Regulator Oversight vs. Personal Responsibility

Regulator Oversight Vs. Personal Responsibility This post was written in the spring of 2021 when we were in the midst of a legal struggle with state, county, and local regulators. For the full story on that, click here.By Sam FisherThe need of government oversight in food is rooted in the consolidation of food production. Unfortunately, farming and the raising of food—both animal and plant based—is out of sight and out of mind for most Americans. Needless to say, the absence of consumer eyes in the production arena necessitates what we now have—government oversight and paper-thin labels. For this system to work, consumer trust in glitzy labels and claims of integrity are paramount.The current method of government involvement in food—especially in meat—is over a century old. In 1906, Upton Sinclair published a protest novel titled The Jungle. The book was a shocking revelation of intolerable labor practices and unsanitary working conditions in the Chicago stockyards. It quickly became a bestseller, arousing public sentiment and resulting in such federal legislation. Interestingly, Sinclair had socialist interests, and his intent was to expose the plight of migrant workers (mostly of Scandinavian origin) who were being exploited by a several large slaughterhouses in the Chicago area. Sinclair is quoted to have said that he aimed for America’s heart, but by mistake hit her in the stomach.As it turned out, the publication of the book lead to public outrage about the meat sold to people as food with the contamination the book described. Meat sales plummeted in the United States and Europe. It remains unclear whether the meat industry came to Washington on its knees begging for regulation in order to restore public confidence or if Washington acted on its own, but nevertheless, President Theodore Roosevelt ordered an investigation. The result, he said, was “hideous” and he threatened to publish the entire “sickening report” if Congress did not act. Consequently, Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act in June 1906. In addition to prohibiting mislabeled and adulterated food products, these two laws paved the way for all future “consumer protection” legislation.The current system of oversight was originally designed to ensure the people quality food regardless of their location, disconnect, or ignorance in the production of their food. That’s fair, if the consumer chooses to place his trust in the system. However, food laws are extremely size neutral, making them unfair to small producers. For example, we’re a small—tiny—farm producing meat and milk for local, connected, educated consumers who visit our farm, see the animals in the field, and know the farmer. At the risk of indicating the larger food industry operates otherwise, let’s say this food model is based on the truth and transparency that comes with relationships. In that sense, should small farms be made to conform to the same law that Tyson, Perdue, or JBS is held to?What’s ironic is that the majority of the consumers farms like us cater to shop here because they do not trust the status quo food sources—who by the way, carry inspected products. With that in mind, we can see that licenses and inspections have nothing to do with the nutritional value or health-giving properties of food. Sugars, fillers, flavor enhancers, GMO’s, you name it, it’s been universally approved by food regulators. If that doesn’t indicate food manufacturer’s influence in food policy, I don’t know what does. If you’re interested in learning more, read the book Beyond Labels. Written by a long-time direct-to-consumer farmer and a dietician, it’s a wealth of knowledge worth far more than the purchase price.I am amazed by the fact that the people we interacted with in the last few weeks predominantly voice their opinion of how ridiculous it is that the federal government assumes that food from our farm must be unsafe just because they didn’t inspect it. One person made the statement of “I don’t care what the USDA thinks!” It’s pretty obvious that to our patrons—it doesn’t matter that the food from this farm is uninspected and unlicensed.  In a time when the societal pressure to conform runs high and many are looking to government as savior, I find that attitude refreshing. That’s the mindset this great country was built on, not the whining, the outstretched hands, the victimhood, or the government-please-take-care-of-me mentality. One is the road to greatness, the other leads to slavery and serfdom. And for now, that’s The View from the Country.

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Courage in a Time of Fear

A time of uncertainty such as the one we’re in always brings out the best and worst of one’s true character, as well as what we prioritize. Many of us know nothing but a life of relative ease. True, we all have our challenges, but we know little of genuine hunger, abject poverty, or ongoing inadequacy of basic needs. This is, I feel, the reason why society responds in panic to the uncertainty we find ourselves in—because we have little experience to compare this unknown phenomenon to. The typical human response to our situation—and perhaps we’re steeped in this direction—is desire to place blame or point fingers. However, while there may or may not be individuals who are liable in this, the action in itself is futile because it doesn’t change the position we’re in and placing blame usually leads to a victim mentality—or perhaps stems from it. Considering yourself a victim promotes both fear and hopelessness, which in turn causes the human brain to introvert. The result is unsound, uninformed decision making (such as unrestrained hoarding of toilet paper). In his timeless bestseller, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey presents the benefit of proactivity. He defines proactivity as more than merely taking initiative. It means that as human beings, we are responsible for our own lives. Our behavior is a function of our decisions, not our conditions. Feelings are secondary to values. I almost wish I could impart all he has to say in his chapter; The 1st Habit; Be Proactive, because there’s so much that’s applicable to the current state of affairs. He also writes about our circle of influence as compared to our circle of concern. Given the current shutdown and viral threat, we’re all concerned about how it will affect our lives, families, and businesses. However, if we focus on our circle of concern, it grows while our circle of influence shrinks, and vice versa. He depicts it like this; As we look at the concerns in our lives, it becomes apparent that there are some things over which we have no real control and others that we can do something about. We could identify the concerns in the latter group as being within our circle of influence. Proactive people focus their efforts in the Circle of Influence. They work on the things they can do something about. The nature of their energy is positive, enlarging and magnifying, causing their Circle of Influence to increase. Reactive people, on the other hand, focus their efforts in the Circle of Concern. They focus on the weakness of other people, the problems in the environment, and circumstances over which they have no control. Their focus results in blaming and accusing attitudes, reactive language, and increased feelings of victimization. The negative energy generated by that focus, combined with neglect in areas they could do something about, causes their Circle of Influence to shrink. As long as we’re working in our circle of concern, we empower the things in it to control us. We aren’t taking the proactive initiative necessary to effect positive change. Right now many of us are being forced to rethink and reevaluate the level of normalcy we were accustomed to, and the question begs as to what you and I can do to effect hope and positive change amid the fear and frenzy. To that extent I suggest. Take the chaos propagated by the mainstream media—as well as social media, with a grain of salt, and seek wisdom and common sense. There’s a lot of opinion passing and spreading of conspiracy theories—none of which we know whether they are true or not. Remain realistic but avoid negativity.If you haven’t done so already, prepare an emergency fund large enough to provide for several months of no income. Honestly, I speak to myself on this subject, and realize it’s not an easy thing. But prepping for crisis should come as naturally as night following day, and that the average American can’t even handle a 2-week bobble in pay shows our luxurious free-for-all living in recent decades. We’re the 3rd and 4th generations to live in prosperous times, and it has conditioned us into an easy-come-easy-go mentality.Put real effort into strengthening personal immunity, which is perhaps your greatest weapon against illness.  It’s far more important than social distancing, hand sanitizing, or wearing a mask. Taking charge of your personal immunity program should be front and center.  That means not doing the things that compromise it, and doing the things that enhance it. This includes avoiding stress (forgiving, avoiding vengeance and hate– including political); getting enough sleep (everyone should be in bed by 10 p.m.); a good diet—avoid junk food; eat plenty of meat and poultry and eggs from a trustworthy source (sorry, I couldn’t resist); exercise; stay hydrated.Build a domestic larder, which allows you to eat better, cheaper, and more efficiently. Laying by is what all of our grandparents did; it was just part of the culture.  Now we expect Costco to do it for us, only to be disappointed when their stock quickly runs out in a period of uncertainty.  If this whole pandemic does nothing more than re-institute the value of the in-home larder and make us have more consideration for our buying habits, it will be well worth it.If you’re off work or working limited hours, invest in personal development. Learn how to cook or preserve food so you can eat healthier while spending less. If you have children, educate yourself on the subjects of homeschooling, childhood vaccination, herbal medicine, and home births, which will allow you to make informed choices now and, in the future, as well as foster resilience in yourself and your family. Read books on personal growth such as 7 Habits by Stephen Covey and Good to Great by Jim Collins. Take your children for a walk in a natural area. Watch the sunrise or sunset and appreciate the unchanging aspects of nature. Essentially, limit your screen time and news exposure, and do something positive with your hands and mind. It will do wonders to minimize worry and stress tied to our uncertain circumstances.Last but not least, invest in the timeless qualities of faith, hope, and love. “And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.” ~Deuteronomy 31:8. Even now, we have so much to be grateful for, and a lot to hope for. We have family members to love, and a God who cares for us and our situation. Above all, let’s remember that regardless of the circumstances around us, no one owns our thoughts or mental capacity without our consent. If we allow ourselves to be consumed by the fear and hysteria that seemingly prevails because of a mere virus, we permit outside influences to direct us. As Mark Twain said, “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.” Until next time, this is The View from the Country. Quotes Worth Re-Quoting – “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” ~ Nelson Mandela “Courage is the greatest of all virtues, because if you haven’t courage, you may not have an opportunity to use any of the others.” ~ Samuel Johnson

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Additional Corona Thoughts

Just a few additional calming thoughts on the corona scare again. I’m not superstitious but am making an attempt to keep things in perspective and still be fully realistic on this Friday the 13th. Here goes… To be honest, I have a general distrust of most info coming out of major national news channels, simply because of their reputation for partial truths, propaganda, and partisan partiality. I’m not necessarily a Trump supporter, but neither do I approve of our largely liberal news media and am quite skeptical that this “pandemic” isn’t overwrought purely for political purposes. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time politics manufactured or embellished an event to sway public opinion. Part of the reason I feel this way is because the majority of information being put out there comes from major news channels, as well as the CDC and WHO. In most cases, balanced perspective or truth is not found at the center of the issue, but is at the fringes or edges, away from the center of attention.Everyone is talking about it being highly contagious, and that may be true, but contagion is 100% predicated on the germ theory, which prevails in modern medicine. However, what we haven’t been taught is that there is always a terrain in which germs thrive or die. This was first promoted in 19th century France. Louis Pasteur (inventor of pasteurization) advocated the notion of germs as the cause of disease, while another French scientist named Antoine Bechamp promoted a conflicting theory known as the “cellular theory” or “terrain theory” of disease. Bechamp’s argument was that these germs that Pasteur was so terrified of were opportunistic in nature. This caused quite a controversy, and the two men were bitter foes.To prevent illness, Bechamp advocated not the killing of germs but the cultivation of health through diet, hygiene, and healthy lifestyle practices such as fresh air, exercise, adequate hydration, a good diet, etc. The idea is that if the person has a strong immune system and good tissue quality (or “terrain” as Bechamp called it), the germs will not manifest in the person, and they will have good health. It is only when their health starts to decline (due to personal neglect and poor lifestyle choices) that they become victim to infections.To treat illness, Bechamp’s cellular theory also applied. Bechamp was less concerned with killing the infection and focused more on restoring the health of the patient’s body through healthy lifestyle choices and proper immune support. Bechamp saw the infection as a footnote to the state of illness and not the primary cause. As the person restored health through diet, hygiene, and detoxification the infection went away on its own–without needing measures to kill it.Pasteur and Bechamp had a long and often bitter rivalry regarding who was right about the true cause of illness. Ultimately Pasteur’s ideas were accepted by society and Bechamp was pretty much forgotten. The practice of Western medicine is based on Pasteur’s germ phobia which gives rise to the use of vaccinations, antibiotics, and other anti-microbials.The irony is that towards the end of his life, Pasteur renounced the germ theory and admitted that Bechamp was right all along. History has it that his last words on his death bed were “The microbe is nothing, the terrain is everything.” In the 1920’s medical historians also discovered that most of Pasteur’s theories were plagiarized from Bechamp’s early research work.I unashamedly embrace the terrain theory, although most of western society has been taught to believe the germ theory. I have seen too many examples both as a caretaker of animals and an observer of human health to second guess it. In observing the animals in my care I have often noticed afflictions in one individual when the majority are free of it. This is due to terrain. The one had weaknesses that allowed opportunistic disease to proliferate. Germs are everywhere and even exist inside of us in a symbiotic relationship. Like Bechamp noticed in his research, it is only when the tissue of the host becomes damaged or compromised that these germs begin to manifest as a prevailing symptom (not cause) of disease.Because of my beliefs in the terrain, I doubt the belief that no natural immunity exists. Sure, it’s supposedly a new virus, but have the thousands who recovered all been hospitalized and on antibiotics? Doubtfully. Corona is, yes, believed to be highly contagious, but the media and modern medicine–due to adherence to the germ theory–regard everyone as susceptible with no regard to the human immune system’s ability to ward off illness, yes, even new strains. The dire prediction of hospitals overflowing and medical professionals having to make the decision of who gets oxygen and who dies is all based on the theory that everyone who comes in contact with the virus will succumb to it. In the mid-90’s when the UK eradicated thousands of cows and sheep due to mad cow disease, it too, was said to have no natural immunity. However, not all farm animals contracted the disease. In fact, Newman Turner–a farmer who strongly adhered to natural farming and animal husbandry practices–invited the government to expose his cows to the disease. He wanted to prove that immunity existed, and that the disease was due to poor animal husbandry practices. Of course they refused, but he felt sure–as do I–that lack of immunity is a physical health (terrain) issue rather than a new germ strain.I realize the terrain in many Americans is likely compromised due to poor diet and lifestyle choices, but this is why I am passionate about advising people to not panic. When in a panic people don’t think clearly, and there are measures–many measures–we can take to strengthen our immune systems and protect ourselves. For example, numerous reports are swirling around of things as simple as high doses of Vitamin C and Elberberry juice knock out coronavirus. But as always, folks are already pointing fingers at our president and his administration because of the way they handle things. It seems to be the American way now, regardless of what comes and how it’s handled, there will always be people who bash the current administration for not “saving” us. This is salvation-by-legislation thinking, and it causes us to increasingly lose our freedoms because we look to government to “save” us. If coronavirus comes anywhere close to being the pandemic it’s predicted to be, be assured, we’ll see more regulation become mandatory in the name of healthcare, national security, food safety, etc. Being of libertarian inclination, that bothers me.With all this being said, we still don’t know if corona is the threat it’s forecast to be. And that’s where the fear and paranoia comes in, in not knowing. This is why society is practically going crazy, because the media panders it up hour by hour, minute by minute, and no one knows how bad it will be. Plus, there is so little actual information available on real-life cases or to what extent the patients suffer. The news has little to say of the 68,000 who recovered from the virus, which again, gives me reason to think it’s played up for a larger agenda. If Americans were given a balanced perspective on recovery rates, real-life patient experiences, how many hospitalizations occurred, and how it feels when one contracts the virus, the public reaction would likely be much more sane. But as it is, most of what we hear and see in the news is based on rising confirmed cases and number of deaths, mixed in with global numbers (for effect), and in general, gloom and doom, and we gullible Americans suck it up. This results in widespread fear and panic, which I suspect is the intent of the “larger agenda” behind this. Perhaps I have too dour an attitude toward mainstream media and our government, but for what it’s worth, it’s The View from the Country. Quote Worth Re-Quoting –“I have yet to see a piece of writing, political or non-political, that does not have a slant. All writing slants the way a writer leans, and no man is born perpendicular.”  ~ E. B. White

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Coronavirus - from a calm perspective

News, around the world, has been focused on the latest coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.   Therefore, amid the fear and frenzy, let’s look at a different perspective.   Although serious in nature, I think we can agree the mainstream media has blown this thing way out of proportion.   Unfortunately, the reason for some of this seems to be political in nature. Although I do not claim to know what it is, I don’t doubt the existence of a political agenda given the feverish frenzy the media applies to the subject.It looks as though new cases of COVID-19 have peaked in China and are now decreasing—following the classic bell curve.   Recoveries continue to increase.   The same thing will eventually take place in other parts of the world.   COVID-19, like all flu bugs, likes cold weather.   Therefore, as the weather warms up in the northern hemisphere, we should see fewer and fewer new cases.Isn’t it amazing what society chooses to panic about?  We don’t panic about 50,000 people being killed by drunk drivers.  We don’t panic about parents still feeding their kids Lucky Charms and Cheerios even in the face of rising diabetes.  We’re not overly concerned about 56,000 people dying from the influenza or flu-like illness every year. We don’t feel at risk because approximately 23,000 Americans die from antibiotic resistant infections annually.Interestingly, all the experts are scrambling for a vaccine to solve it.  Why don’t we have a national effort to boost everyone’s immune system?  This might be a good time to start such a campaign..In this panic, every other person on the planet becomes an enemy. That’s a shame and has dire consequences.  I suggest that rather than fearing every other person on the planet, canceling fellowship, and huddling in hermit life until a vaccine is discovered, how about we commit ourselves as a society to eat healthy and opt for a lower stress lifestyle, so we have a collectively better immune system?  How about being intentional in how we eat, recreate, entertain, and meditate? What we ponder certainly influences our outlook on life.In the big scheme of things to fear, coronavirus doesn’t have the numbers to scare.  The effect is completely disproportional to the actual numbers.  But when the media whips people into a frenzy with minute-by-minute paranoia pandering, people go wonky.  Perhaps the best cure for the coronavirus is to shut off the news.To be honest, the fear and panic portrayed by the populace–as well as by public institutions who shut down activities, classes, etc.–is perhaps of greater concern than the virus itself. To me, the most sensible advice of the day is to CALM DOWN and look at the situation realistically. Yes, the virus is highly contagious, but as of now there are only two confirmed cases in the state of Pennsylvania. Plus, even Google puts the virus in perspective with its statement of; Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is characterized by mild symptoms including a runny nose, sore throat, cough, and fever. Illness can be more severe for some people and can lead to pneumonia or breathing difficulties. More rarely, the disease can be fatal. Older people, and people with other medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, or heart disease), may be more vulnerable to becoming severely ill.  How does this differ from common influenza? And that’s the View from the Country.P.S. Portions of this post were adapted by permission from Joel Salatin’s blog The Lunatic Farmer. Click here to read his latest post on the Coronavirus phenomenon. Be assured, it’s balanced, outside-the-box, and worth reading. Quote Worth Re-Quoting –“The doctor of the future will no longer treat the human frame with drugs, but rather will cure and prevent disease with nutrition.”  ~Thomas Edison

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