Organic food. Not processed food. Whole food at your fingertips.
PIcture big city (New York). It’s summer and it’s hot. Farmers markets, fresh organic produce, and neighborhood gardens bursting with tasty, read-to-eat veggies, picnic in the park.
Six months from now: Hunker down in cold, snowy, icy, blustery, sleety winter. No-Fresh-Food. Vegetables from the truck at the store.
Does that stop some of these people from enjoying fresh organic food? No. Not on your life. I laughed with delight at this video, the inventiveness and creativity of my fellow humans. There’s hope for any problem we face when individuals tackle the problem with this sort of creativity. Watch this video. You’ll love it.
Russ Kremer was stabbed in the knee cap by a boar’s tusk as he worked on his farm fifteen years ago. When pigs are packed into a closed area that’s not too unusual.
A life-threatening strep infection threw him into the hospital for intraveneous treatment with state-of-the-art drugs or he might not have survived. His story is important to us for several reasons.
Like other factory farms, he administered a laundry list of pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics and hormones, to keep his pigs healthy and make them gain weight fast. This is common practice in feedlots in America today.
STREP INFECTION FROM MUTANT ANTIBIOTIC STRAIN DIFFICULT TO CONTROL
The strep bacteria that infected Russ was a mutant strain, difficult to control. Regular use of antibiotics in factory farms kills weak bacterial strains and, not only favors the strong ones, it actually creates stronger antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Animals kept in close confinement, as they are in industrial farms, must be given antibiotics to control disease. A list of bacteria dangerous to humans includes eColi, Salmonela, and Campylobacter, methicillin-resistant Staph, and 15787, a feedlot bacteria responsible for the death of humans.
This directly concerns me as a consumer because of the danger antibiotic-resistant bacterial pose. “New” diseases such as avian/swine/Spanish flu, and SAARS can be difficult to treat. Anitibiotics, hormones, and pharmaceutical drugs, are now part of our water supply. They are difficult to remove.
“FRESH,THE MOVIE:” FROM FACTORY TO FREE-RANGE
Here’s Russ’ story in the “trailer” of the new movie, “Fresh.”
I’ve seen the entire movie, and it’s great. In fact, I love it so much I’ve played the DVD maybe 9 times. It’s inspiring and educational at the same time.
Kremer, Joel Salatin, Michael Pollan, Will Allen and others talk about America’s food–where it comes from. That part of the movie isn’t a pretty picture, but all of us need to know, since it’s what we feed our famlies.
Then the movie shifts and showcases farmers, grocers–inspiring visionaries–who are changing the way food comes to us. People working in their local communities to make healthy food available locally to all people, not just those who can afford to buy organic.
HEALTHY FOOD IS A HUMAN RIGHT
It’s an encouraging movie that will raise your spirits.
What experience do you have with factory farms or family farms? Have you visited either? Do you work in either? Please post your thoughts below. Let us all know if you get to see “Fresh,” the movie!
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