You are what you eat.

I have recently read a book called The Omnivore's Dilemma. It is authored by Michael Pollan, who also wrote In Defense of Food. The book follows the origins of 3 meals from the farmer's field to the table. A brief history of corn (the most farmed crop on the planet) and it's current state today as an industrial commodity comes in the first part of the book. I know it doesn't sound like an interesting read but I found the information quite enthralling because of my current political beliefs. What is fertilizer anyway? Where does it come from? Why do plants grow better because of it, especially corn?
The next part of the book is about beef. The author buys a young steer and wants to raise it to be a hamburger or a steak. It live on the ranch for a few months and the heads away to the C.A.F.O. (centralized animal feeding operation) with 30,000 other cows. You then get a brief history of domesticated cow and it's eating habits. You learn how cows are meant to eat grass and that their diet at the C.A.F.O. consists of corn and lots of antibiotics and hormones that help the cow digest the corn. The Vet at the C.A.F.O. talks to the author and tells him how the health of the animals it is constant flux all because of their diet and that we eat beef that is 16 months old is because they would die before they were two years old. Then we learn how there is an absence of heart-disease in countries that raise the beef in pastures and eat those that are around 5 years old.
The last part of the book is about him foraging for his own meal. From wandering the forests looking for edible mushrooms to learning how to slaughter his own animals.
All together a good read and lots of valuable info about food we should all know.

Remember not only you are what you eat but you are also what you eat eats.

Some Housecleaning...

I've returned to my native soil. Expect much more Canadian content from this point on, especially content dealing with the upcoming Canadian election. Judging from the commercials, our election is between a 'risky' elitist who can't speak English and a sweater-wearing hockey Dad. Hmm.... I think I'll vote ABC.

In an effort to make my facebook page give as little information as possible, I've decided to port 4 links over the channel-one.

1. The Great global warming swindle is an excellent counter-argument to global warming hysteria. The wiki page lists some of the criticism that it has received, as well as several awards. Whether you believe in global warming or not, you should watch this video to provide yourself with a different point of view.

2. Confederacy of Dunces was written by John Taylor Gatto about American public schooling. While it doesn't wholly apply to Canadian schools, certain bells ring true. Critical and thought-provoking reading for any teacher, student, or parent.

3. The Raw Milk vs. Pasteurized Milk debate is one that hits home for me, as a dairy farmer. I grew up drinking raw milk and missed 1 day of school during public school because I had chicken pox. I was seldom sick - but was my health at risk? You decide.

4. Why is fluoride in our drinking water? To harden our teeth? Why then, do we drink and bathe in this toxic and deadly chemical? Here are 10 facts about Fluoride...