By: Cory Mentink

Cory shared this story with me the other day, and I asked if he would be willing to share it as a blog post. I think this is a great example of how we can look to the past for solutions instead of always looking for a “treatment.” This is also a good example of how government incentives can have dire consequences and how their “solutions” to the problems they create can have even more ramifications. Below is the story he wrote.

“How many on their deathbeds wished they’d spent more time at the office—or watching TV? The answer is, No one. They think about their loved ones, their families, and those they have served.”

― Stephen R. Covey

The American Heart Association was formed in 1924 and didn’t become well known until 1948 when the maker of Crisco (Proctor and Gamble) gave them over a million dollars related to a Proctor and Gamble sponsored radio contest. Interestingly, they started promoting Crisco as being heart healthy after this time. In other words, the American Heart Association started calling cholesterol bad when the companies selling vegetable oils started to make donations. The organization grew quickly with this support and they even used President Eisenhower’s heart attack in 1955 to put fear in the American people. They suggested that the reason for his heart attack was all the butter he had eaten. They neglected to mention that he was a chain smoker. The process of hydrogenation was introduced in 1911 and heart disease (although rare before this) has been on the increase since that time.

When the government puts its stamp on something, whether it’s meat or eggs or herbicides, it simply means that enough corporate political clout came to bear at some time to buy regulatory approval.  That’s all it means.  And big business can whistle with their sales and profits to the bank, feeling secure and smug in their “Approved” status. 

Joel Salatin

 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. ⁴ Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Philippians 2: 3-4

Since we are getting our eggs right this week, I believe this story couldn’t have come at a better time. This is Smokey and he is the sweetest, most loving cat I have ever met (a little too friendly if you ask me). Many of you have probably met him when you came to pick up orders, and I must confess that I was a little embarrassed by him. You see he’s looked pretty rough for several years, and it didn’t seem to matter what we fed him. We even quit feeding junky cat food about a year ago to all of our cats/dogs and started feeding food from our farm (that’s a story for another time). Anyways, I almost didn’t recognize him a few days ago when I was in the barn finishing up the milking. Aiden was with me, and I asked where that cat came from and he said, “That’s Smokey.” I instantly said, “What has he been getting into, he looks so much better?” All the supplements for the animals came to my mind first. Aiden said, “I don’t know, I have been giving him the extra eggs I find under the trailer for the last two weeks.” While Smokey still won’t win a beauty contest, I must say that his mattery eyes and dried out looking hair coat have improved significantly! It was a great reminder to me to continue to use food as medicine, and that how our food is raised and prepared is more important than what we actually eat. I believe that chickens on pasture produce eggs that are so much more nutritious than confined birds because of the vitamins and minerals in the grass. Remember this, grass equals more vitamins and minerals. Do you have a story to share? We love to hear from you!

“The key is how we think, Brown says. In the industrial agricultural model, all thoughts are focused on killing things. But that mindset was also killing diversity, soil, and profit, Brown realized. Now he channels his creative thinking toward how he can get more life on the land—more plants, animals, and beneficial insects. “The greatest roadblock to solving a problem,” Brown says, “is the human mind.”