nuccitellis spend time each year hosting field trips and speaking at schools to help educate kids about farming, pasture-based dairy and, of course, real milk. Above, right: Alex and Olivia Nuccitelli with two of their Guernsey calves born this fall.

Farm Lobby Day, Washington DC

Bowie, Maryland, chapter leader Liz Reitzig was a principal organizer of Farm Lobby Day, held February 14, 2007 in the Caucus room in the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill. Two congressmen attended, along with many staffers and aids, 350-400 people in all, who enjoyed the buffet of raw cheeses, artisan breads and other wonderful farm foods.

Above, left: Rep. Ron Paul speaks on liberty. Above, right: Sharon Zecchinelli, powerhouse anti-NAIS activist from Vermont.

Above, left: Rep. Virgil Goode (right) speaks with Virginia raw milk activist John Coles. Above, right: Staffers and aides line up for delicious farm food. Jonathan and Nina White of Bobolink Dairy stand behind their raw milk cheeses.

Left: Pete Thompson, aide to the appropriately named Rep. Goodlatte, looks furtive as he enjoys a cup of raw milk in the Cannon Caucus Room.

Chapter Leaders’ Meeting at Wise Traditions Winter 2006

Following the 2006 Wise Traditions conference, 130 current and potential chapter leaders attended our second annual Chapter Leaders’ Meeting on Monday, November 13. For some, this meeting is the highlight of the conference. As with last year, this meeting was replete with inspiring reports of work our chapter leaders are doing in different parts of the world.

Sally Fallon began the meeting by sharing some ideas for future Foundation projects. One long-term goal for the Foundation is to prepare a restaurant and travel guide. The Foundation is also setting up a Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund modeled after the Home School Legal Defense Association. Chapter leaders will be called on to help by publicizing the fund and helping to sign up members. The success of the fund will depend on having as many members as possible–one million members is the goal.

The next presenters were Larry Wisch and Jessica Prentice who described their Three Stone Hearth Community Kitchen project. Visit www.threestonehearth.com to view the excellent news coverage by ABC. Five owners have pooled their talents to make and sell nourishing traditional prepared foods from local farms. Products include hamburger mix that includes organ meats, stock and stock-based soups, sourdough bread and cereals, and lacto-fermented condiments and sodas. They host a monthly dinner, engage local farmers and bring in volunteers to help in the kitchen. They have taken over a commercial kitchen and have had health inspectors visit who have been delighted with what they are doing. They got started with small loans from individuals amounting to $115,000 and they are well on their way to financial success.

Sandrine Hahn reported on her project “Nourishing Our Children,” a one-hour Powerpoint presentation designed for parents of children in schools. The presentation is available for a donation of $25 to the Foundation. It reviews Price’s discoveries, the idea that we can be well-fed but malnourished, the importance of Vitamin A and D, the role of saturated fat, the truth about milk, soy and extruded cereals, ideas on healthy meals, first steps and community resources. The presentations have been received with great enthusiasm. Nourishing Our Children also offers monthly support groups, cooking classes, mentoring programs and books.

Joan Roberts provided an update of her work on a nutrition curriculum, a textbook for upper level high school and junior college. It is divided into five parts: Wise Nutrition, The Key to Healthy Babies; The Challenge Ahead; Nutrient-Dense Foods to Boost the Health of Parents and Babies; Nutrition Basics; and Food Preparation.

Carrie Hahn presented strategies for farmers markets. She is involved with the Buy Fresh, Buy Local Campaign, which now has 11 participating organizations. At her farmers market stand she sells local food products and also attempts to educate people about buying seasonal produce and about the Foundation’s principles. She has succeeded in getting high schoolers and non-profit groups like Girl Scouts to volunteer at the market. The demand for local, seasonal food products is increasing.

David Grunberg presented his web-based ordering system developed for the New York City milk club but that can be used by milk clubs all over the country. Members use the site (wprice-nyc.org) to select products, save, edit and place orders. Two years ago their milk club had 30 members; now there are over 360 with five delivery sites and monthly orders totaling about $8,000. Errors in orders have been cut in half and farmers now have a way to track ordering trends and purchases by area and season.

Peg Beals described her classes on “The Safe Handling of Fresh, Unprocessed Milk.” Peg has found that people are not well versed on cleaning jars used to store milk. Realizing the need for the class, she began the four-part series to cover topics such as how to clean bottles, how to store milk, what to look for when visiting a farmer prior to ordering milk, how to accomplish hygienic practices at home, etc. CDs are available for those who wish to give this presentation.

After a delicious lunch sponsored by New Trends Publishing, chapter leaders broke into focus groups to discuss the projects mentioned above. In one additional focus group Shan Kendall explained her six-part class on nourishing traditional cooking. She charges $125 for the series and enrolls about a dozen students for each series. Each class is about three hours long and offers a little history and instruction, hands-on food prep, eating, questions and clean up. Shan teaches many principles, such as seasonal eating, time management, getting children to help, using a transitional menu approach, etc. For each class she has a checklist for herself stating what she needs to buy, to prepare, and to take to the class. She sells books and has WAPF brochures available. The last class is a fun potluck dinner.

The meeting ended with comments and suggestions for next year’s conference and chapter activities.

Chapter Update, Summer 2006

With almost 400 chapters worldwide, it is exciting to see the annual chapter reports highlighting activities for the year. The work that our volunteer leaders are doing is impressive and is changing the world! I am also impressed that each week we receive chapter applications from more members offering to volunteer their services as chapter leaders.

In an effort to help the new leaders and to inspire the veteran leaders, I have summarized the extensive work being done worldwide as stated in the 2005 chapter reports.

One of the main obligations of our chapter leaders is to provide a list of resources for any inquiring person. The lists include sources of milk and other good farm foods, restaurants, farmers’ markets, practitioners, and stores. When asked to approximate the number of inquiries they received last year, chapter leaders reported numbers ranging from 10 to 100. With nearly 400 chapters, that is a huge number of people being helped to find the best foods in their area!

Chapter Activities

In addition to responding to inquiries, many chapters have meetings monthly, quarterly or even weekly. These volunteers are offering their tireless efforts to coordinate meetings, opening their homes in some cases, and sharing their passion and creativity for nutrient-dense foods. Hats off to those who make these meetings happen.

The topics of the meetings vary according to the interest of the group. In general, topics covered at meetings include cooking demos, lacto-fermented foods, benefits of cod liver oil, sourdough bread making, dangers of soy, making stock, cooking grass-fed meats, using natural sweeteners and fats such as coconut oil, etc. Many chapters invited guest speakers or showed videos such as Super Size Me.

Anita Sorkin in Ohio said that even small topics such as pots and pans can result in a lively, helpful discussion. Chapter leaders should not assume they need a big topic each month, she said.

The Brentwood, Tennessee Chapter has a monthly potluck on Saturday night where they view a video or listen to a tape from one of our conference speakers.
The Kaukauna, Wisconsin chapter meets weekly. They have speakers, farmers bring fruit, vegetables, raw milk, etc. A few chapter leaders run food stores which are 100 percent WAPF-friendly.
The Western Pennsylvania Chapter arranged a meeting with local farmers and the owner of the local natural food store to discuss the possibility of the farmers selling their produce at the store. They also combined with the Pittsburgh Chapter to organize a seminar entitled, “Raw Milk, Pasture-fed Livestock, Local Produce: Reconnecting Farmers and Consumers” with 100 attendees.
The Pittsburgh Chapter organized a pastured meat-tasting event with four producers and 40 attendees. Also, they were able to form a school health council of four administrators and six parents who meet monthly to work on nutrition policies and guidelines for their school district.
The Madison, Wisconsin Chapter created a “Get to Know Your Farmer” series where their Amish farmer began selling products to people unable to drive 70 miles each week. They had a WAPF-friendly article about cholesterol published in a local magazine, established a lending library of books and spoke on a radio program.
The North East Texas Chapter hosts meetings that include a powerpoint presentation in the morning, followed by a WAPF-style lunch and food prep demonstrations in the afternoon.
The Brisbane, Queensland, Australia leader hosts a food seminar for mothers of babies and toddlers. They also have a quarterly “Demented Fermenters” gathering to share recipes and ideas.

Campaigning for Raw Milk

Many chapter leaders are putting much effort into helping make raw milk available and legal. In some cases, this is a formidable task. Chapter leaders in many states have organized milk groups to pick up raw milk at farms some distance away, or have it delivered to drop-off points.

The Ontario leaders met with Health Canada about legislation to introduce raw milk back into the marketplace.
“Have just succeeded in making raw milk available again on our island,” reports the Bribie Island, Queensland leader, reminding us all that successes are occurring.
The Sonohomish, WA, Chapter helped a few farmers write their cow-share agreement, arranged to get their raw dairy farmer to meet with a representative from the WSDA Food Safety Division to work out their differences and initiate a working relationship. They also contacted farmers about the possibility of selling raw milk.

Chapter leader efforts to legalize the sale of raw milk are ongoing in Ohio, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee. These efforts include attending meetings, signing petitions, developing educational materials and meeting with elected officials.

Other Activities

These include organizing a Sally Fallon seminar; setting up a Sandor Katz workshop on fermented foods; attending meetings of other organizations to raise awareness; setting up a cow share program; helping farmers who are dealing with legal issues, including doing the legwork of contacting customers for their support; getting local stores to carry Nourishing Traditions; taking booths at fairs; attending conferences; hosting Nourishing Traditions playgroups for families; making kefir and kombucha for busy mothers; offering talks at elementary schools, libraries and local health food stores; contacting chefs from local restaurants to discuss WAPF food ideas; advertising for meetings in local papers and arranging a television broadcast of Sally Fallon’s “Seminar on Traditional Diets” video.

The San Francisco chapter has developed a “Nourishing Our Children” campaign, complete with powerpoint presentation and briefing book, to present in San Francisco public schools.

Brochures have been distributed at events, doctors’ offices, health food stores, restaurants, meetings, fairs and farmers’ markets.

Many chapters have contacted members about their meetings using labels that the WAPF office can send. If you provide a zip code range, we can send labels with mailing addresses of all members in that area.

There are so many ideas generated by our local leaders. Please do not feel overwhelmed if you are just starting. Find helpers–most of the chapters have one or two leaders and many helpers. Start with one meeting or potluck and see where your chapter goes–each one has its own interest and character.

These are only some of the many examples of great work being done; I was only able to include a few. In the future, if a chapter wishes to share information about an activity they have hosted, please submit a paragraph to info (at) westonaprice.org and we will consider adding it to our “Chapter Highlights” page. For a full listing of our chapters, please go to our website, www.westonaprice.org.

Reading the chapter reports reminds me that these chapters are a vital part of the foundation. Whether you are simply passing on a list of resources or hosting large meetings, you leaders are passing on truth about foods, knowledge about health and the great traditions of the past to people hungry for it. You are allowing Dr. Price’s words to become a great reality, “You teach, you teach, you teach.” Thank you!

Chapter Update, Winter 2005/Spring 2006

Chapter Leaders’ Meeting at Wise Traditions 2005

On Monday, November 14, NewTrends publishing hosted a meeting for WAPF chapter leaders–more than 120 attended and many considered the inspirational presentations given throughout the day to be the highlight of the conference.

Pittsburgh chapter leader Carrie Hahn described the Farm-to-City Program and its phenomenal website, www.farmtocity.org, developed by Bob Pearson. It is an ordering system that chapter leaders can use for their community to order farm foods. The coordinator creates a list of the products available in the area which is then entered on the site, allowing the coordinator to send the orders to the farmers who deliver to a drop location. The website does not charge the farmer but charges the customer a percentage of gross sales. This is a wonderful tool that chapter leaders can use to provide their communities with local foods while supporting local farmers.

San Francisco chapter leader Sandrine Hahn presented the Nourishing Our Children program, and is in the process of creating a PowerPoint presentation on nutrition for schools. Sandrine hopes to see this as a “blueprint’”for other communities to imitate. The presentation is an overview meant to inspire the parents. It targets processed foods (cold cereal), milk and soy while explaining about good fats.

Northeast Nebraska chapter leader David Wetzel described his ideas for a store franchise to sell Weston A. Price Foundation-type foods and to educate the public. Starting a franchise would help potential store owners benefit from what he learned (positive points and pitfalls). This information would include: learning how to buy, what, where to buy, what type of inventory to have, what it costs to start, etc. Plus, a franchise would offer ways to share inventory, financial information and equipment.

Claudia Keel and Sophia Knapinsky of the Manhattan Chapter described their milk buying club, which may serve as a model for other chapters. The model is that of a private club, paying an individual to pick up pre-paid farm foods. Their webmaster has offered to help other chapters start a website. He volunteers his time but Claudia suggests offering a donation.

Albert Lusk, Delaware chapter leader, described his “Healthy Farms, Healthy People” road show concept. Independent retailers in their store would host these road shows, which will start in 2006. The 4-hour weekend event would have exhibitors from a select group of companies that support the WAPF principles. These shows can have a large impact since the independent retailers are the largest segment of the natural products industry, with sales of $14 billion per year.

Jessica Prentice, of the Berkeley and North East Bay, California chapter announced her new book, Full Moon Feast; Food and the Hunger for Connection. She is available at her own expense to do cooking demos, dinners, book signings, readings, full moon feasts, etc., at chapter leader meetings. For info, go to chelseagreen.com or call (800) 639-4099.

Harvey Ussery, of the Fauquier-Rappahonnock, Virginia chapter offers seminars on backyard chicken flocks and instead of being paid, he suggests people make donations to the WAPF.

Vicki Poulter of Sydney, Australia presented a tri-fold flyer she developed, which is an inexpensive way to share the WAPF information. She gets them printed for about 7 cents each and distributes them.

Shawn Dady of Brentwood,Tennessee announced that the raw milk television commercial is finished. In it, Shawn is shown with cows explaining the benefits of raw milk and how to find more information. She suggests giving it to your local television affiliates. It will be put on the WAPF website and can be accessed at www.tennesseansforrawmilk.com.

Katie Singer, author of The Garden of Fertility is working on a course designed for couples about to have children. Presented in a simple way, it would combine basic nutrition education, cooking classes, fertility awareness and possibly even teaching about finances.

Finally, Joan Roberts, is a former home economics teacher, inspired us with her vision of a curriculum for the high school and college level to educate men and women of reproductive age to eat traditional nutrient-dense foods for at least six months prior to conception in order to fortify their bodies to give birth to optimally healthy children. She will spend the year working on a textbook and present her results at Wise Traditions 2007. For more details, contact Joan at drjredu (at) gmail.com.