Climbing on my soapbox

L got an email from one of his sisters with a link to an article on how the US produces so-called 'cheap' food. It's called "Getting Real About the High Price of Cheap Food." I agree with it's premise that the food industry has gotten to be just that-it's all about the almighty dollar instead of raising healthy food. The article also talks about what we can do to fix our food situation. It's amazingly simple: go back to small family-owned farms and use less chemicals/antibiotics to raise crops and animals. I totally agree with the premise that the American food industry relies way too much on scientific and chemical means to grow more food in less time and with less cost. For example-many small grains are harvested after being sprayed with Round-Up so it can be harvested faster and cheaper but don't all weed killers have 'Toxic-do not ingest' warning labels on them? According to the author, we are doing everything right on our farm. Our cows are allowed access to pasture and the outside world on all but the most inclement winter days instead of being cooped up 24-7. (Even on subzero degree days, the cows still love to go outside so it's got to be really bad out there before they want to stay indoors all day long.) Our crops are averaging reasonable yields yet we don't spray or use any chemicals of any kind. We use natural fertilizers, minerals, and crop rotation to keep the soil healthy. We treat our cows with homeopathic and natural remedies with higher success rates than my in-laws saw using conventional treatments. Yes, it's more expensive to farm this way, but I feel so much better about eating what we produce because there aren't the chemicals there. I don't want to blow my own horn here, but simply point out that we don't do things 'conventionally' and are still yielding much the same results. My challenge to you is this-read the article and think about it's message. Do you agree or disagree with the article? If you don't agree, I don't expect you to change your mind. I just want you to think about it. I didn't come by my opinions on organics overnight and I don't expect anyone else to either.

Cloth Diapers

As many of you may already know (and if you don't, now you will) I am due in early February. After my prior miscarriages, I am still nervous about the possibility of another but everything is going well so far. Anyway, I am curious about cloth diapers. I know, I know...You might be thinking I am crazy but I have good reasons for wanting to try cloth diapers. Being an organic farmer's wife, I personally feel a responsibility to be at least somewhat 'green' and this is, in my opinion anyway, another way for me to do that. (Disposable diapers don't compost as I found out when our dog dragged one home from a dump pile and proceeded to shred it on my doorstep.) Plus, they save money and are easier on a baby's bum (or so I've been told).

I am just curious of your experiences with 'clothies' (or lack thereof). What is your opinion? Use them or not? If you have used them, do you recommend them? What brands, styles, etc. did you try? Any that aren't so good? And do you know of any resources where I could find more information on cloth diapers?

Cows And Kids

Cows are like kids. They drool, are capable of making a much larger mess than you thought possible, holler when they are hungry, do what they want to do rather than what you would like them to do, and eat their own snot.