For better or for worse, I’ve been known to blow the whistle on organic food and farming. Honestly, I abhor many practices commonly used in organic food production such as confinement chicken and pork production, feedlot beef, and vegetable raised using “organic” chemicals (yes, that is a widespread practice on many organic produce farms). If the non-organic food sector focuses… Read More
If you’ve been interacting with us for a while, you know we’ve chosen to circumvent governmental oversight rather than comply. If the state and county food oversight bureaucracies had their druthers, we would have a raw milk permit to sell raw milk, a licensed and inspected kitchen in which to make homemade canned goods, an inspected processing facility to process… Read More
The birth of organic food is one of humble beginnings and grassroot effort in an attempt to regenerate farmland and provide clean food for those who sought it over sixty years ago. In the mid-1960’s, the moment was ripe for turning back to nature; DDT was in the news, an oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara had blackened… Read More
While I enjoy reading and writing, I occasionally suffer from writer’s block – which is the condition of not being able to come up with something to write about. Many of the “View from the Country” articles have their origins out in the pastures among the livestock, grasses, and elements of nature. There’s something about being outdoors and part of… Read More
How long could you eat—at home—before having to obtain food outside of your home? Just in case you’re asking, I do not consider myself a prepper—or a fear-monger, for that matter. It’s simply a pragmatic question. While this article may touch on a rather dark subject, I believe we benefit from looking at these kinds of realities face-on instead of… Read More
While this blog is not about politics necessarily (we try to stay out of that as best we can) occasionally we just can’t resist weighing in on some of the hot-button issues of the day. Today, so-called “climate change” is one of them. Because of the esoteric ideas surrounding this subject, much of the language used in political circles is… Read More
With headlines screaming of a shortage in baby formula, I can’t resist weighing in. I know this is one of the highly politicized stories of the day, but I’ll try to stay out of the political “weeds” surrounding this topic. Stick with me to the end and I’ll share a few resources. As always, there’s a high probability of there… Read More
At this point you’ve probably been exposed to the circulating speculation regarding food shortages. This is concerning, especially given it could come on something of a global scale. But as always, I’m inclined to take a rational view of potential crises (I’ve been accused of being lackadaisical in my responses to intense situations). First and foremost, the driver of a… Read More
For the past several years, multi-national corporations have corrupted the once-local food sector with cheap unhealthy ingredients and mass-production of highly processed fare. Once upon a time this was only true in the conventional food arena, but as always, much wants more. As the organic sector garnered attention, the food giants of the world eyed it as a new frontier,… Read More
As you know, capitalism has taken a bad rap in recent years. Much of this is due to the examples we see all around of industrial rape of the earth and environment, highlighted by powerful environmentalist groups who point to capitalism as the culprit. That may be true, in part, at least. However, I say it’s not true capitalism when… Read More