The Importance of Recycling Energy, Part 1: The answer to feeding a growing world population

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What you are about to read is a different perspective than what you normally hear about our use of fossil fuels. We have within our reach the ability to solve many of the environmental problems that we face today with the use of “non-renewable” energy sources — crude oil, natural gas, and coal. We get the impression from many scientists that our use of fossil fuels that we are removing from the earth is polluting our environment with unnatural toxins that should not be there and that we are creating a big environmental problem with greenhouse gases. But their field of view is too narrow and pessimistic. We have the opportunity of recycling fossil fuel energy back to it original form. In the process, not only can we solve many of these environmental problems, but we can significantly increase food production to feed a growing world population using organic methods. Chemical farming and GMO’s are not the answer for increasing food production to feed the world.

To see the solution, it is necessary to see the bigger picture of what fossil fuel energy really is and how it can be recycled. Fossil fuels are formed from the remains of dead plants and animals that were buried many years ago. In Pennsylvania, layers of coal can range from a few inches to 10 or 12 feet thick. To make coal or oil, plant and animal matter is highly compressed. Now try to imagine how many plants it would take to make a layer of coal that was only one foot thick.  What those layers of coal and oil tell us is that many years ago the soil was highly productive and produced vast amounts of vegetation that in some locations was likely much greater than anything we have seen in modern times.

In physics, The Law of Conservation of Energy states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, but it can change form. Energy is said to be conserved over time. In the case of fossil fuels, when they are burned the energy is not destroyed but rather changes form. A significant portion becomes carbon dioxide. But before we go further, we need to back up and look at where fossil fuels came from in the first place and look at the carbon cycle. First,  in very ancient times there was very fertile topsoil that was rich in carbon. That very fertile soil produced vast amounts of plant matter. The plant matter was buried and over many years was converted into fossil fuels. Today, fossil fuels are being removed from the earth and burned and vast amounts of carbon dioxide are being put into the air. What we need to do is to capture that ancient topsoil that is now floating in the air as carbon dioxide and put it back into our topsoil. If we can accomplish that we have the potential to significantly increase food production.

The bottom line is: gasoline came from topsoil, we burned it in our car and put the “topsoil” in the air. It is interesting that many of the oil rich countries, such as Iraq and Saudi Arabia, are largely desert countries. Their topsoil is buried way below the surface in the form of oil. (It is interesting to note that the Garden of Eden, with its lush vegetation, would have been in their general area.) They are pumping their topsoil out of the ground as oil and selling their topsoil to us to burn in our cars. We are burning their topsoil and using the energy for transportation. In the process we have put their topsoil into the air where it is polluting the environment. Our responsibility and opportunity now is to recycle the topsoil out of the air and put it back in the topsoil where it belongs.

Why it is important to recycle energy back into our topsoil
Why is it important that we recycle carbon out of the atmosphere and put it in the soil? We have a great opportunity to restore soil productivity back to the way it was right before fossil fuels were formed. The carbon dioxide in the air is an important resource that we need to utilize.

The main difference between topsoil and subsoil is the carbon content in the topsoil. The carbon content is usually referred  to as organic matter. By increasing the carbon content of our soils we can increase the depth of the topsoil and make the soil much more productive. Dr. Carey Reams used to say that if he knew how deep the top soil was, he could tell you what the production would be. Research at Michigan State University indicates that a 1 percent increase in organic matter offers a 12 percent increase in crop production potential. (http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb1083169.pdf)

Adding carbon to the soil helps make the soil more drought proof. Carbon is like a sponge and can hold about four times its weight in water. Therefore increasing the carbon content of the soil enables the soil to hold water for an extended time after it rains and makes more water available to the plants. High carbon soil can also absorb moisture from the air during times of high humidity, increasing the water available to the plants even though it doesn’t rain.

Carbon in the topsoil makes it more porous so that when it rains the water soaks into the soil and does not run off as quickly. That is important for keeping the water where the plants can use it, but it also is very important in reducing topsoil erosion and flooding. This summer here on the farm we had an inch of rain in less than a half hour. I went to a place where we have often had water running off the pasture in the past. This time there was no run off. The soil had absorbed the entire inch of rain. That was a satisfying result of the work we have done in increasing the soil carbon content of our soils.

Carbon also provides a “hotel” for the microbes and bacteria in the soil. Those microbes and bacteria in the soil are important for making nutrients and minerals available to the plants and converting decayed plant matter into soil carbon.

It is important that we complete the carbon cycle and put the “topsoil” that we burn in our cars back into the soil where it belongs. The real answer to feeding a growing world is in organic farming that sequesters carbon and builds topsoil.

To be continued.

Food Shortage – “It Will NEVER Happen” But if it does, are you ready?

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Since I wrote our last newsletter, I attended three different grocery store auctions where the stores closed and they could not find a buyer for the store. The first auction was the grocery store that we went to often when we lived at our old farm before we started eating almost exclusively organic. It was a large store, Selby’s Grocery in Poolesville, Md. I was looking for a large meat grinder for making pet food and I was able to buy it for an incredible price at the second grocery store auction (the store pictured above). One guy accused me of stealing it, it was so cheap.

The prices kept dropping with each auction. By the third grocery store auction, there were only about ten people buying. Most of the freezers, refrigerated cases, and store shelving in that store were sold for scrap because no one had a use for them. Being in a grocery store that couldn’t make it, with only a hand full of bidders, and prices way below where they should have been, had a profound affect on everyone there. It is hard to describe in words.

There are a number of events that are happening that I think are important that we keep in mind as we plan for the rest of the year and the next several years. There is a good possibility that nothing significant will happen and things will continue as they have been. But there also exists a very real possibility of significant food shortages.

One event that could cause a significant food shortage is the drought in California. Statewide, the drought is getting worse. The drought could end at any time, but some scientists are saying that it is likely going to be a prolonged drought. A prolonged drought would have a significant impact on our food supply. According to the California Department of Agriculture website, California produces nearly half of US-grown fruits, nuts and vegetables. http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/statistics/
California produces (as a percentage of all US production for each food item):
Almonds 99%
Apricots 88%
Strawberries 91%
Peaches 73%
Plums 97%
Walnuts 99%
Broccoli 65%
Fresh carrots 81%
Cauliflower 86%
Lettuce 75%
Processing tomatoes 96%
Plus significant quantities of other fruits and vegetables.
http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/in-the-news/california-drought-2014-farm-and-food-impacts/california-drought-2014-crop-sectors.aspx

Another thing that could cause food shortages is high inflation. Massive amounts of money have been created in recent years without much apparent inflation. Exporting money out of our country has helped keep inflation down. The US dollar is the world reserve currency and it is used by many countries to to buy and sell with other countries. However, in the last month or so, Russia, China, India, France, and others have agreed together to stop using the US dollar for trading between their countries. A significant part of the world ceasing to use the US dollar for trade has the potential to cause higher inflation (not necessarily hyperinflation) here in our country.

High inflation often results in the government imposing price controls on certain items such as food to keep prices from rising. What usually happens then is that those items disappear from store shelves because they cost more to produce than what they can sell for. Just last month, this very thing happened in Panama, which uses the US dollar for their currency. The Panama Post reported July 21:
“During the last couple of weeks, Panama — with expected annual economic growth of 7 percent this year — has faced what hardline socialist nations such as Cuba and Venezuela experience every day: food shortages. As many experts warned, and only 15 days after newly elected President Juan Carlos Varela announced the price-control law, the empty shelves are everywhere.” http://panampost.com/marcela-estrada/2014/07/21/econ-101-for-panama-new-price-controls-bring-rampant-shortages/

Food shortages can also occur when there is high inflation, even if there are not price controls. Items with a very low profit margin such as rice, eggs, chicken, produce, and other basic food items tend to disappear from the stores because there is not enough profit margin to cover the losses from inflation. Costs continue to rise for the producer or manufacturer.

Another event that could cause significant food shortages is Walmart going out of business. The first thought of many is that Walmart will never go out of business. But if we have high inflation, it could potentially put Walmart under. Walmart has put many smaller grocery stores out of business in recent years, such as Selby’s Grocery in Poolesville, as they have expanded their grocery departments. Grocery sales now amount for 55% of all of Walmart’s sales. Forbes magazine reports that Walmart now has 25% of the US grocery store sales. http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2013/05/20/wal-mart-cleans-up-on-poor-america-with-25-of-u-s-grocery-sales/

Walmart’s business model has worked very well for them during periods of low inflation and low interest rates. However, Walmart is currently facing a difficult retail environment. Their same store sales have declined in each of the last five quarters. Their CEO recently stepped down and a new CEO was appointed. Walmart does not have much inventory in warehouses, but buys most of their products just as they need them. Their trucks on the road making deliveries are a significant part of their “warehouse” inventory. Low inventory, coupled with very small profit margins, could be a recipe for disaster for Walmart if high inflation and high interest rates occurred. In other countries that had high inflation, many businesses were able to keep going by using their stockpiled inventory as a hedge against inflation.

What should we do to have food if there is a food shortage?
Don’t become a paranoid “prepper” that has a year or more of freeze dried food stashed around the house. But I do think it would be wise to not have the current “Walmart inventory mentality” in which you have less than six days of food on hand and need to run to the grocery store several times a week for food. Having a month or two worth of food on hand would give you a nice cushion. There is a certain satisfaction knowing that you have food on hand at all times and that you don’t have to run to the store to stock up every time they are calling for a snow storm.

A freezer is a good investment. It is a simple, easy way to stock up on food without it going bad. It is also a way to save money even if there is never a food shortage. For example, you could buy larger quantities of chickens from us at a time and only come to the farm several times a year rather than every month. The savings on trips to our farm and to the store could add up quickly. With a freezer you can also save significant amounts of money by buying in larger quantities and stocking up on items when they are on sale or when you find them at a really good price.

Historically, price controls are put on items sold by large corporations. If that were to happen here, knowing local farmers, such as our farm, could also be an important source of food. We will do all we can to be here for you. Hopefully there will NEVER be a food shortage, but if there is, be ready.

Butter Baked Chicken

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6 leg quarters
1/2 cup butter, melted
Season salt
Onion powder
Garlic powder

Sprinkle the underside of each leg quarter with season salt, onion powder and garlic powder. Place skin side up in pan. Pour butter over leg quarters. Sprinkle with season salt, onion powder and garlic powder. Bake, uncovered, in 350 degree oven 1 1/2 hours.

Option: For Butter Chicken Lyonaise, slice potatoes and place in pan before putting the chicken in the pan. Top the sliced potatoes with onion slices. Sprinkle with salt. Top with chicken and proceed with the Butter Baked Chicken recipe.

Too Much Recycling

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With the heat of summer and trying to stay cool, be careful about too much recycling—recycling your most important food, the air you breathe. Air is our most important food, because without it, we will only live a few minutes. The utility companies, with a singular focus on energy conservation, have been encouraging us to seal up our houses tighter and tighter so that no air will pass through the windows, doors, or other places. They are focusing on energy consumption and not on people’s health needs. The end result is that many people are recycling their air and breathing their own exhaust this summer as they try to stay comfortable in their sealed insulted refrigerator houses and offices.

Carey Reams taught that 80% of the energy that we as human beings need for health and bodily function comes from the air. Only 20% comes from the food we eat. I have not been able to verify that 80% is an accurate figure, but in my research, I have found that it is true that we get significantly more energy from the air than from our food. For example, a person who burns 2000 calories a day in exercise will consume about 2000 calories of food. However, not all of those calories consumed are used by the body. Some of the calories are excreted in the urine and bowels. Therefore, there is more energy being used by the body than is coming from the food. In addition, the human body is putting off infrared light. One person estimated that it took about 2000 calories to produce that infrared light and heat. Those calories had to come from somewhere other than the food.

It is easy to forget about the importance of pure “organic” (chemical free) high quality air for our health because we can’t see air and air is free. In a sealed-up, air conditioned building, there is not only a depletion of oxygen, but there are also chemicals trapped inside. There are chemicals in the air from the carpet, the furniture, the glues in plywood and particle board, the paint, and many other sources. These chemicals are toxic to our bodies. 

One disease in particular, cancer, thrives in an environment where there is little or no oxygen. One of the best defenses against cancer is oxygen.

Our family’s solution
Our family has chosen not to have air conditioning. The heat outside does not seem as hot when we don’t have air conditioning as when we live in air conditioning and then go outside into the heat and the heat hits us in the face. One of the advantages, too, of an older home like ours is that there are fewer chemicals in the materials it is constructed with.

We also sing together in the morning as a family about four times a week. Singing develops the lungs and makes the lungs more efficient in absorbing oxygen.


This picture was in the March 2013 newsletter in the article: “Crazy Farmers Eat Two Breakfasts”. A keyboard, because it is always in tune, is better to sing with than a piano unless the piano is diligently kept in tune. For Christmas I bought Cathy a new Yamaha keyboard that has a much clearer sound than this Casio keyboard. We have been amazed at the difference the clarity of sound from the Yamaha keyboard has made on our singing in the last six months. It has enabled us to tune our voices closer to each other and to make a more tight and beautiful blend of our voices.

We also use hydrogen peroxide in our swimming pool. Swimming in the pool is like an oxygen therapy bath. It cleans the skin and is refreshing. The hydrogen peroxide keeps the water in the pool sparkling clean without chlorine.

Recycling is good and is important unless it is recycling your breath exhaust. Then it is too much recycling! Have a healthful and oxygen filled summer.

For more on the importance of air, read the following two newsletter articles:

Crazy Farmers Eat Two Breakfasts
https://www.jehovahjirehfarm.com/articles/2013/03/07/crazy-farmers-eat-two-breakfasts/

Trying to Stay Healthy Wrapped in Plastic and Living in a Sealed Insulated Box, Starving Ourselves from a Food We Can’t See
https://www.jehovahjirehfarm.com/articles/2010/11/19/trying-to-stay-healthy-wrapped-in-plastic-and-living-in-a-sealed-insulated-box-starving-ourselves-from-a-food-we-cant-see/

When “Antibiotic-Free” Isn’t

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A month or two ago, someone gave us a used egg carton from another egg company. On the front of its full-color label, the company proudly advertised: “No Antibiotics!”

Technically, they were right. Technically, however, they were very wrong. In 2010, Monsanto patented glyphosate (commonly known as “Roundup”) as an antibiotic. Glyphosate is the #1 herbicide in the US, with 180-185,000,000 pounds of glyphosate used in 2007 (the latest year that the EPA gives statistics for). To put that in perspective, “regular” antibiotics used in agriculture totaled almost 29,000,000 pounds in 2009. In other words, over 6 times more glyphosate was used than regular antibiotics.

But glyphosate is no ordinary antibiotic. It might be called a “reverse antibiotic”. It kills good bacteria, such as those that inhabit our intestines—and stimulates harmful bacteria. And it was this antibiotic that was being fed to the chickens who laid the “no antibiotics” eggs!

For years, Monsanto advertised Roundup as “safe” and “biodegradable” and told us it was neutralized when it touched the soil; that is, until they got in legal trouble because the facts didn’t line up with their claims. Roundup is a chelating agent that binds with other substances and makes them unavailable. When glyphosate binds with clay particles in the soil, it is immobilized and remains attached to that clay particle until it either breaks down (a process that can take years) or is released in the soil. Therefore, repeated applications of Roundup have the potential to accumulate in the soil.

In 1996, genetically engineered crops hit the market, and by 2012, around 90% of the corn and soy grown in the US were GMO. Most of these crops are designed to be sprayed with Roundup while they are growing to kill weeds growing in the field, without killing the crop. Now, instead of only spraying their fields prior to planting, farmers could spray Roundup at any time they desired. What this means is that a systemic antibiotic (glyphosate/Roundup) is being sprayed directly on our food, absorbed by the plants and spread throughout their tissues. Roundup is also sprayed pre-harvest on crops such as wheat, barley, sugarcane and lentils to control weeds and to get uniform dry-down of the plants.

And? Does it matter?

In 2012, Gilles-Eric Séralini and his team of researchers shocked the world with graphic pictures of rats with huge tumors from exposure to Roundup Ready foods and Roundup.
Seralini's GMO Maize and Roundup Research
From left to right: a rat fed GMO corn grown without Roundup; a rat fed GMO corn grown with Roundup; a rat given non-GMO corn, with a trace amount of Roundup in its drinking water.

“Séralini designed his 2012 study as a direct followup of a previous study on the same NK603 maize conducted by Monsanto to support its application for regulatory authorization…

 

“Séralini’s findings were alarming: both GM maize NK603 and Roundup caused serious kidney and liver damage and an increased and earlier development of tumours, leading to an increased rate of mortality.

“These serious effects had not shown up in Monsanto’s 90-day test because it was too short. Serious diseases like organ damage and tumours take time to develop and become obvious…

 

“…in Séralini’s study the first large tumours were only seen four months into the trial in the case of males and seven months in the case of females. Most tumours were only detected after 18 months...

“Ninety days in a rat is equivalent to only 7–9 years in human terms – yet human beings could eat a GM food and residues of Roundup over a lifetime.” (emphasis mine)
http://www.gmoseralini.org/faq-items/why-this-study-now/

By the beginning of the 24th month of the study, 50-80% of all female rats had developed tumors in the GMO- and Roundup-exposed groups—with some rats having up to 3 tumors.

It is important to note that increased tumors and organ damage were found in rats who were given Roundup in their water with no GMO feed. In other words, Roundup by itself, without GMO grain, has the potential to do great damage to the body, even at very low doses. (The lowest dose was intended to mimic the minute trace amount found in some tap water.)

But the potential damages of Roundup go beyond tumors. As noted earlier, Roundup is very toxic to gut bacteria, which are important for proper digestion of food. Glyphosate also inhibits enzymes that the body uses to detoxify itself and produce bile acids for digestion of food. This means that, by destroying the body’s natural defenses, Roundup can enhance the effects of other toxins we absorb from our food and environment. It also means that Roundup can cause the digestive system to work less effectively than it should.

In other words, we see a one-two punch here: destruction of gut bacteria and reduction of digestive function. When the bowel is malfunctioning, we are unable to absorb all the minerals and vitamins that we need from our food. This can lead to all kinds of disease. Researchers Anthony Samsel and Stephanie Seneff have shown the great possibility of a link between glyphosate and many different diseases, including gastrointestinal disorders, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, depression, autism, infertility, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. (See link at the end.)

But is this actually happening in our society? Is Roundup actually causing disease, or is this empty hypothesizing? Nancy Swanson, former staff scientist for the US Navy, has plotted the rise in the use of glyphosate against the rise in various diseases. The graphs are significant:

Graph of children with autism

Graph of deaths from Alzheimer's

Graph of diabetes cases
Compare this graph with the following one showing the total amount of sweeteners used over the same time period (top, purple line). The total amount of sweeteners used has actually dropped while diabetes has risen:

Graph of sweetener use

Graph of deaths from renal (kidney) disease

Graph of the incidence of liver cancer

The last two graphs are very interesting, because they go right along with the findings of Séralini’s rat study: liver and kidney damage. The renal (kidney) disease graph is particularly interesting, because it shows the disease rate dropping right before the introduction of GMO’s and increase in glyphosate usage –with a sharp spike afterwards. I encourage you to look at all the graphs:
http://www.examiner.com/slideshow/gmos-glyphosate-and-neurological-disorders
http://www.examiner.com/slideshow/glyphosate-gmos-and-disease
http://www.examiner.com/slideshow/incidence-rates-of-thyroid-cancer-new-cases-reported-per-year-per-100-000

How much glyphosate are we actually getting in our food? After all, the government has set limits on the level of glyphosate in our food. But how do we know if anyone is actually abiding by those standards? Samsel and Seneff state:

“It is difficult to get information on actual amounts of glyphosate present in foods, due to the perception that it is nontoxic to humans [1,6]. The USDA Pesticide Data Program (PDP) is a voluntary program which randomly monitors agricultural chemical residues in the food supply. A search of the most recent data for 2010, published in May 2012, found statistics for the most popular agricultural chemicals except for glyphosate and glufosinate, another organophosphate. Residue data for the most popular herbicide on the planet were not available, but, interestingly, information on atrazine and other herbicides were readily available. Communication with USDA revealed that no data were available due to lack of monitoring. However, in 2013, for the first time, the USDA will be releasing a small amount of data for glyphosate residues only in soy. Lack of program funding was cited as the reason for this lack of data.” (emphasis mine)

The National Pesticide Information Center confirms this:
“Glyphosate was not included in compounds tested for by the Food and Drug Adminstration’s (FDA) Pesticide Residue Monitoring Program (PRMP), nor in the United States Department of Agriculture’s Pesticide Data Program (PDP).”
http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/glyphotech.html

It’s strange that the government is not testing for the #1 agricultural chemical in America! Obviously, if you don’t look for it, you won’t find it. With glyphosate being sprayed all over our food, there’s no telling how much the average American ingests on a daily basis. Those 185 million pounds of glyphosate have to go somewhere.

One thing is certain: we are eating glyphosate. A recent German study found glyphosate residues in the urine of dairy cows, rabbits and humans. These people and animals were not just consuming glyphosate-contaminated food, but were actually absorbing the glyphosate into their bloodstream and circulating it throughout the whole body. Not surprisingly, glyphosate residues were significantly lower in people eating an organic diet than those eating a conventional diet. One very interesting finding was that chronically ill humans had significantly higher levels of glyphosate in their urine than healthy humans.

Furthermore, this study also found that glyphosate accumulates in animal tissue. Tests of kidney, liver, lung, spleen, muscle and intestinal tissue all revealed similar amounts of glyphosate residues. Glyphosate is accumulating in the meats that we eat—to be passed along for our second-hand consumption. The logical conclusion is that glyphosate residues are also accumulating in our own bodies. (See more at http://omicsonline.org/open-access/detection-of-glyphosate-residues-in-animals-and-humans-2161-0525.1000210.php?aid=23853)

What are we to do? If the government won’t protect us, who will? You. We must each take our own health in our own hands and get serious about removing this toxic antibiotic from our diet if we don’t want to be included on those graphs of disease. This starts with the cereal you eat for breakfast, the sandwich you eat at lunch and the chicken you eat for dinner. If it’s not organically raised, assume it has glyphosate residues. This includes the tortilla chips that are made with organic corn and fried in conventional, glyphosate-treated vegetable oil. Since the glyphosate residues are part of the food itself, they cannot be washed off, and they are not broken down by cooking.

It is important to cut through the chatter and find truly organic food. Be discerning and ask questions. One farm about an hour from us claims to “go beyond organic”—yet they told us that they used GMO feed for their animals. Other farms, recognizing the dangers of GMO’s, use non-organic, GMO-free feed. However, GMO-free is not necessarily glyphosate-free. It is standard practice for many farmers to spray their fields with Roundup before planting to kill weeds. According to the National Pesticide Information Center, “Lettuce, carrots, and barley contained glyphosate residues up to one year after the soil was treated with 3.71 pounds of glyphosate per acre.” Given that the Séralini rat study showed increased disease in rats who consumed only 0.1 parts per billion of Roundup in their drinking water (i.e., one drop in over 130,000 gallons of water), even a small amount of glyphosate residue is problematic.

Some organic farms, due to the cost of organic feed, feed their chickens conventional feed. They cannot call the chicken or eggs organic, but they can say it was raised on an organic farm. Take nothing for granted!

Fourteen years ago, during our first year of farming, we switched to organic feed for our chickens. This currently means paying over three times more for our feed than if we used conventional feed, but we don’t regret our decision. It is part of our quest to give you healthy, nourishing food that helps you to live better and stay out of the doctor’s office.

I encourage you to make the hard choices. Stop feeding yourself antibiotics that kill the “good guys” and help the “bad guys”. Buy real. Buy healthy. Buy glyphosate-free!

References and recommended reading
Website about the Séralini rat study:
http://www.gmoseralini.org

Articles by Anthony Samsel and Stephanie Seneff:
http://people.csail.mit.edu/seneff/Entropy/entropy-15-01416.pdf
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3945755/

A Mercola review of Samsel and Seneff’s findings:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/06/09/monsanto-roundup-herbicide.aspx

Analysis by Nancy Swanson:
http://sustainablepulse.com/wp-content/uploads/GMO-health.pdf

Glyphosate residues in urine:
http://omicsonline.org/open-access/detection-of-glyphosate-residues-in-animals-and-humans-2161-0525.1000210.php?aid=23853

The Honey Bee Is Dying

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 Nationally, the honey bees are dying at an unsustainable rate. I believe that the honey bee, because of its very short lifespan, is an early indicator for us as human beings with a much longer lifespan of our own future health. As such, the health and life of the honey bee is much more important than just as a pollinator for our fruits and vegetables.

This past year, our son Joel, lost most of his honey bee hives to various causes. At the peak last spring he had about 100 colonies. By the end of winter he had only 25 left. What is the point of having a business that is almost guaranteed to lose a lot of money each year? He was ready to quit. But… he decided to keep on for at least another year to see what he can learn from the bees and to give them a better chance.

One of the problems that honey bees face is a lack of food in summer and early fall. Because of the lack of food, they are attracted to commercially grown corn pollen, a protein source, that is also laced with insecticides and glyphosate. This is the same corn that is part of much of the American diet. To combat the shortage of food and to try to keep the bees from being attracted to chemically grown crops, we planted various plants in our pastures to provide food for them during the usual summer food shortage. We also plan to apply milk and honey to the pastures to help increase the brix (sugar) content of the flowers, to sequester carbon, and to increase the protein content of the pastures for the chickens and sheep.

Cathy’s Cooking Corner

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Recently our family watched “Frontier House”, a PBS historical reality series that first aired in 2002. Three modern families were selected to go back in time to 1883 on the America Frontier in Montana during the Homestead Act. Each family needed to establish their homestead as if they were living in 1883, and prepare food and firewood for the coming Montana winter. Would they be able to survive the winter?

One of the things that stood out to our family was how little food that they actually had for the winter. The growing and preservation of food for the winter seemed to be way too low on their priority list. They had small gardens and did not have much set aside to make it through the winter and the spring until the next summer’s harvest came in.

Most modern families, by going to the grocery store two or three times a week, buying lunch at school or at work, and eating out several times a week, do not realize how much food that they actually eat in a year’s time. I went to the mom of our largest chicken customer and asked her how much food her family needs in a year’s time. It is a family of eight that produces a lot of its own food and tries to source as much local food as possible.

This is her list (It is not a complete list of everything they eat in a year’s time):

250 chickens a year
10  25 lb turkeys
5 to 6 dozen eggs a week
one beef cow a year
1 1/2 to 2 gallons of milk a day
        plus 1 to 1 1/2 quarts of yogurt a day, 5 lbs of cheese a week, and 4 lbs of butter a week

The following is per year:

60 qts of peas
100 qts of green beans
65 qts of sweet corn
45 qts of lima beans
40 qts of kale (frozen and canned)
23 qts of spinach
35 qts of canned tomatoes
40 qts of tomato juice
40 pts of ketchup
40 pts of salsa
20 qts of pizza sauce
40 qts of dill pickles
70 qts of peaches
50 qts of applesauce
25 lbs of blueberries
60 pts of raspberries
700 lbs of potatoes
250 lbs of sweet potatoes
200 lbs of winter squash
170 lbs of carrots
900 lbs of wheat

It is hard to believe that one family would eat that much food, but I know it is true because it is our family. We made a decision a number of years ago, that if we wanted our family to be healthy, we needed to opt out of the grocery store/ restaurant food system (including the organic grocery stores) as much as possible and produce our own food. Our observation has been that most of the people who eat that food are not as healthy as they should be. That is evidenced with around 70 percent of the US population being on at least one pharmaceutical drug. Our family’s goal is not to be food independent, self-sustaining, or homesteaders, but to be healthy. Health is often taken for granted until one is sick or lacks energy. Life is too short to live it in an unhealthy state and not be able to enjoy life as one should. It is much easier to eat right to stay healthy, than to try to get healthy once we get sick.

The nutrient value of all the foods that we eat is more important than what most people realize. We try to grow as high brix and as nutrient dense food as we can. We are what we eat. It is difficult to be healthy if the food is low in necessary nutrients and when the chemicals and antibiotics in the foods are working against us. 

In one of the upcoming newsletters we will be sharing with you about a harmful antibiotic that is in much of conventionally produced, non-organic (and non-GMO) foods. We found out about this harmful antibiotic a little over a month ago.

Organic Option In Obamacare

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Have you heard about an organic option in Obamacare? An option that allows people who are organic or who want their bodies to be as organic as possible to choose the organic healthcare option instead of traditional drug based medicine. There are a growing number of people who are not interested in the services of the conventional healthcare that relies heavily on drugs and antibiotics. They want to be as organic as possible and not put into their bodies the chemicals and drugs of traditional medicine. Organic healthcare is the new and cutting edge of a new type of modern medicine, especially with the growing amount of antibiotic resistant superbugs.

Unfortunately, we have not heard of an organic option in Obamacare either. Therefore, our family has been searching for resources that give organic solutions to health problems so that hopefully we do not need the services of the traditional healthcare system with its chemical and drug “solutions”. We have purchased a number of books for our organic medical library. The following are some of the best books that we have found. They are not listed in any particular order of importance. Many of these books are available on Amazon and you can read reviews about them there.

Herbal Antibiotics – Natural Alternatives For Treating Drug-Resistant Bacteria 2nd Edition by Stephen Buhner
– In-depth profiles of the most effective herbs

The Survival Medicine Handbook – A guide for when medical help is NOT on the way
2nd edition by Joseph Alton and Amy Alton

Be Your Own “Doctor” by Rachel Weaver
This is an excellent practical book. One caution—some of the remedies recommend an herbal tea. If you use tea, do not neglect to drink plenty of pure water as well. Drinking plenty of pure water is one of the most neglected things that results in poor health.  

Our daughter, Kara, used information from this book for the basis of formulating her Everyday Miracles Salve that has been so helpful for me and others.

Be Your Child’s Pediatrician by Rachel Weaver

Also Back Yard Pharmacy by Rachel Weaver

Homegrown Herbs: A Complete Guide to Growing, Using, and Enjoying More than 100 Herbs
by Tammi Hartung

Practical Herbalism by Philip Fritchey
Highly recommended to us by one of our customers.

The Forager’s Harvest  by Samuel Thayer

A guide to identifying, harvesting, and preparing edible wild plants

Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health by Rosemary Gladstar
Cathy took Rosemary Gladstar’s workshop at the Mother Earth News Fair last fall and was impressed with how knowledgeable and helpful she was.

Also Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner’s Guide by Rosemary Gladstar

Backyard Medicine
Harvest and Make Your Own Herbal Remedies
Julie Bruton-Seal and Matthew Seal

Turkey Sausage Quiche

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 This is a basic no-fail quiche recipe that everyone in our family just loves. The meat, cheese and veggies can be varied to whatever you desire at the time. Yum!

Unbaked 9-inch pie crust
1/2 pound turkey sausage (recipe below)
4 eggs
2 cups light cream
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons mustard
1 cup shredded cheese of your choice
1/3 cup sauteed, chopped onion

Fry turkey sausage. Sprinkle into pie crust. Top with onion and then with cheese. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, mustard, and salt. Add cream and beat. Pour over all in pie crust. Bake in a 425 degree oven for 15 minutes. Then reduce temperature to 300 degrees and bake 30 minutes more or until knife comes out clean when inserted in center. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.
Variation: Vegetables of your choice can also be added such as spinach, kale, broccoli, tomatoes, eggplant or zucchini. Serves 4-6.

Turkey Sausage

1 pound ground turkey
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried sage
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon brown sugar
Pinch of cayenne pepper

Mix thoroughly and fry. (Best if mixed and let set in fridge for at least an hour before frying.) Use half of the sausage for the quiche and save the rest for another use.

International Poultry Producers Expo

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In January, Cathy and I (Myron) attended the International Poultry Expo in Atlanta, Georgia. It was a huge event with 28,000 attendees from all around the world. The Poultry Expo was located in two very large buildings and it took us an entire day to look at the exhibits in each building. Most of the expo was geared to the big poultry growers and processors, but not all of it. For us it was a very profitable trip. We were able to find some good products and suppliers as well as other helpful information to be able to provide you with even better eggs and chicken.

After we left to return to our motel, our first day at the Expo, we got caught in the snow storm that paralyzed Atlanta. Fortunately, our side of the highway was not blocked and we were able to make it back to the motel. At 9:00 pm there were still 99 school buses stuck in traffic. Some school children spent the entire night on their school buses! The second day we were not able to attend the Expo because the highway was still blocked with tractor trailers.


The International Poultry Expo, Atlanta, Georgia


This is a cage system for laying hens. Each cage is divided into about 4 cages which hold about 4 or 5 hens. This cage system is only four levels high.


This was a picture at the Expo showing the cage layer system with hens in it. It is how most grocery store, restaurant, and fast food eggs are produced. These cages are stacked five high. Each cage is only wide enough for 4 hens to be side by side. This is the way most hens live their entire life and shows part of the reason why we feel it is so important to provide our hens with a better living environment. As I look at this picture some of the descriptions that come to my mind are: “jail birds”, prison labor, and mechanical egg laying machines, as well as inhumane, heartless, and greedy.


The organic and pasture based farming movements are making an impact on society, and the big pharmaceutical companies are getting concerned. Two large poultry and animal pharmaceutical supply companies have launched a campaign to combat our influence with this fancy, expensive tractor trailer rig that they had at the Expo. Inside is a theater where they show movies knocking organic and pasture based farming, claiming that in order to feed the world we must use large confinement animal facilities (and of course their drugs and antibiotics).


Read the egg label carefully. It is not misspelled. We saw these eggs at a booth promoting pasteurizing eggs (similar to pasteurizing milk). Egg companies know that consumers want eggs that come from chickens on grass, not from chickens stuffed in small cages. They often design their egg cartons, like this one, in a deceptive way to give the impression that their chickens are happy hens that roam in the outdoors on grass.