By Danan WhiddonThese days, one of the most important things to be thankful for is access to healthy food. We seldom think of the work that goes into making food – especially when that work is done with little fanfare or support. If you are one of the people doing that work, this letter is for you.
Whether you are a famous farmer like Joel Salatin of Virginia or The Barefoot Farmer of Tennessee, or you’re just trying to feed your family and a few friends with real food, you are healing the world! And your hard work does not go unnoticed or unappreciated.
What would we do without your organic veggies and fruit, without your grass fed beef and free-range chickens? We are so blessed to have access to your food – whether it is through a CSA, the local farmer’s market, or even the side of the road.
Thank you for planting heirloom seeds. Thank you for honoring the animals that you raise for eggs, milk, and meat. Thank you for doing your work honestly. And thank you for sharing your food.
Thank you for giving us options so that we don’t have to rely on (or give our money to) giant corporations selling industrial raised, diseased cows, pigs, chickens, or GMO veggies and fruit, sprayed with pesticides, and herbicides.
Thank you for being a steward of the land and its people. Thank you for sticking to your principles – for doing things the right way – even when that means that you are doing things the “hard” way.
Thank you for restoring the land. Thank you for providing food that heals. Thank you for working tirelessly to do the right thing.
May 2013 be your best year yet. May you lead the revolution back to the “old ways” – so that even more people can eat (and afford) healthy food again!
Thank you, thank you, thank you,
Danan Whiddon
Tags: agriculture, farm war, farmers market, farmwars, land restoration, local food, organic food, roadside stands, war on monsanto
I don’t blame anybody here, but I really DO NOT like the word, ‘organic’ anymore. It has been co-opted, hijacked by corporate interests. Let me briefly share our story:
We have had a small dairy farm since 1980, our barn is a bank style barn built into the side of a hill. Very warm and energy efficient. Our farm is hilly, made for the grazing of cattle and production of hay. This is the life we chose and loved.
Small local creamery trucks used to come into our farm to pick up the milk. They turned around on a little flat spot in our yard area and backed down to the milkhouse, no problem. This all changed when we were forced to go ‘certified organic’ because of poor prices for milk. Organic Valley sent large semi-haulers in that would not and could not function on our farm. They were horrible and caused me untold amounts of stress and EXTRA work. Their design and large size gave them no traction whatsoever in snow, even a tiny amount, like 1″. I complained and complained to Organic Valley to no avail. These trucks ended up doing thousands of dollars of damage to our farm, in addition to my mental and emotional health. We had trusted Organic Valley. Rather than acknowledge ANY RESPONSIBILITY, Organic Valley villified me for being angry with them (which I most certainly was!) and cancelled our contract. This led directly to the destruction (slaughter) of our precious cows.
Thank you for reading this and please consider this when you buy ‘certified organic’ especially the Organic Valley label.
nedlud
Yes, ‘thanks’ to the organic farmers for they are the ones who will inherit the earth one day.
Of course, now that our govt. can detain us indefinitely (congress passed this week) organic farmers will eventually be ‘an enemy of the state’ & find themselves on one of the many govt. terrorist lists. With that, organic farmers continue to be brave and move forward by being an activist.
Best wishes!
I agree whole-heartedly with this letter of thanks! Sundown
Well put Ed!
Bri, You really think ingesting toxins because they are cheaper is smart? You’re going to have to spend more money getting them out of your body at some point or they will kill you. Organic food is free, if you push some seeds in the ground, and nurture them. You might come to understand that the earth is alive and aware of you. You might get to understand that the earth doesn’t want to be poisoned. It is wiser to fast than ingest poisons. It’s all about quality, not quantity. I eat very little, but it’s fresh and organic when I do, mostly of course. No-one’s perfect. But I rarely suffer any kind of illness. If you avoid supermarkets, your health improves and you save money. This is well documented and is being promoted by the current ‘strongest man in the world’ and his wife. You actually are what you eat. So don’t be poisonous and ignorant please. The earth loves you and wants you to wake up.
You are so very welcome
Barbara,you may know that Monsanto roundup or RR that the base used for this poison development was the Agent Orange used in vietnam, they just changed the color and dilution that it!
Happy and prosper New Year.
Pierre
God bless all our organic farmers and all the people who bring us healthy food in spite of all the odds against you. You are doing blessed work. May you and the organic movement all prosper in the New Year!
I want to personally thank our Organic Farmers as well!
Bri, spend it now before your health bills are what you need to worry about—or better yet grow your own!
Amen to those thoughts.
Bri, exactly what is your true health worth ???
Got me a 20 pack of Heirloom seeds and will plant them as soon as my aquaponics system is working with in a month or so
Maybe I’ll buy some organic veggies when the price comes down a little.