Jump to: Monday Activities
Conference Handouts: These will be available to print out shortly before the conference. This green option allows you to print out just the handouts you may want. Handouts are at www.ptfassociates.com/secure/wisetraditions/lecture09.asp
Lecture Descriptions
Ted Beals: Raw Milk from Pasture-Fed Cows, the Ultimate Sacred Food (Saturday 11-12:15)
Milk has been a dietary staple throughout known history. Milk and humans have become culturally and biologically integrated. Then in the 1900s this nutrient-dense food came under attack because experts declared it inherently hazardous. With a lifelong experience in scientific research and medical education and a recognized leadership in laboratory and diagnostic accuracy, Dr. Beals looks at the ongoing conflict between choice and control. Along the way he addresses the intriguing fact of benign pathogens; why when regulators say your milk is contaminated, hundreds of families that have already consumed that milk aren’t sick; and why when the health department says that a handful of people become sick because they drank bad milk, the vast majority of those that drank that very same milk, didn’t get sick.
Natasha Campbell-McBride: The Gut & Psychology Syndrome/Gut & Physiology Syndrome (Friday Track II, all day)
Dr Campbell-McBride will be talking about Gut and Psychology Syndrome/Gut and Physiology Syndrome; how and why many modern health problems develop and how to treat them with a solid nutritional protocol.
Meg Cattell: Raw Milk–A Gateway to Small Farm Prosperity (Sunday Track V, 9-10:20)
Supermarkets strategically place the dairy section in the back of the store to stimulate sales of other grocery items. Consumers that “just come in for a gallon of milk” find they leave with a shopping cart full of diverse items. The popularity of raw milk makes it a great drawing card for new farm customers and can be leveraged into larger sales if the farmer has a diverse product line. Some farmers find that cross pollination works the other way too – purchasers of grass-fed meat, often becoming purchasers of raw milk. The secret is – get the animals on pasture, scale back in size and increase depth of product line to create sustainable farm prosperity. Windsor Dairy did just that. They transitioned their 500-cow dairy selling bulk certified organic milk into a diversified grass-fed and primarily direct-to-consumer operation. They now operate a cow-share & goat-share and offer a wide array of meat and stock, cheese and other dairy products to their expanding customer/shareholder base.
Tom Cowan, MD:The Fourfold Approach to Cancer (Sunday Track III, 9-10:20)
An overview of cancer from the perspective of the work of Weston Price. This presentation will include a description of the “true” cause of cancer and explore the shortfalls of conventional diagnosis (including biopsy) and treatment.
Tom Cowan, MD:The Fourfold Treatment of Cancer (Sunday Track III, 10:30-11:50)
A review of holistic treatments for cancer including diet, supplements and herbs, with an in depth look at the use of Iscador (mistletoe extract) in successful European treatment protocols.
Karl Dallefeld: Grass-Based Farming–Look Before You Leap (Friday Track IV, 3:30-5:30)
This session will cover important information for new and existing farmers who want to transition to 100 percent grass-fed farming. Before you buy the farm or turn your livestock out, it’s essential to know the nutrient density of the soil and forage. Karl will discuss how to amend your soils to enhance nutrient density, plant diversity and create practical sustainability within your budget and the needs of your farm.
Kaayla T. Daniel: Sacred Foods for Fertility (Saturday 1:45-3)
One in seven American couples now suffers from infertility. Within the next decade, that figure is predicted to move up to one in three. Menstrual distress, mood disorders and depressed libidos add to the heartbreak. Although Father Technology has waged war on infertility using drugs, hormones and surgery, Mother Nature offers instead a cornucopia of sacred foods, herbs and aphrodisiacs. In this lecture, Dr. Kaayla Daniel will present the hard science behind caviar, oysters, organ meats, cream and other high-fat, high-cholesterol, hormone-producing foods. She’ll show why those who would be “fruitful and multiply” will not only avoid processed, packaged and fast foods but spurn politically correct, lowfat, high-soy, plant-based diets. Learn how health nuts Sylvester Graham and John Harvey Kellogg used cereal and crackers to kill the libido, why Zen monks use soy to help maintain their vows of celibacy, why bosses have more testosterone than workers, which cultures hold “testicle festivals,” how environmental estrogens cause endocrine disruption, and why natural sex hormones are the keys not only to healthy libido but also to deep feelings of love and commitment.
Kaayla T. Daniel: The Surprising All Natural Toxins in Plant Foods (Sunday, Track II, 9-10:20)
Fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains and beans are widely appreciated for their rich vitamin and mineral content. But plant foods also contain antinutrients and toxins that can potentially cause myriad health problems. In this lecture, Dr. Kaayla Daniel will reveal surprising facts about the infamous oligosaccharides that turn beans into “musical fruits,” phytoestrogens that can cause hormonal havoc, phytates that block mineral absorption, protease inhibitors that interfere with protein digestion, and lesser known troublemakers such as oxalates, saponins, lectins and salicylates. She will explain how soaking, fermenting, cooking and other traditional processes will eliminate or reduce some – but not all – of these antinutritional and/or toxic components, why modern processing methods fail to do so adequately or reliably, and why some foods should simply not be eaten raw. Finally, Dr. Daniel will expose the tactics of the nutraceutical industry, which has turned devils into angels in order to successfully market antinutrients, toxins and hormone mimickers as “safe and natural” cholesterol reducers, cancer curers, hormone replacers and other alleged miracle workers.
Kaayla T. Daniel: The Healing Power of Broth (Sunday Track I, 4:00-5:20)
Old-fashioned bone broths are rich in calcium and other crucial minerals as well as cartilage, collagen and gelatin. Fascinating studies from the late 19th and early 20th century reveal the clinical use of gelatin for gastrointestinal distress, immune system breakdown, arthritis and skin health as well as the special needs of invalids, pregnant women, and babies and children who are failing to thrive. Recent studies reveal the healing power of proline and glycine, two of the amino acids found abundantly in broth. Proline and glycine shortages are found in many people on low-protein or vegetarian diets, as well as those who digest protein poorly. Both proline and glycine help restore gut health, and glycine aids blood sugar problems, anxiety and stress reduction. Although supplements can be clinically useful, traditional cultures all over the world revere genuine bone broth. Sadly, modern soups confer none of these benefits as the modern food industry relies on MSG, synthetic flavorings and other potentially dangerous additives to impart a meatlike taste.
Charles Eisenstein:A New Food Economics for Changing Times (Sunday Track IV, 10:30-11:50)
Since the dawn of humanity, the sharing of food has helped maintain bonds of family, friendship and community. But today most food is produced and prepared as part of the money economy, becoming a standardized commodity divorced from its origins. As we reestablish our connections to real food, we reclaim it from the commodity economy, and renew our personal bonds with community and place. Unfortunately, the money power (and its political agents) often seem to thwart our efforts to establish a new food economy. But not for long! The economic landscape is changing, opening up unprecedented opportunities for innovation. This talk presents a vision of a vibrant new food economy that is becoming possible with the unraveling of the old. Incorporating new (though ancient) modes of exchange—informal and formal, monetary and gift-based—it will revolutionize local food distribution, build community and strengthen local economies. Most importantly, it is something we can begin creating right now, building on the foundation laid by the WAPF and other local food activists, in response to today’s momentous economic changes.
Sally Fallon Morell: Seminar on Traditional Diets (Friday Track I, all day)
Animal fats, properly prepared whole grains, enzyme-enriched foods and nourishing bone broths kept our ancestors healthy. Sally Fallon Morell, author of Nourishing Traditions, explains why these are vital factors for maintaining good health today. Beginning with a presentation of Dr. Weston Price’s unforgettable photographs of healthy traditional peoples, Ms. Fallon explains the underlying factors in a variety of traditional diets, which conferred beauty, strength and complete freedom from disease on so-called primitive populations. Then she presents a step-by-step plan to put nourishing traditional foods—foods that your family will actually eat—back into your diet, including easy breakfast cereals, soups, sauces, snack foods, high-enzyme condiments and soft drinks that are actually good for you.
Learn about:
- Butter, the number one health food
- Vital role of high-cholesterol foods
- Why lowfat and vegan diets don’t work
- The magical powers of raw whole milk from pasture-fed cows
- Dangers of modern soy foods and soy infant formula
- The conspiracy to promote vegetable oils and hydrogenated fats
- Foods that help babies grow up smart and strong
- Old-fashioned foods that give limitless energy and vibrant health
- The unfortunate consequences of modern farming methods
This seminar is highly recommended for both laymen and health professionals newly introduced to the work of the Weston A. Price Foundation and makes an excellent introduction to the main conference speakers.
- Part I: Introduction to the work of Dr. Price and discussion of the underlying characteristics of healthy traditional diets.
- Part II: Fats and oils in traditional diets. Learn about the basics of lipid biochemistry and how to choose good fats and avoid the bad.
- Part III: How to change your diet for the better. Practical advice for busy parents including easy recipes for snacks, soups, breakfasts, desserts and enzyme-enriched beverages and condiments.
Sally Fallon Morell: Honoring the Sacred Foods (Saturday 3:15-4:30)
Traditional peoples valued certain nutrient-dense foods for fertility, prevention of birth defects and optimal growth. Western palates find many of these foods difficult to accept. This lecture will explore the basic sacred foods, their usage and nutrient levels, with an emphasis on preparation techniques that make them acceptable to westerners–even children! The lecture will highlight fish roe, bone marrow, organ meats, insects, animal fats and fish liver oils.
Nicholas Gonzalez: The Use of Proteolytic Enzymes Against Cancer: The Origins of an Idea (Sunday Track III, 1:30-2:50)
In his talk, Dr. Gonzalez will trace the evolution of the idea, beginning 100 years ago, that pancreatic proteolytic enzymes, above and beyond their well known digestive function, serve as our bodies’ main defense against cancer and are an effective anti-cancer supplement. He will discuss in some detail the work of Dr. John Beard, the pioneering English biologist who in elegant meticulous detail first proposed the enzyme hypothesis, and who along the way first identified stem cells and their probable role as the progenitor cancer cell—some 60 years before stem cells would be “rediscovered” in the 1960s, and 90 years before cancer researchers would propose that dysregulated stem cells are the culprit in malignant disease. Dr. Gonzalez will bring the enzyme concept up to date, presenting the experiences of Dr. William Kelley during the 1970s and 80s, and his own 20 year-experience using enzymes as a cancer treatment in his research studies and in his private practice. Throughout the talk, Dr. Gonzalez will emphasize the scientific support for the enzyme approach.
Nicholas Gonzalez: Nutrition and the Autonomic Nervous System (Sunday Track III, 4-5:20)
Pioneering researchers such as Dr. Francis Pottenger Sr., Royal Lee and Dr. William Kelley have proposed over the last 90 years that much if not all disease has at its roots dysfunction and imbalance in the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The ANS consists of those peripheral motor neurons that reach all tissues, organs and glands, and essentially regulate all metabolism and physiological function, from respiration, cardiovascular activity and digestion, from the mouth to the rectum, the secretion of hormones, the rate of metabolism and temperature regulation. The ANS consists of two branches, the sympathetic and parasympathetic, each with a distinctive anatomy, physiology and neurotransmitter chemistry. The two branches work in opposition from minute to minute, ideally helping to maintain homeostatic equilibrium twenty-four hours a day. Building on the work of Drs. Pottenger, Lee and Kelley, Dr. Gonzalez believes that some patients have an overly strong sympathetic system and correspondingly weak parasympathetic division, others a strong parasympathetic and weak sympathetic system. Such imbalance sets the stage for all manner of disease, from vision problems to cancer.
In his talk Dr. Gonzalez will discuss how specific foods, their constituents including proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, trace elements, each influence autonomic function, and how the proper choice of diet and supplements can help bring an out-of-balance autonomic set of nerves back into balance, with resulting improved biochemical and physiological activity, and ultimately, good health.
David Gumpert: Behind the Fuzzy Logic of the Raw Milk Opposition (Keynote Address) (Saturday evening)
Over the last three years, government regulators around the country, under the direction of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, have been conducting a relentless assault on raw dairies. In so doing, they are conducting an assault on all our rights. But why now? Having covered the government’s push against raw milk since its launch in 2006, David Gumpert provides an insider’s view of this latest phase in a century-long assault on raw milk. He examines the trumped-up charges against raw dairies, the emerging research on raw milk, and the rapidly changing arguments of the opposition. In his talk, he provides an assessment for why the opposition to raw milk is so intense, and takes a peek into the future of where the raw milk revolution is headed.
Scott Gryzbek: Ferment Anything! (Friday Track V, 10-12)
Lacto-fermentation is one of the easiest but least understood food preparation methods described in Nourishing Traditions. Scott will show you a few easy-to-make vegetable, fruit and fish ferments so you can easily go home and ferment anything you wish! Recipes to be demonstrated will include sauerkraut and other vegetable ferments, fruit chutney and gravlax. In addition, Scott will discuss the history, science and health benefits of this extremely healthy, tasty and easy food preservation method, so you can make fermented foods an everyday part of your diet.
Steve Heyer: Diversity on the Farm: Producing a Superior Product by Doing More with Less (Friday Track IV, 10-12)
When a farm family decides to take their farm off of the conventional treadmill, they typically do so by offering consumers a superior product utilizing sustainable husbandry. Recognizing the benefits that diversity induces within soil life, plants and livestock is paramount to achieving this sustainability – both environmentally as well as financially. Sustainable farmers are, after all, the keystone species of heritage breeds, for it is upon their financial success that all other aspects of sustainable farming are dependent. This session illuminates the benefits that diversity brings to the farm, the farmer, the consumer and the environment. By integrating sustainably raised grassfed cattle, pigs and poultry with sustainably produced energy, Steve demonstrates how this diversity enhances a farm’s fertility while diminishing its energy demands – two “bottom line” attributes that currently impose a heavy burden upon the long-term sustainability of every farm as well as the consumers that depend upon that farm for their sustenance.
Anore Jones: Sacred Foods from the Frozen North (Friday evening)
This presentation will survey the many different types of traditional foods commonly eaten to show the richness of the cuisene. Several individual foods will be followed in more detail to demonstrate gathering, preserving, preparing and eating. There will be discussions of how traditional foods are sacred; how the indigenous foods qualify as a world class cuisene; the defining technologies and processing techniques; and the continuing value of these traditional foods in today’s world.
Amanda Love: The Magic of Kefir (Friday Track V, 1:30-3)
Come on an insightful nutritional journey exploring this ancient, healing food with Amanda Love, The Barefoot Cook. This comprehensive presentation will take you on an amazing voyage back to the intriguing origins of kefir and will bring you all the way forward to today’s scientific understanding and use of this magical elixer! Learn about the amazing health properities of kefir as well as its many uses including dairy beverages, water beverages, cheese, sauerkraut, sourdough, body scrubs and more. Learn the difference between water and dairy keifr grains and how to use them. Also learn about some alternative cultures including Fil Mjolk from Sweden and Viili from Finland. Class includes demonstrations and take-home recipes.
Chris Masterjohn: Cod Liver Oil: Our Number One Superfood (Saturday 9:30-10:45)
Cod liver oil has been used for centuries for medicinal purposes and to strengthen general health. Physicians and scientists have used it to prevent and treat tooth decay, eye and bone diseases resulting from deficiencies of vitamins A and D, infectious diseases and rheumatism, and during the twentieth century it saved millions of dollars of productivity for American industry by reducing absenteeism. This valuable superfood has recently come under attack because of its high vitamin A content, accused of increasing mortality, raising the risk of infectious disease, causing osteoporosis and antagonizing the beneficial effects of vitamin D. Vitamins A and D should be seen, however, not as antagonists but as partners. By providing these partners together, cod liver oil used in moderate quantities makes a valuable addition to a healthy, traditional diet.
Chris Masterjohn: Bearers of the Cross: Cruciferous Vegetables and the Principal of Moderation (Sunday Track II, 4-5:20)
Cruciferous vegetables are vegetables in the cabbage family such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collard greens, kale, kohlrabi, mustard, rutabaga, turnip, bok choy, arugula, horseradish, radish, wasabi, watercress, maca, Virginia pepperweed, and even canola. Paradoxically, crucifers contain substances that have the potential both to increase detoxification and protect against cancer and also to damage the thyroid gland. This lecture will discuss the effects of fermentation and different forms of cooking on these substances, the influence of biochemical individuality on their ability to protect against cancer in some people, and the ultimate importance of consuming cruciferous vegetables in moderation.
John Moody: Building Local Buying Clubs: Nuts and Bolts from the Beginner to the Best (Sunday Track V, 10:30-11:50)
In our time together, a hands-on approach will be used to help the beginning and seasoned buying club leader(s) better handle the various demands of organizing and distributing food and other products. From basic membership agreements, computer and ordering platform options, bookkeeping, legal and tax issues, and more. Identifying the five basic demands a buying club creates and learning how to balance and meet them efficiently and effectively will be our goal.
John and Jessica Moody, chapter leaders for Louisville, KY, have been working with local farmers and artisans in the Kentuckiana region for almost four years, building buying clubs and other systems to allow consumers and farmers to connect efficiently and affordably, while educating both on the importance of nutrient-dense traditional foods and their preparation. They have two wonderful WAP kids who keep them very busy!
Mary Newport: Coconut Oil and Alzheimer’s Disease: A Dietary Intervention (Sunday Track I, 10:30-11:50)
Dr. Mary Newport will tell the story of how her husband’s symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease improved after incorporating coconut oil into his diet. She will discuss the concept of Alzheimer’s as “diabetes of the brain,” how ketones generated by medium-chain triglycerides provide energy to cells, and the current status of ketone research. She will also explain how ketones from medium-chain triglycerides may benefit persons with diabetes, traumatic brain injury, Down’s syndrome, autism and certain neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, Lou Gehrig’s (ALS) and Huntington’s chorea.
Kathy Pirtle and John Turner: Treatment of Acid Reflux/GERD with Traditional Foods (Sunday Track I, 9-10:20)
There are endless radio, television, internet and magazine ads dedicated to medication that treats acid-reflux and other related digestive complaints. In fact, 60 million Americans have acid-reflux and many people have acid reflux without knowing it. In addition to the typical symptom of acid-regurgitation, other less-known symptoms include hoarseness, belching, chronic throat clearing and sore throat, persistent cough, difficulty swallowing, nausea, asthma and wheezing and persistent hiccups in adults. In infants and children, frequent ear infections, excessive crying, nausea with or without vomiting, excessive coughing, respiratory problems, refusing food, excessive belching and burping.
There has been a 56 percent increase in the last few years of medicine for acid-reflux and digestive disorders in infants and children from 0-4 years old! What is the cause of this massive increase in GERD? And should our entire population succumb to these medications that magically “heal” the symptoms of these discomforts, thereby inadvertently expanding the wealth of drug companies? Could it be that there is a great danger in the “purple pill solution.” Could the “purple pill” be the wrong answer to your health challenge? In fact, what you need to know is that untreated or incorrectly treated acid reflux may lead to serious, life-threatening illness, which could be a precursor of severe degenerative conditions.
Dr. Turner and Kathryne Pirtle discuss an effective approach to the treatment of acid reflux with traditional foods. Through a diet of nutrient-dense, easy-to-digest foods from pastured animals and wild-caught fish, adequate vitamin A and D, and cultured foods that correct poor intestinal flora, acid reflux and intestinal damage can be permanently healed.
Gerald Pollack: Water, Energy and Life: Fresh Views from the Water’s Edge (Friday evening)
The impact of surfaces on the contiguous aqueous phase is generally thought to extend no more than a few water-molecule layers. We find, however, that this textbook view is not the case. Solutes are profoundly excluded from the vicinity of various hydrophilic surfaces to distances typically several hundred micrometers. Such large solute-exclusion zones are observed next to many hydrophilic surfaces, and diverse solutes are excluded. Hence, near-surface solute exclusion appears to be quite a general phenomenon.
To test whether the exclusion zone differs physically from bulk water, extensive experiments have been carried out. The results reveal that the solute-free zone is a physically distinct, less mobile, ordered phase of water that can co-exist essentially indefinitely with the bulk phase. Indeed, this near-surface zone may be a candidate for water’s long-postulated “fourth phase.”
The energy responsible for building this charged, ordered zone comes from sunlight. We found that incident radiant energy including all visible and near-infrared wavelengths induces exclusion-zone growth in a spectrally sensitive manner. Infrared is particularly effective. Apparently, incident photons cause some change in bulk water that predisposes constituent molecules to reorganize and build the charged, ordered exclusion zone.
Photons from ordinary sunlight, then, may have an unexpectedly powerful effect that goes beyond mere heating. Solar energy builds order and separates charge between the near-surface exclusion zone and the bulk water beyond—the separation effectively creating a battery. The process resembles photosynthesis. Indeed, this light-induced action would seem relevant not only for photosynthesis, but also for all realms of nature involving water and interfaces—ranging from the origin of life, to the role of water in food and biology, to the rise of water in plants. Many of these implications are discussed in http://uwtv.org/programs/displayevent.aspx?rID=22222 and http://www.i-sis.org.uk/liquidCrystallineWater.php and will be presented at the talk.
Beverly Rubik: Live Blood Analysis of Persons on the Weston A. Price Diet–A Pilot Study (Friday evening)
Peripheral blood samples from the fingertips of several adults on the Weston A. Price diet were observed using dark-field microscopy. Microphotographs and short videos of the various blood samples for each subject will be shown and explained in detail. Results show clear, clean blood plasma relatively free from systemic inflammation and clotting, which is rarely seen in adults of this age group who eat conventional food. Moreover, the blood cells were exceptionally sturdy and did not decompose rapidly.
R. J. Ruppenthal: Fresh Food from Small Spaces (Sunday Track IV, 4-5:20)
Are you ready to save some money and eat some healthy, homegrown food? Even if you live in an apartment, condo, townhouse or small home, no space is too small or too dark to grow food: sprouts, mushrooms, ferments and cultures, vegetables, even berries and fruit trees! Perfect for anyone who wants to join the revolution in home food growing, R.J. Ruppenthal’s new book Fresh Food from Small Spaces reveals how to harvest something delicious from any patio, balcony, rooftop, windowsill or cabinet. Join us for this interactive workshop!
Anne Sergeant: Healthy Eating Shouldn’t Cost an Arm and a Leg: Helpful Food Budget Strategies (Sunday Track IV, 9-10:20)
All people can afford to eat healthy food. In fact, when the budget it tight, families have all the more reason to prepare and consume nourishing foods. This session describes practical techniques to manage the cost of eating healthy, nourishing foods that build strong bodies. It identifies some hidden costs that make certain foods more expense to prepare and will discuss the high costs of health care. Dr. Sergeant will be presenting information from both her personal and professional experience. The focus of this session is to provide practical information that is useful for controlling food costs, while enjoying nutritious foods.
William Shaw: Low Cholesterol–A Major New Factor in Autism (Sunday Track I, 1:30-2:50)
Cholesterol supplementation reverses many symptoms of autism in SLOS disorder. Deficiency is also common in “regular” autism. Some parents reported significant decreases in autistic behavior within days of cholesterol supplementation, even before blood cholesterol values increased, indicating that cholesterol may benefit by forming cholesterol derivatives such as steroid hormones or bile salts. Cholesterol supplementation has allowed some patients to sleep through the night and others to overcome aberrant behaviors, to learn to walk and speak for the first time, and become responsive sociable family members.
The brain is the most cholesterol-rich organ in the body. The concentration of cholesterol in the brain, and particularly in myelin, is consistent with an essential function related to its membrane properties. In the central nervous system (CNS), essentially all (99.5%) cholesterol is unesterified, and the majority of cholesterol present in the CNS is believed to reside in two different pools: One represented by the myelin sheaths and the other by the plasma membranes of astrocytes and neurons. It has been estimated that up to 70 percent of the brain cholesterol is associated with myelin.
Risks from low total cholesterol include increased cancer, violent behavior, infection such as tuberculosis and gastrointestinal infections, anxiety and depression, double the death rate in older adults, and increased stroke rate and cataracts.
Benefits of cholesterol supplementation include decreased infections, reduced skin rashes, reduction in self-hurtful behaviors, improved muscle tone, decreased tactile defensiveness, improved behavior and sociability, and more rapid growth.
William Shaw: The Role of Oxalates in Mental Illness and Chronic Disorders (Sunday Track II, 10:30-11:50)
This comprehensive presentation includes an explanation of how oxalates are metabolized in the body and influenced by intestinal flora, toxic metals, the copper/zinc ratio, and pyridoxic acid levels. Included are some treatment options including dietary changes that will minimize absorption of oxalates from the gastrointestinal tract and the symptoms produced by high oxalates. Dr. Shaw will also discuss the three tests available at the Great Plains Laboratory for measuring urine levels of oxalic acid, the level of individual toxic metal body burden, and copper/zinc ratios which assesses the body’s balance of these important minerals and their storage proteins.
Garrett Smith: Nightshades: The Inflammatory Scientific Evidence (Sunday Track II, 1:30-2:50)
The “nightshade” family of plants, Solanaceae genera and species, has long been dubiously associated with arthritis, yet this has not stopped the edible family members–tomatoes, potatoes, Capsicum peppers, eggplant, Cape gooseberries, ashwaghandha, and goji/wolf berries–from becoming nearly one-fourth of the Standard American Diet, and often a higher percentage among the “health-seeker” population. Many people, healthcare practitioners included, believe that the edible nightshades are completely benign, that only those with food allergies/sensitivities to them have health issues with their consumption, or that the health benefits far outweigh any potential drawbacks.
This presentation will delve into multiple biochemical and neurophysiologic mechanisms of how the edible nightshades are potentially damaging to the health of any species, human or animal, that consumes them. Common general symptoms of nightshade sensitivity will be presented, as will nutritional strategies that may help decrease individual sensitivity. Alternative foods to replace nightshades in the diet will also be discussed.
Jasmine Stine: Building A Local Economy with Local Currency: BerkShares (Sunday Track IV, 1:30-2:50)
Join us for a discussion of a time-tested way for local communities to create local currencies as a tool for sustainable economic development. Widely used in the early 1900s, local currencies are seeing a come back as a way to mitigate the financial disruptions of an imploding global and national economy. Jasmine will describe how BerkShares, the local currency for the Berkshire region of Massachusetts, functions on a local scale the same way that national currencies have functioned on a national scale, building the local economy by maximizing circulation of trade within a defined region. The currency distinguishes the local businesses that accept the currency from those that do not, building stronger relationships and a greater affinity between the business community and the citizens of a particular place. Over 370 businesses in Berkshire County accept BerkShares and in 30 months, 2.2 million BerkShares had been issued from twelve branch offices of five local banks. The E. F. Schumacher Society of Great Barrington, Massachusetts has been a leader in creating the rationale and development of this exciting program. Jasmine will describe a positive example of how ordinary citizens have taken responsibility for keeping their own economies vibrant, their jobs local and their economic relationships face to face.
Jennette Turner: Food, Mood and Behavior for Children and Adolescents (Friday Track V, 3:30-5:30)
What your kids eat has a big impact on their moods, ability to concentrate and learn, and their social interactions. Learn how to avoid “bad mood” foods, and how to incorporate nourishing sacred foods that support healthy moods and behaviors into your family’s diet. We’ll also discuss tips for getting your kids to actually eat healthful foods.
Louisa Williams: Radical Medicine: Getting to the True Roots of Disease (Friday Track III, all day)
Many of us have gone to great lengths to feel better. We have purchased water filters, take nutritional supplements, try to exercise regularly, and even eat an organic and nutrient-dense diet. And yet, for a significant percentage, the abundant energy, vitality and feeling of well-being that define optimal health continue to elude us despite our most diligent efforts.
With a history of toxic mercury amalgam fillings, excessive courses of antibiotics, damaging childhood vaccines, and ubiquitous carcinogenic chemicals, general health guidelines are no longer adequate. The profound effects of these toxic insults necessitate profound intervention—and more “radical” medicine.
The word, radical, derives from the Latin term, radix, which means “root or origin,” as well as “that which is fundamental and far-reaching.” Radical Medicine refers to that field of holistic medicine that is dedicated to ascertaining and treating the most fundamental root causes of chronic illness. Only when these underlying “obstacles to cure” are diagnosed and effectively treated, can we then most fully utilize the nutrients in our diet. Then food truly becomes sacred—and the “medicine” that Hippocrates noted it should be over two thousand years ago.
In her talk, Dr. Williams will discuss the most common root causes of dysfunction and disease, and how to effectively treat these “obstacles to cure.” This will include the diagnosis and treatment of what the Europeans refer to as dominant foci, that is, chronic dental and tonsil focal infections and scar interference fields. Diagnosing these chronic foci is especially challenging since they typically are relatively silent and symptom-free locally, but cause pain and dysfunction distally. For example, a patient may be prescribed a whole host of pain-relieving prescription drugs (as well as bottles of fish oil and glucosamine), when the true cause of her chronic pain—a chronic tonsil focus—goes undetected. Thus, modern medicine (as well as even the majority of holistic physicians who are unaware of foci) often misses the mark by concentrating on relieving local symptoms with prescription drugs, when the major cause of a patient’s symptoms is actually a tooth, tonsil or scar quite far away from the area of chronic pain and dysfunction.
Additionally, the use of gemmotherapy—herbal remedies made from the young buds and rootlets of organic plants rich in regenerative phytochemicals (plant stem cells—will be described. These highly potent embryonic herbal remedies can detoxify chronic stores of toxic metals and chemicals that even past chelation treatments have failed to remove. Other major areas that will be discussed include identifying major food allergies and dysbiosis (overgrowth of the intestinal pathogenic microbes), and assessing significant dental malocclusions (bad bites). Further, the microdoses of toxic chemicals we receive daily from our cleaning and personal care products (shampoo, shaving crème, etc.) will be addressed, and alternative products that are both chemical-free and perform well on the skin and hair will be described.
Finally, Dr. Williams will discuss what she considers the most fundamentally curative treatment presently known—the new Sankaran System of constitutional homeopathy. This new system guides the homeopath into finding the single remedy out of literally thousands of possibilities that is needed to help reduce an individual’s inherited miasmic tendency, that is, one’s particular disease tendency or weakness. The correct constitutional remedy can be truly miraculous by healing at all levels—physically, mentally, and emotionally, and over time allows one’s true nature to most fully emerge and develop.
Tim Wightman: Grain–The Bridge to Grass (Friday Track IV, 1:30-3)
What consumers and farmers should know about grain and the process of its reduction and future elimination in the dairy animal’s diet.
Will Winter: Grass-The Forgiveness of Nature: Find Success and Joy with Your Own Grass-Based Livestock Herd or Flock (Saturday 9-10:30)
The creed of grass farming is simple: just allow Mother Nature to lead the way. The wilderness shows us the framework within which our cultural landscape developed. Let the rich, thick and verdant banks of beautiful grass restore a worn-out farm, build a moist microclimate, enrich the lives of animals, and provide a secure and wholesome life on a restful and happy farm.
Will Winter: The Wisdom of Grass Genetics: Select the Best Breeds and the Best Individuals–Just Do What Really Works (Saturday 10:45-12)
It’s early in the 1800s and the fat, curly-haired red, black or white cattle dot the hills and dales of the English countryside. These purebred cattle thrive naturally on nothing but the green swards of grass, producing thick creamy butterfat and deep-red, melt-in-your-mouth meat flecked with rich white marbled fat. Meanwhile, down the lane, the flocks of wooly sheep and ornately-horned goats groom the hedgerows for the forbs and woody shrubs that will yield the tender lambchops, the thick beds of lanolin-rich wool and buttery milk and cheese. It’s time to go back to the future, time to recreate your own version of this rich and remunerative countryside.
Will Winter: Holistic Herd Health Basics: Raise Radiantly Healthy Animals Without Antibiotics, Wormers, Vaccines or Vet Bills (Saturday 1:45-3)
Industry is about quantification, standardization and risk management, it consumes resources and therefore depletes them. It seeks to control nature, while the agrarian way manages it, and therefore can go on forever. No factory has been around for 500 years, whereas the natural agrarian ways have been around for thousands of years. Undo the hypnotic trance of forgetting and begin remembering the old roads leading to health, wealth and harmony.
Will Winter: Pastured Pork-The Other Red Meat: Forest Hogs, Whey-Fed Hogs, and Other Happy Pigs (Saturday 3:15-4:30)
If you’ve demonstrated a fearless acceptance of the good things in life, then you should by now know the joys of raising and eating perfect pigs, the ones that give us thick, succulent porkchops ringed in white fat, indescribably irresistible, smoky-salty bacon, dark sausages bubbling and smoking in the pan, and the kind of moist, rich ham that lingers on the tongue and begs you to take another bite. Nothing is more natural to the human being than gathering around a fire and meat. Maybe at one time people would walk a mile for a camel, but nowadays they will drive a hundred miles for another taste of this clean, rich meat that sings your name as you slide it onto your plate. Learn how to raise these good, old-fashioned, outdoor-raised fatties.
Will Winter: Optional Session: “Stump the Holistic Vet” Q & A (Saturday 4:30-5)
Will Winter: The Sustainable Big Box (Sunday Track V, 1:30-2:50)
We built a warehouse/buying club much better and much more fun than it really needed to be. After all, people today are still willing to pay so much, in so many ways, all to settle for so little. In this, the tail end of our dark and industrial food age, it’s a time when a very small sliver of the population truly understands the precious value of farm-fresh food hauled in almost daily. Sustenance that will meet and exceed almost anyone’s wildest food fantasies! But come anyway, secretly snicker as you cart home your own rich creamy raw milk, your stash of smoky bacon, your run-around-the-farm chicken, and almost-still-warm eggs. Never knew organic grass-fed ice cream could be a health food? Now you do. Decide later whether you will share this modern wonder of culinary delight with your friends!
Panel Discussion (Sunday Track V, 4-5:20)
Private Marketing, Distribution, and Processing: Tim Wightman, Moderator; with Pete Kennedy, Esq.; Meg Cattell, DVM; John Moody; and Will Winter, DVM
Closing Ceremony
Dan Barber: The Ecology of Eating (Sunday 5:30-6:30)
Dan Barber, chef and co-owner of Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns, explores the connection between a plate of food and a place that grows the food, describing how the most ecological choices in the field produce the most flavorful results.
Monday Activities
Farm Tour with Kathy Kramer (8-4)
Moving into Healing Spaces–Spacial Dynamics with Jaimen McMillan (9-4)
Have you ever felt stuck in your body? Does stress, strain or pain keep you re-strained? Do you sometimes feel that your age or your ailments are beginning to determine your moods and ability to be in motion? In this course we will move, play and laugh our way towards greater health. Participants in any physical condition will benefit greatly from this inclusive approach which embraces our surrounding spaces. We will experience the supportive effects of dynamic posture, the healing ease of graceful exercise, and the unbounded joy of learning to move again with the simplicity of a child. This course will move you, and you will never look at your body or space in the same way again. Let’s move on to healing spaces!
Cooking Seminar (9-4)
Part I: Balanced Meals for Busy Families with Jennette Turner (9-12)
If you’ve ever thought that your family’s fast and crazy lifestyle allows little or no time to prepare healthy natural foods, then this four-hour class and cooking demo is a must on Monday afternoon. Among the many valuable lessons:
- Balanced meal components-applying the basics
- Tips and tricks for preparing nourishing foods in the context of a busy modern life
- Comfort and efficiency in the kitchen-techniques to make you feel like a pro
- How balanced nutrition affects the well-being of kids of all ages
- The nuts and bolts of consistent and convenient meal planning
- Covering family needs-from work lunches to healthy snacks for kids
Cooking demos and recipes include nutritious and delicious soups and the “sacred foods” your family shouldn’t miss.
Part II: Farm-to-School Cooking Beyond the Salad Bar with Stephanie Rivers (1-4)
Stephanie Rivers will describe her experience in helping to improve the meal program for a small private school in Janesville, WI. She will demonstrate her nutrient-dense pizza recipe and share tips for getting your foot in the kitchen door of your local school. You will learn about some of the benefits of expanding your farm-to-school program beyond the salad bar. You will also get ideas and inspiration to help you foster a healthy connection between your school and a local pasture-based farm.
Chapter Leader Meeting (9-4) with Sally Fallon Morell