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It’s all right here….
….your assigned reading for tonight is the following article by Dr. Joseph Mercola. He reports on the finding that Americans have the poorest health of any of the other industrialized nations. Now, of course, our government finds that that is good reason to have more government. But Dr. Mercola thinks otherwise….he says that basically, the problem is the government. I urge you to read this: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/01/23/united-states-health-ranking.aspx
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Trying not to be boring….
….and what’s a bigger turn-off that people talking about their diets? So I’ve been trying to be quiet about my current campaign to lose about 40 pounds (3/4s of the way there). But I did want to note this column by Peter Ballerstedt in Kit Pharo’s weekly newsletter. Ballerstedt makes the point that, even if you don’t lose weight, a low carb, high fat diet is good for you. For the science, be sure to click on his link. Do you (or someone you love) have three of following conditions? Abdominal obesity: a waist circumference over 40 inches in men and over 35 inches in women. Serum triglycerides 150 mg/dl…
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Gerrish visits Thistle Hill….
….Jim Gerrish, that is, the nation’s leading pasture expert. We’re fortunate to count Jim among our friends. He’s the one who convinced us eight years ago to “go red” before red was cool. More than that, Jim’s counsel on a wide range of grazing issues has been invaluable in both raising our Devon and finishing animals for meat. Above, he’s just great company and the world really won’t miss the few bottles of red we destroyed during his visit. After staying the night (and checking out some of our herd and pastures as the sun went down), Jim went on to star in a series of programs put on by…
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What’s in a name – 3
….our friend Jim Yancey of Cooney Creek Farm chimes in with some related information about misleading labels. These things apparently have been around for awhile but I have never focused on them. We “googled” and can vouch for the authenticity of at least these items, starting with the Jolly Green Giant….I mean, what could be more American than the Jolly Green Giant? “Green Giant frozen vegetables are from China. Never buy the grocery store garlic unless it is clearly marked from USA or Canada; the other stuff is grown in people poop (even worse than chicken poop). China is the largest producer of garlic in the world. Buy only local honey, most honey is shipped in…
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What’s in a name – 2
…continuing our rant about labeling (See What’s in a Name below)… Our daughter, Carolyn, is a cancer surgeon in Texas though her career has moved more and more to nutrition and integrative medicine. She is now the director of the Baylor Medical Center integrative medicine department and it was in that role she was interviewed on a Dallas radio program the other day. Naturally, she was singing the benefits of grass fed beef and was surprised when one of the callers to the program said he was a grass fed beef farmer and at that very moment was delivering meat to one of his customers. Almost seemed like a plant,…
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What’s in a name….
….as consumers have become more health-conscious, the nation’s food producers have responded. But not the way you may think. Instead of making their products better, they’ve changed their labeling to make it seem better. And the USDA, FDA and the rest of the government from the White House down have been their willing accomplices. What we used to call “the natural food” sector, until Big Ag co-opted that term, too, is only an infinitesimal part of the total picture. But it’s existence at any level is apparently considered a threat that the Big Guys and the Government (including our Virginia state government, by the way) are determined to stamp out.…
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Sometimes I wonder….
….if it’s worth the fight. The government, which of course is vitally concerned about the food you eat, (sarcasm intended) has come up with still more regulations. What they say, of course, is they’re only thinking of you. But what they’re doing of course, is trying another end run that will favor Big Ag and penalize those small farmers who actually care about the quality of the food we eat. What Uncle Sam plans to do is “inspect” producers and processors in high risk areas. And the cost of us high risk farmers will be $13,000 a year. Big Ag, which makes billions and is the cause of all the…
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Getting to know you….
….our friend and partner in the English Devon project, John Forelle, stopped by and renewed acquaintances with TDA Churchill. He’s a year old now (the bull, not John) and even more than most of our herd likes to come up and check out visitors. John’s home is Folly Farm at Pine Plains, New York and he was racing to beat the snow storm that covered that area overnight.
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The pay-off….
….regular readers know that we’ve made repeated trips to southwest England in recent years and, with two American partners, have selected outstanding pure, traditional English bulls and cows…collected embryos from the matings….and imported them to the United States. And here’s the result: a three-month old bull calf out of Goldings Norah by Millennium Falcon. We just saw him recently at the farm in Georgia where he was calved and we couldn’t be more pleased. Doubly pleased. There on the same pasture was his brother, another Falcon sired bull calf out of a cow from another great, historic British herd, Essington Park. These two, with a third British bull that calved here…
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Hay wars….
…we wrote before about the devastating effect of the drought on our friends who are cattlemen in the mid-section of the country. Most ran out of grass this summer and were forced to severely cut back their herds and even liquidate. Now that it’s winter, and time to feed hay, the situation has become even more dire. Hay rustlers have become a serious problem. And so have the Chinese. The Stockman Grass Farmer reports that the Chinese are able to outbid American cattleman for American hay. It seems it costs just $30 a ton to transport hay by container ship to the Far East. Shipping that same ton of hay…