Moo, Don't Mow!

Monday, February 8, 2010:

I'd like to share a couple paragraphs of a well-written essay that I found on the Westin A. Price Foundation website (wwww.westinaprice.org). The essay is titled, "Agribusiness and the Fall of Rome," and it was written by John Moody.

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"When we encourage people to buy local and regional real foods and grass based animal products raised by real people who receive just wages in exchange for their work and stewardship of the land, we are not only encouraging them to protect and contribute to their own health and the vibrant health of their children, we are encouraging them to protect and contribute to the health of our nation and the health of the entire world. We are asking them to take tangible, sustainable steps to reduce poverty, pollution, economic injustice and world hunger. We are asking them to help heal some of the sickness of our society. We don’t need a dictator to undo the damaging effects of agribusiness in our nation and world. We do need tens of thousands of average citizens like the Gracchi, citizens willing to make sacrifices for the sake of our nation’s small farmers and others.

Personal, family, community and national health start with our decision to buy local and put nutrient-dense real food on our dinner plates. Let each of us choose wisely and encourage others to do the same."

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I recommend that anyone with a few free minutes read the entirety of this essay (http://www.westonaprice.org/Agribusiness-and-the-Fall-of-Rome.html). As a society, we can't really afford to continue on our current path. The consequences are greater than a depressed economy and high unemployment. I'm not usually prone to apocalyptic worries, but I really do feel that we have become far too detached from the real things in life and I worry what the end result will be if we keep acting with instant gratification in mind. I know I'm preaching to the choir and that my audience is already moving in the right direction by supporting local, small(er) scale agriculture. So thank you for all that you already do. Keep up the good work, because you are leading by example.