There's one in every crowd. That one who marches to their own drum. One year it was a turkey that herded the sheep. He'd drag his wings and strut around, circling the sheep. He wasn't part of their tribe so they ignored him.
The ram hangs out with the bulls. He head butts and pesters them. They ignore him, he's not part of their tribe.
The hog in the picture above supervises the comings and goings of the sheep. She squeezes under the pasture fence and watches over them. She doesn't bother them, just watches. They ignore her, she's not part of their tribe.
Join the Tribe
Our farm is different from conventional farms. To them our practices are a curiosity, but for the most part other farmers ignore us. We're not part of their tribe.
Our tribe is growing, though. Certified organic farms have increased 56% since record keeping began in 2011. Every year the land transitioning into organic practices increases. In 2016, there were more than 14,000 certified organic farms in the United States. Our hope is that more farms join our tribe. The environment, pollinators, and consumers all need the organic tribe to grow.
If the consequences of herbicides were taken seriously, we wouldn't need a day to remind us of how fragile life is.
Unfortunately the disease is so prevalent that there’s a day designated to cancer awareness. But It’s important to share valuable information about prevention and treatments, and eliminate falsehoods.
Cancer isn’t about one day of awareness. If we took the following days more seriously, we might find a cure for World Cancer Day:
If the impact of herbicides, pesticides, toxins and GMO’s were evaluated, and the consequences of them were taken seriously, we wouldn't need an endless list of other designated days to commemorate healing ourselves or the environment.
World Cancer Day is about awareness. Gaining knowledge about treatment options and spending every day praying, struggling and working to save lives.
It’s about celebrating survivors, mourning the lost, and supporting loved ones.
I hope there’s a day, in the not so distant future, when cancer is eradicated and every day becomes designated, World Free of Cancer Day.
Royal Holloway University of London compiled a decade of studies on agrochemical research and the effect on bees. Their research determined that very low, field-realistic dosages, of pesticides significantly reduced the bee's memory. Their ability to memorize rewarding scents, which are a vital component in their search for food, were damaged. Exposed bee's had trouble remembering what type of flower to visit, where to find flowers, and which flowers they'd already drained of nectar. Another consequence of pesticide exposure is that the exposed bees couldn't find their way back to the hive.
Could Alzheimer’s Be In Your Future?
Studies link pesticides with Alzheimer’s
DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane) was used extensively as an insecticide in the 1940s, but has been banned in the United States since 1972 after scientists linked the compound to wildlife health and environmental concerns. DDT is still used in other countries to combat the spread of malaria.
"We have additional studies underway that will seek to directly link DDT exposure to Alzheimer's disease," said co-author Dr. Dwight German, Professor of Psychiatry at UT Southwestern. "If a direct link is made, our hope is to then identify the presence of DDE in blood samples from people at an early age and administer treatments to remove it."
The study found elevated levels of DDE in blood samples of 86 patients with Alzheimer's disease as compared to 79 control patients from the UT Southwestern Alzheimer's Disease Center and the Emory University Alzheimer's Disease Center.
Source: UT Southwestern, one of the premier academic medical centers in the nation, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. The institution's faculty includes many distinguished members, including five who have been awarded Nobel Prizes since 1985.
Children and Pesticides
Beyond Pesticides has a Pesticide-induced Disease Database The database links studies and research about children's exposure to agrochemicals.
Protect Yourself
Since the repeal of Country Of Origin Labeling (COOL) it's not easy to identify where fruits, vegetables and meat is coming from. Outside of the United States, other countries allow classes of pesticides which are banned in the United States.
Consuming products containing pesticides may increase your exposure.
Limiting your exposure is as simple as switching to an organic diet. You can do that by growing your own fruits and vegetables, buying organic meat and dairy, and by using clean products around your home.
If given the choice between eating conventionally raised meat and going meatless - I’d choose meatless, hands down. And I wouldn’t want the fake meat burgers. They’re full of GMO’s, chemicals, and estrogen's, and they’re made in a lab, not a kitchen.
I'm hyper aware of how the majority of livestock producers raise meat. Especially since we raise livestock on an organic farm. In our area there are too many confinement cattle and hog operations.
The rolling hills of north east Iowa are beautiful. A drive through the country sounds picturesque.
In truth it’s smelly and gross. It’s rolled up windows and held breath. It’s disgusting stenches from feedlots and gagging when manure pits are emptied and sprayed onto fields.
When we go to a restaurant that doesn't have organic meat on the menu I choose the vegetarian dishes for two reasons:
I've seen how confinement livestock is raised
I’ve smelled how confinement animals live
I never want to taste the meat that the majority of farmers produce.
Organic, grass-fed meat is the best choice. If that’s not an option, I’ll go meatless.
If movie writers in Hollywood want to create a super villain more devious than Lex Luther, they should look to the mega companies supplying agricultural chemicals. Super villains always have devious plans to control people’s basic needs; food, air, or water. Those un-seen, yet ever present, ag chemicals are polluting the essentials of everyday life; water, food, and air. They’re killers.
On A Scale of 1 - 10
It seems that we’re vilifying plastic grocery bags and drinking straws, which have environmental consequences, however they’re not the super villains of the environment. On A scale of 1 -10 they're up there, but they don't rank at the top.
Scout troops and community do gooders can’t walk the roadside cleaning up the chemical residue and then stacking the garbage bags to show the success of their cleanup efforts. Reversing the impact from agricultural chemicals will take policy changes and an environmental protection plan that actually protects the environment.
Policies should be in the best interest of soil, water, consumers, and all lifeforms. Policies should not be politically motivated by elected officials whose campaigns are funded with kickbacks, lobbying donations or solely motivated by the desire to be re-elected.
In the United States the third leading cause of death in children is Malignant neoplasm (cancerous tumors). Could agricultural pollution be a factor? Studies show that glyphosate is present in breakfast cereal, breast milk, and water.
Take Action
Protect your health by eating non-gmo and organic food whenever possible. Grow your own organic veggies, eat grass-fed organic meat.
There are safe insecticides that don't have negative consequences. Put your health at the forefront of your life.
If you're a backyard orchardist and garden enthusiast here are three recipes to keep your fruit trees pest free, kill weeds, and repel cabbage worms. Best of all - the ingredients are right in your kitchen or available at a garden center.
'Bug jugs' protect fruit trees by trapping apple maggots and moth larvae. The weed control recipe is a safe herbicide that controls vegetation around young trees and kills garden weeds. And the third recipe for garden dust effectively controls cabbage worms and larvae. These recipes are safe to use around kids, pets, and pollinators.
Insect Traps for Fruit Trees
Fruit trees need special care; pruning, dormant oil, weed suppression and pest control. Here's a solution that's a safe and effective control to protect fruit from pest damage.
Bug Jugs
clean gallon jug
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of apple cider vinegar
1 banana peel
enough water to fill the jug 1/3 full
Tape the cap to the bottom of the jug (for easy disposal because the jug will be full of gross, dead pests). Place the banana peel inside the jug, add the remaining ingredients.
After the blossoms are set hang one jug per inch of tree diameter. Use wide twine or a soft cloth tied through the jug's handle to hang them. Don't use thin string or fishing line because it cuts into the tree's protective bark.
Weed Control
Eradicate and control weeds use the following recipe, It's is very effective and with a few precautions it's safe to apply.
Mix all the ingredients together. 20% vinegar is available at farm and garden supply stores or through online retailers.
Wear gloves and eye protection, 20% vinegar can burn on contact.
When applying in small areas, or to kill weeds in close proximity to desirable plants, use a dish sponge wand filled with this solution. Wipe the leaves of undesirable plants.
For larger areas use with a garden sprayer.
Apply in dry, warm weather. A second application may be necessary for tougher weeds.
Be careful - this mixture will kill all plants, both desirables and weeds.
Control Garden Pests
The final recipe is for controlling garden pests, especially cabbage worms.
Garden Dust
1 cup Diatomaceous earth or all-purpose flour
3 TBS Cayenne pepper
Sift the ingredients together and apply with a garden duster or use a screen sifter (your kids sandbox sifter works great for this) dust plants in the morning while they're wet with dew.
Diatomaceous earth is available at garden centers, farm supply stores and online. It will repel a larger variety of pests than household flour, but we've been successful using both.
Apply this mixture a couple of times per week or after it rains.
These three recipes are a practical and powerful alternative to harsh chemicals.
Iowa currently has over 10,000 factory farms. A new bill presented in The Iowa House of Representatives, House file number 203 by Sharon Steckman (D-53). proposes a moratorium on new and expanded factory farms.
State senator Claire Celsi (D-21) is introducing companion legislation in the Iowa State Senate.
In Iowa over 750 waterways are impaired due to factory farms and chemical run-off.
Show support for this bill by telling your state representatives that Iowa's environment, and your family's health, is a priority.
Here's More great news...
The Rodale Institute is a pioneer for organic farming methods. They are opening the Midwest Organic Center at Indian Creek Nature Center in Marion, Iowa this summer. They will have an outreach and education center. The Rodale Institute is a great resource for organic farms and farmers transitioning to organic practices.
Organic Farms
There are 723 organic farms in Iowa, ranking it 5th in the nation.
Americans spend 43% of their food budgets eating out or getting take-out.
In 1985 it was 41% - BethKobliner
Change what you eat.
What if for one month you got the entire family involved in meal planning, shopping, and food prep.
Give the kids a cookbook and let them choose the menu and write the shopping list.
When my sister and I were kids we enjoyed, Betty Crocker's Boys and Girls Cookbook. We made fun, easy recipes.
Our boys loved Roald Dahl's books. They recreated the recipes from Roald Dahl's Revolting Recipes cookbook.
Your family will share delicious meals and quality time together. Cooking at home is healthier, less expensive, and fun.
Avoid health risks by avoiding chain restaurants
Beef with a Side of Antibiotics-
Two burger chains, Shake Shack and BurgerFi, serve beef without the routine use of antibiotics. These are the only two restaurants to earn an “A” on the Chain Reaction scorecard. This is the fourth annual scorecard released by six major consumer and environmental organizations. 22 of the top 25, including McDonalds got an “F” grade because they don't have a policy restricting antibiotic use in their beef.
Public health experts warn that the widespread use of antibiotics in meat production is rendering antibiotics less effective by creating drug-resistant bacteria. Click here for the report
Over 50% of the environmental impact of producing beef involves growing the corn used as feed. (hint, hint...buy grass-fed beef instead of grain fed) source: -Successful Farming, January 2019
There will be a 50% increase in food demand by 2050 -FAO
By 2030, 62% of the crops used the most in any nation's diet will originate from some other country. -International Center for tropical Agriculture (CIAT)
Meat Recalls According to a report by U.S. Public Interest Research Group, recalls of beef, pork and chicken rose by 83% over the past five years. More than 128,000 people are hospitalized and 3,000 die from food-borne illness every year.
A diet of grass based meat works as well as Weight Watchers without having to buy packaged meals, attend meetings, or calculate points. Grass fed meat and dairy are leaner than grain fed products, they also have fewer calories. When it comes to loosing weight, Grass Fed Beef -is the dieter's choice
The typical amount of beef eaten in the U.S. annually is 67 pounds. Changing from grain fed to grass fed beef will save you 16,642 calories per year. A six-ounce beef loin from a grass-fed steer may have 92 fewer calories than a six-ounce loin from a grain-fed steer. Source: Pasture Perfect by Jo Robinson
It's A Big Deal
Loosing 4.75 pounds a year doesn't sound like a huge difference but it only requires switching to grass-fed meat. Adding exercise and calorie restriction amplifies your results. There's a bigger benefit to grass-fed meat than weight loss, though.
Organic Diets Lower Cancer Risks
A new study published in JAMA International Medicine found that eating organic foods can reduce your risk of developing cancer by 25%. Some study participants, the volunteers that ate mostly organic food, were 73% less likely to develop non-Hodgkin lymphoma. That's the cancer linked to Monsanto's Round-up (currently there are 8700 plaintiffs suing Monsanto). There is also a significant reduction in postmenopausal breast cancer in consumers of organic foods.
The researchers were surprised by the enormity of protection that organic food provided. The study followed 68,946 volunteers for four and a half years.
Julia Baudry, the study’s lead author and a researcher with the Center of Research in Epidemiology and Statistics Sorbonne Paris Cité of the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research said, "We did expect to find a reduction, but the extent of the reduction is quite important."
She noted the study does not prove an organic diet causes a reduction in cancers, but strongly suggests ,“that an organic-based diet could contribute to reducing cancer risk."
An organic diet may reduce the risk of breast cancer because organic production prohibits pesticide use. Pesticides are endocrine disruptors that mimic estrogen function. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classified two pesticides, malathion and diazinon, along with the herbicide glyphosate (Round-up) as probable human carcinogens. All three are linked to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Grass-fed meat and dairy are higher in Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) which researchers have noted lowers the risk of breast cancer. Finnish researchers found that women who consumed the highest amount of CLA had 60% lower risk of breast cancer than those with the least CLA.
Eat Clean in 2019!
Fat Cattle and Lean hogs is an oxymoron, cattle are naturally lean. Hogs are, by nature, fatter. Confinement operations want leaner hogs so they feed ractopamine (Paylean supplements). Again, confinement livestock producers are working against nature.
As a consumer you need to work with your body to promote healthy living. Give yourself a fighting chance, switch to an organic diet that includes grass-fed meat, dairy and eggs it will be a great boost for your health.
1 grass-fed steer prevents 8 pounds of phosphorus from entering waterways
1 grass-fed steer feeds four families healthy meat and heals the environment
1 grass-fed steer removes up to 20,000 pounds of atmospheric carbon from the air
1 grass-fed steer keeps 100 pounds of nitrogen from polluting streams, rivers, and lakes
75% of all grass-fed beef sold in the United Stated is imported. Buying local grass-fed beef supports farmers and restores the environment where you live.
Now, from the power of grass-fed meat to superbugs ...
The latest tests by federal scientists found that nearly 80% of supermarket meat had antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
“Consumers need to know about potential contamination of the meat they eat, so they can be vigilant about food safety, especially when cooking for children, pregnant women, older adults or the immune-compromised,” said Dawn Undurraga, Environmental Working Group’s nutritionist and author of the report.
Those bacteria were resistant to at least one of fourteen antibiotics tested for by the Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System, a federal public health partnership.
Now, Let’s Talk Corn...
Genetically engineered corn seed is “stacked,” with traits. There are three levels of “stacked” corn. Each stack is either; corn borer resistant, rootworm resistant or herbicide resistant. A double stack has two traits, a triple stack has all three.
GMWatch reported that rats fed triple stacked corn developed leaky stomachs.
Now, It's Your Turn...
Put the Power of One Grass-fed Steer to work for you. Feed your family healthy meat that repairs the environment and heals the earth. Avoid products that cause harm to your family and the area you live in.
You have the Power to improve your diet and the earth!
Is there a cure for World Cancer Day?
What does this have to do with you...
Control Garden Pests
Great News for Iowa!
