I've read a lot of Hannah Arendt this past year. Wrote this to a friend recently after transcribing it from a conversation with Aubrey Marcus and Dr Mattias Desmet - think I even emailed this to you but will repeat it here:
'Hannah Arendt warned us already in 1953 she said, 'We've seen the decline and fall of Nazism and we see the decline of the Soviet Union, of Stalinism now, but she warned us that this doesn't mean that the trends towards Totalitarianism will stop. 'Very soon, she said, a new Totalitarian state will emerge and it will be a world wide system. And it will be a system that is no longer led by mob leaders, such as Stalin and Hitler, but by dull technocrats and bureaucrats.' And just like the systems of the 20th century, this system will destroy itself and will probably do so much quicker than the systems we have previously seen. It will be more intrinsically self-destructive and once you realise that, you know that all you have to do in one way or another is to try to survive outside the system in a parallel structure, and just wait until the system destroys itself.' (Dr Mattias Desmet)
Wonderful, recent chat on YT too between Neil Oliver and Bret Weinstein where Neil talks about the elite's 'weakness'. How they are so disconnected from everyday humans (and the natural world, I might add) that they've underestimated the human spirit. They don't ever SEE it. This is huge and the blessed thorn in their sides. Sadly, due to their power, we are going to go through this, and more and more I think we must all find our inner Frodo, that 'the ring' - the link between The Eye of Sauron and ordinary folk will officially become Ai (via all the devices) and one day I can see us all throwing all our screens in the fire and just being where we are again. That 'the system will destroy itself' gives me hope, I just hope it all happens swiftly. Go the hobbits. x
Monique, that quote is superb. I have ordered two of Arendt's books. Do you remember which this quote is from? Which of her books have you liked?
I heard the chat between Neil Oliver and Bret as well. It was absolutely beautiful. I so enjoyed listening to Neil's perspective. He's so right, they cannot understand the human spirit. My hope is that our spirits are not deadened by the hopelessness so many people feel in our disconnected, plastic world. Maybe even then there's hope when push comes to shove?
I loved your comment. Thank you, Monique. Go the hobbits, indeed. xo
Hello! That 'quote' - which I should have clarified, forgive me - was a statement from Dr Mattias Desmet and he says it at the end of a conversation with Aubrey Marcus. I hope you don't mind me pasting the link here - hopefully at the right time as he says it near the end: https://youtu.be/IqPJiM5Ir3A?t=4221 I'll correct it above. Hannah Arendt books: 'The Origins of Totalitarianism' and 'The Human Condition'.
I listened to the interview with Neil Oliver as well and I hope what he thinks comes to pass but I’m skeptical about his theory that they can’t stomach the wet work. More and more they are similar to sociopaths with little empathy. They won’t do it straight on but it will still get done one way or another.
Oh, I do hope it is swift as well, but not too swift, we are only getting setup now and my husband is not ready for these revelations. I will listen to their chat, thank you for the resource. Yes, go hobbits. 🙏❤️
This is timely for me, Tara. I’ve been so frustrated because of my circumstances, not being able to do all of the things I want to do (grow a garden, have chickens, buy raw milk, etc.) BUT, I can buy real foods, animal foods. The best that our small budget allows. I’ve felt so burdened by it all. Feeling so guilty because I can’t get the “best” quality food for my children. I will continue to plan for our future little homestead whenever we lay our nomadic roots down. Thank you for your words! God bless you and your family.
Thank you, Angelica. That's just it. The foods you can, the best you can. None of us need to buy these frankenfoods that are just the seeding beds for pharma's future profits. Thank you for your kind words.
The “system” created by Late Capitalism, which has escaped from the fetters that somewhat controlled it, is now so broken that it is massively killing people: some very quickly now (experimental medical products mandated by the state which is captured by industry), some more slowly but inexorably. People are sick. The human body has become a marketplace for industry more than ever before—think implanted chips where one can be tracked for “safety,” for instance. People now think they have to have drugs and medical interventions to be healthy, that needing artificial knees and hips is “normal.” The loss of real, healthy, clean food and all the medical technologies has produced a terrible outcome—which includes mental illness for many—like the young men who pick up guns and kill so many at once. And the massive problem is that things changed slowly—not by discussion in the public square, but by changing operating rules quietly in the background. So, most people do not understand what has happened. We, in Canada or the USA or a lot of Europe, cannot vote out way out of this horrible mess where our state governments with their layers and layers of bureaucratic control—all supported by corporate media—are running amok all around us. The failed system is totally broken now. It is just going to have to burn down before things will change. How many bodies have to pile up before people start to understand? The only way I can see to go forward is with those deeply connected to the soil, to land, to farms, to real food, to cooking. They are the only healthy people left now. And I am so grateful to the healthy ones who are left and who so clearly understand the mess we are now in. Buckle up.
So very well said, Louisa. You nailed it. We've been talking about this in my circles for years now and the evidence of the acceleration of our decline is all about us. How can people be watching Kardashians when everything is crumbling?! I can keep my sites on all of those things and be spiritually defeated, or do the work I think matters and know that the results may not be what I hope for. I do it anyway. I think it matters. I think it's right.
Health is no longer found in the system. Health is wholly outside of all that they offer. I agree, it's going to be a bumpy ride.
I think it is so important to do the work that matters, and I appreciate that you are doing that work. It is frustrating to keep hitting the brick wall of a belief system that is false and won’t admit critique. But I, too, keep trying in whatever way I can—which is why I keep asking “how many bodies is it going to take this time?” People are beginning to see PART of the problem—not THE meta-problem which is all webbed together in a knot—but I suppose some seeing is a start. This time feels different to me in that I don’t think there is an avenue to just wheel back some of the trouble when it is the whole system that has crashed. We are going to have to build back from the bottom—with the people who “got it” and took action years ago. Like YOU, Tara.
Quite a chessboard we’ve been handed. But slowing down, taking more care is vital. We are not the people who survived on the American continents before colonization and we’re not the rugged colonizers who floated in on boats from various places, mostly as European refugees. We have the traditions of our ancestors we can take to the “bank”. Or we can lose it all to these very limited, irrational, “elites”. This is about Wild, Free, Human Beings and our interdependence in being living beings on the complex ecosystem of Planet Earth.
I’ve always been confused about why every single suburb in the country does not have a farm in their community. With cities, this is obviously more difficult, but in the suburbs, why wouldn’t there be a farm on the property of the elementary schools, middle schools and high schools? Why wouldn’t we be creating small farms—or at the least, small gardens that can surely be afforded—and having classes for kids and teenagers to learn about such a simple thing as where our food actually comes from?
I don’t know, I’ve always scratched my head at this. I'm not an expert, and maybe the logistics and details are more difficult to work out than I imagine with all the bureaucracy and zoning laws and nonsense that we’ve instituted. Or maybe it's deeper than that.
Your writing is much appreciated. I'm not a farmer, but I'd like to venture into this world at some point and build what I'm able to. And I know that I would have had fun digging up dirt and growing and eating real food when I was in fifth grade.
It's a valid question with no honest answers. There's answers, yes, but "zoning" and "safety" and "property values" are just the icing on the BS cake. At its centre is the separation of people from their food. We've lost the skills around raising and harvesting our food. We're dependant on grocery stores to feed us. Grocery stores are dependant on food processors to make them money. The people are kept buzzing in the city hives. It's not chance, it's all by design. But there's no fixing it unless we exercise a hearty dose of civil disobedience and be willing to risk a little for some unknown human in the future just because it's the right thing to do.
I also wonder at this because where I live, in Vermont, this is pretty common. Many "preschools" and elementary schools have a school garden where the kids learn to plant and grow food and the food is often used to feed the kids snack and lunch. Many, if not most, communities have some kind of community garden space where those without the land to grow food have access. They, then, also have access to community to talk/help/brainstorm gardening and growing ideas. So many homes have a garden and by mid to late summer you can often find stands at the end of folks' driveways with free zucchini for the taking, or cukes, or whatever they grew too much of! And Farmer's Markets are scattered all over. I personally don't know what our state has done to encourage this, strong lobbying in the state government, or a general sense that this is how it should be so let's make it happen? I apparently take it for granted because I don't know how this lifestyle and understanding came about. This is actually encouraging to type out because I've been a bit down about the state of other things in my state lately. Nice to reflect on what we are doing that's going well!
And again - we are sitting and having a virtual visit with you this morning. This is a common conversation in our household and amongst our community of like-minded individuals. Our focus as a small farm, is to not only produce as much of our own food as possible, but to also educate other people on this path to being self-sufficient. The most common comment we get from people is that what we do is "so much work". When did that become a negative? It is so much food!
Isn't that comment so telling?! We have people in our lives who look at how we live and think we're crazed for "working so hard". We've started being more careful to include all of the pleasure in our work when people engage us in those conversations. As an example, we had some friends here who were looking around and said "You guys live in paradise, but holy shit, SO MUCH WORK!" to which I replied, "Yes, so much pleasurable, tangible work to grow the most beautiful food in the world! We get to set our own pace, work together and problem solve together and take breaks all day where we sit under the shade of the apple tree and sip on lilac cordials or eat peony popsicles. And then at the end of the year, we get to rest by fires and eat the riches of our efforts." I got a "That's true." from them, but I don't know that they were totally convinced. Seeds, that's all I can do, scatter seeds. You, too. And I still feel like a sloth when I think about the work our ancestors used to take on. :)
We do the same thing! Not to defend our position - but to explain that life has to be balanced with pleasurable activities as well. However, we find productive work pleasurable. Tending to our herd of goats (milking, kidding, snuggling) has brought us such immense joy and contentment. Having chickens (chicks), ducks (ducklings) and geese (goslings) brightens our existence. Standing back at the end of the day and feeling accomplished by whatever project we've been working on or routine we've completed is rewarding. Looking at the food on our plate and subsequently the strength of our bodies is incredibly fulfilling - literally and figuratively. Sitting in the shade of a tree, surrounded by our menagerie whilst sipping a cool minted drink - sublime. We have intentionally created a life we don't feel as though we need a vacation from while at the same time feeding ourselves, our family and our community.
This gives me chills and a bit more of a boot in my ass! We are moving frustratingly slow some days in creating our small farm and we need to do more. Thank you always for your words as I try to share them as widely as possible!
Wow, wow, and wow. So many profound observations about the state we find ourselves in today. Why are we rejecting, as you put it, the very foods our species have evolved and interconnected with since the dawn of time? Your scariest point is the fear there may eventually be no examples of robust health if we continue as is. In the USA, we have the Food and Drug Administration, yet they only emphasize research into drugs and forget about the first word in their actual name!! I was raised vegetarian because of my family's religion (SDA) and transitioned to meat after marrying my husband who grew up on real food his family raised. I am in total agreement with your perspective!
I agree, it is scary and you can see it unfolding before our eyes. I fear a time when children grow up thinking it's normal to have an autoimmune disease and diabetes. The pharma companies have already done a bang-up job convincing people that diseases are to be 'managed' not 'cured'.
Your observation that in just a span of 100 years, our whole world has been rewritten is right on. Not only with food, but in other areas as well. In our arrogance we negate everything that came before -- we know best is very Pharisee like. Thank you for your work countering the current elite group think about humanity and food.
It is sadly already normalized, the parents look for the quick fix for themselves and therefore for their children, they do not know otherwise. Whenever I can, I talk to my fellow parenting friends, I point them into other direction for answers, most have no clue what I am even talking about. 'You do not have to give Tylenol for a fever?' 'What are electrolytes?' And so on.
When I point out how different we eat/live from our ancestors they immediately think of their grandparents, and the bread they baked and slathered with margarine. They do not consider the millions of years of human evolution that has brought us this far.
I put faith in that and I hope I am planting some seeds in the minds of those around me to consider that as well.
This has been on my troubled mind so much lately. Thank you for putting it into words. I have a small farm stand where I sell our raw milk products and I am truly scared for the future. It's refreshing to come across like minded people, most days I am feeling stuck and defeated.
Angie, you are doing powerful things. I know there are days when it can feel so defeating, but your work is needed and it is also thankless at times. Do it because it's right and be in awe of your own resolve when those around you don't get it. xo
This is such a great work to be involved in. I have friends who live in subdivisions and they say the "formula shortages" are horrible for the young mothers. My friend said some new mothers were making their own "formula" with dried milk and corn syrup. I said, "oh, wait! Sally Fallon Morrell and Nourishing Traditions have a much better recipe. You need RAW MILK." They looked at me like I was crazy... but I still press on.
Great writing, Tara!! Hubby and I are driving to RI to take care of my dad who just fell and broke his hip. Compounded is his new heart condition from last year after getting the dumb jab. His brother talked him into it. He went from a vibrant, healthy 87 year old to a shadow of himself after 3 heart surgeries in 3 months🙈. Dealing with the medical profession as a retired nurse but someone who is very much aligned with your way of living etc., is so frustrating. Just start at the food they serve these poor people trying to recover from surgery. We bring in most of his food. Staff doesn’t understand.
At any rate, what you say is just so true. We try to grow as much food as we can, but that’s not much being basically carnivore but are committed to our local farms that raise food humanely and on open pasture. I love all your writings. I’ve bought many books to figure out how to do things I’ve never done before (pickling, fermenting, making wild vinegars is my latest). I love all of it. It’s so empowering on so many levels. The thought of plants grown in factories without windows is absurd and frightening. What the elite are doing to the masses is disheartening and most don’t even see it. So many roll their eyes at me and label me a fanatic when they hear of me collecting wild apples off our back property line with all their spots etc…but, not one worm! To make my own burnt butter, sage apple butter and can it is so fulfilling. Tapping our trees for maple syrup etc. same thing. No one I speak to has ever had tea made from maple sap…it’s one of life’s finer pleasures. Waiting for my milkweed to come in to make that cordial (thank you very much).
For those that are in cities, read, read, read and find some way to do the best you can. Learn about some foraging and take a trip out of the city and see what you can find. I believe there’s always a way, though admittedly not always easy.
Finally, just finishing up the Invisible Rainbow as we drive…ugh. Want to wrap our house in a faraday cage and cut the electric to our home🤣. We can only do what we can do but we should find all we can do and do it, imho. Thank you I for all your writings!
I think it is amazing how you are supporting your Dad in hospital with good food and advocating for him. I have been through it. Just wanted to encourage you, it makes all the difference. A hospital is one place you do not want to be alone. I smuggled my mum chicken broth in a flask after her surgery. And yes the invisible rainbow made me feel that way too! I am jealous about the maple syrup!!
Thanks so much! We’ve done this multiple times for our parents. My mom almost died years ago from medical system not knowing anything. We changed her diet to the SCD diet. Doctor told us we were fools, she should eat whatever she wanted as she only had weeks. He told us what you eat has nothing to do with your gut 🤦🏻♀️He is a gastroenterologist. When she turned around with diet changes and is still living 9 years later on the same diet, he told her it was luck, not diet. Needless to say he was one of a couple docs we fired. With all the heart stuff my dad went through, they put him on a low salt, low fat diet…but jello, apple juice and sherbet abounded if he wanted. We smuggled in lobster and hamburgers and broth. 🤣 one of the nurses almost lost her mind when she saw him enjoying a lobster drenched in butter. It’s a scary place and everyone needs an advocate these day in the hospital. Thanks again for your kind thoughts. Means a lot! Would be happy to share some maple syrup and a cup of maple sap tea (when in season) sometime😉
Thank YOU Pam, you made me laugh and cry at the same time, so many good mental pictures. Hope he LOVED that lobster. I can't tell you how glad I am to hear about your mum. Stories like that seem so few. Chatting over maple tea sounds like heaven :-) Over here (NZ) we buy teeny bottles of "real maple syrup" for huge amounts when we want a treat.
NZ to Wisconsin makes it tough to share a cup of tea🤣. Know it’s done in spirit. And, yes, he LOVED the lobster. Was just as good for his soul as his body.
Where do you find hope? Have you? Or do you carry on without? This seems to me right now to be the biggest question that I cannot answer. I know all this that you have written to be true, or that I agree with it. I have these conversations with myself all the time, round and round. And we are doing a lot of the things that you have talked about, but if I am honest I am on autopilot. When did I start thinking in terms of survival, not thriving and dreaming? Will it be worth surviving for? Is that even the point anyway. It is how you live not whether you live? Planning for "the end of the world" really gets in the way of life. Am I just giving in to the planned hopelessness? Making yourself aware, with little to do to combat it, seems to feed it, but is the only alternative sticking your head in the sand completely? I guess each of us can only work it out for ourselves? I expect hope is not a reason, or rationale, but a real live thing that has to come from somewhere or be born or grow or.... In any case I feel like I would like to trade in my grim determination for something better. Something easier for my family to live with, or maybe that should be something to make ME easier to live with. Despair is not workable. It is not a good thing. How to antidote it? Well I am not good at expressing things in words, but connecting is a good thing, thank you. You do have a gift with words, much nicer than to listen to than talking to myself!!
I know of a small farmer in Illinois (USA state in the middle) who grew up a single mother of five in NZ. She plants trees. On top of everything else she’s done regeneratively and organically on what was a chemically farmed farm, she plants so many trees.
Her hope faded one time and she shared that she stopped thinking about the next twenty years or the next eighty years. She skipped right past the fall of this empire (or earth) and went for the future beyond that. What, she thought, would any surviving humans need?
Fruit. Nuts. Firewood. Animals to hunt in the woods. Fish to eat from streams filtered through forests.
And so she plants trees for them.
You can find your hope and your work for that future. It’ll come. Tend it like a weak candle flame for now as you need to. Protect the flicker and it will burn hot and strong and long when you’ve found the right fuel. 💚
Thank you Alli, I really appreciate that. We ordered trees to plant this winter for ourselves, but now when we plant I will remember this, they are not just for us. And I have been lighting candles for myself lately, just to look at. I can ponder this too.
'I realized that if I was feeling hopeless or discouraged, I was not being either true-hearted, virtuous, or wise' and '.....and it became so clear that the one who created it all did it out of pure love. I realized I had fallen out of alignment with what is true' are two of the most beautiful and sincere things I've read in so long - aside from dear Tara's words, of course. Thank you so much for sharing such truths. God bless Grandpa and your good, sumptuous self! x
Thank you for this. I really appreciate you taking time to write it down. It means a lot. It will take a while to digest I think. My words are deserting me this afternoon, just wanted to let you know,Alicia
Years ago my husband started a job in a rural part of Colorado. It is the home of big agriculture for the region. Being a mountain girl, I had never been around these systems but soon learned of their horrors. The community people were lovely, honest, hardworking people. Yet every week at the local bank notices of condolences, memorial service and memorial fund accounts were posted for some family that had lost a loved one to cancer. I learned of the chemicals sprayed on the ground and the fields. I knew these chemicals were in the ground water, how could it be otherwise? I learned that these farmers could not get loans from the bank for yearly production without presenting evidence that chemicals would be used in order to best guarantee a return on investment.
We talked to the farmers we knew about better, regenerative practices but of course we were not heard. We left that area as soon as my husband could transfer because we did not want to live in the toxic soup. However, the realities of those chemicals are still there poisoning the land, the people and all the rest of us. It is in the soil, the water and the food.
I too, get on my soap box and talk about how necessary it is to raise food. In the end we have opted to focus that energy on our own farm so that we can raise enough for ourselves and maybe have enough for those in need. Being the example to others that you don't have to accept pain, illness and emptiness as a way of life. Outside this broken system of chaos there is life.
There are areas just like that here in Canada, too. Friends of ours live in a small community where, every week, notices of more deaths from cancer are pinned to the bulletin board in the post office. It's heartbreaking.
I truly believe that it's in our actions that we are most powerful. We can talk away, but unless we are living and breathing a way of life counter to what we are told is "normal life", the emperor has no clothes. I write and share as much as I can, but in my "real life" I just work and do what I can. It's been amazing for me to see how powerful silent advocacy is. Lead by example, as my hubby says. Yes, exactly that :)
This will give the author and all of you more hope. As an Environmentalist I noticed the vegan and fake meat diets are taking root more not just because some are sensitive about killing animals or have milk allergies, but because they have been taught wrongly that all grazing will ruin the earth and make climate change worse. I tried correcting this but old colleagues get mad at me. This article shows it ain't so and that old old Native Cultures practice with new innovation make small farms and larger grasslands actually CORRECT climate change! Hallelujah! Even atheists can rejoice. I'm quiet as a Christian but every religion is part of our eating world and the USA Democracy. https://natcapsolutions.org/growing-a-finer-future/
Thank you, Tara, for this excellent and prophetic reflection. Couldn't have said it better. Thank you for sharing about your grandparents escaping Communism and immigrating to Canada.
I was born and raised in East Germany during the Cold war and under Communist rule, and what's happening here in the US and globally right now is an uncanny reminder of the infamous power of indoctrination with an ideology that hijacks the innate desire of people to "be good" -- turning them into obedient serfs. Here's to hope that this Wall will come down too, as it has in 1989. I was there.
I found it so upending to realise that many of my beliefs have been co-opted to justify a future far different from the one I believe in. But then, listening to the brilliant conversation with Dr. Leroy you linked to (Thank you! Thank you!), I began to realise that all I need to believe in is my (and all others) essential, elemental, instinctive humanness. And what better way to honour this than real foods - foods that make my body sing; the pot of dhal that my daughters look forward to every week; foods that we have grown or found; jars or bags of abundance shared; a feast to honour, to celebrate, to share or just because. It somehow feels like both gateway and key to these times. The rambling realisations that arrive when you weed and collect fallen branches for a bonfire! :)
I really appreciate your thoughtful essay Tara and the links you provided to such insightful work....with heartfelt thanks for inspiring my outside ponderings...
I've read a lot of Hannah Arendt this past year. Wrote this to a friend recently after transcribing it from a conversation with Aubrey Marcus and Dr Mattias Desmet - think I even emailed this to you but will repeat it here:
'Hannah Arendt warned us already in 1953 she said, 'We've seen the decline and fall of Nazism and we see the decline of the Soviet Union, of Stalinism now, but she warned us that this doesn't mean that the trends towards Totalitarianism will stop. 'Very soon, she said, a new Totalitarian state will emerge and it will be a world wide system. And it will be a system that is no longer led by mob leaders, such as Stalin and Hitler, but by dull technocrats and bureaucrats.' And just like the systems of the 20th century, this system will destroy itself and will probably do so much quicker than the systems we have previously seen. It will be more intrinsically self-destructive and once you realise that, you know that all you have to do in one way or another is to try to survive outside the system in a parallel structure, and just wait until the system destroys itself.' (Dr Mattias Desmet)
Wonderful, recent chat on YT too between Neil Oliver and Bret Weinstein where Neil talks about the elite's 'weakness'. How they are so disconnected from everyday humans (and the natural world, I might add) that they've underestimated the human spirit. They don't ever SEE it. This is huge and the blessed thorn in their sides. Sadly, due to their power, we are going to go through this, and more and more I think we must all find our inner Frodo, that 'the ring' - the link between The Eye of Sauron and ordinary folk will officially become Ai (via all the devices) and one day I can see us all throwing all our screens in the fire and just being where we are again. That 'the system will destroy itself' gives me hope, I just hope it all happens swiftly. Go the hobbits. x
Monique, that quote is superb. I have ordered two of Arendt's books. Do you remember which this quote is from? Which of her books have you liked?
I heard the chat between Neil Oliver and Bret as well. It was absolutely beautiful. I so enjoyed listening to Neil's perspective. He's so right, they cannot understand the human spirit. My hope is that our spirits are not deadened by the hopelessness so many people feel in our disconnected, plastic world. Maybe even then there's hope when push comes to shove?
I loved your comment. Thank you, Monique. Go the hobbits, indeed. xo
Hello! That 'quote' - which I should have clarified, forgive me - was a statement from Dr Mattias Desmet and he says it at the end of a conversation with Aubrey Marcus. I hope you don't mind me pasting the link here - hopefully at the right time as he says it near the end: https://youtu.be/IqPJiM5Ir3A?t=4221 I'll correct it above. Hannah Arendt books: 'The Origins of Totalitarianism' and 'The Human Condition'.
I listened to the interview with Neil Oliver as well and I hope what he thinks comes to pass but I’m skeptical about his theory that they can’t stomach the wet work. More and more they are similar to sociopaths with little empathy. They won’t do it straight on but it will still get done one way or another.
Excellent comment. Thanks for sharing about Neil and Bret's chat. Will check it out. And more power to the hobbits!
Oh, I do hope it is swift as well, but not too swift, we are only getting setup now and my husband is not ready for these revelations. I will listen to their chat, thank you for the resource. Yes, go hobbits. 🙏❤️
Beautiful! Yes, we must create our own parallel systems with community - I just love the comparison to Tolkein. Perfect.
This is timely for me, Tara. I’ve been so frustrated because of my circumstances, not being able to do all of the things I want to do (grow a garden, have chickens, buy raw milk, etc.) BUT, I can buy real foods, animal foods. The best that our small budget allows. I’ve felt so burdened by it all. Feeling so guilty because I can’t get the “best” quality food for my children. I will continue to plan for our future little homestead whenever we lay our nomadic roots down. Thank you for your words! God bless you and your family.
Thank you, Angelica. That's just it. The foods you can, the best you can. None of us need to buy these frankenfoods that are just the seeding beds for pharma's future profits. Thank you for your kind words.
The “system” created by Late Capitalism, which has escaped from the fetters that somewhat controlled it, is now so broken that it is massively killing people: some very quickly now (experimental medical products mandated by the state which is captured by industry), some more slowly but inexorably. People are sick. The human body has become a marketplace for industry more than ever before—think implanted chips where one can be tracked for “safety,” for instance. People now think they have to have drugs and medical interventions to be healthy, that needing artificial knees and hips is “normal.” The loss of real, healthy, clean food and all the medical technologies has produced a terrible outcome—which includes mental illness for many—like the young men who pick up guns and kill so many at once. And the massive problem is that things changed slowly—not by discussion in the public square, but by changing operating rules quietly in the background. So, most people do not understand what has happened. We, in Canada or the USA or a lot of Europe, cannot vote out way out of this horrible mess where our state governments with their layers and layers of bureaucratic control—all supported by corporate media—are running amok all around us. The failed system is totally broken now. It is just going to have to burn down before things will change. How many bodies have to pile up before people start to understand? The only way I can see to go forward is with those deeply connected to the soil, to land, to farms, to real food, to cooking. They are the only healthy people left now. And I am so grateful to the healthy ones who are left and who so clearly understand the mess we are now in. Buckle up.
So very well said, Louisa. You nailed it. We've been talking about this in my circles for years now and the evidence of the acceleration of our decline is all about us. How can people be watching Kardashians when everything is crumbling?! I can keep my sites on all of those things and be spiritually defeated, or do the work I think matters and know that the results may not be what I hope for. I do it anyway. I think it matters. I think it's right.
Health is no longer found in the system. Health is wholly outside of all that they offer. I agree, it's going to be a bumpy ride.
I think it is so important to do the work that matters, and I appreciate that you are doing that work. It is frustrating to keep hitting the brick wall of a belief system that is false and won’t admit critique. But I, too, keep trying in whatever way I can—which is why I keep asking “how many bodies is it going to take this time?” People are beginning to see PART of the problem—not THE meta-problem which is all webbed together in a knot—but I suppose some seeing is a start. This time feels different to me in that I don’t think there is an avenue to just wheel back some of the trouble when it is the whole system that has crashed. We are going to have to build back from the bottom—with the people who “got it” and took action years ago. Like YOU, Tara.
Quite a chessboard we’ve been handed. But slowing down, taking more care is vital. We are not the people who survived on the American continents before colonization and we’re not the rugged colonizers who floated in on boats from various places, mostly as European refugees. We have the traditions of our ancestors we can take to the “bank”. Or we can lose it all to these very limited, irrational, “elites”. This is about Wild, Free, Human Beings and our interdependence in being living beings on the complex ecosystem of Planet Earth.
Yes, exactly so! We choose what we dedicate our lives to. Well said.
I’ve always been confused about why every single suburb in the country does not have a farm in their community. With cities, this is obviously more difficult, but in the suburbs, why wouldn’t there be a farm on the property of the elementary schools, middle schools and high schools? Why wouldn’t we be creating small farms—or at the least, small gardens that can surely be afforded—and having classes for kids and teenagers to learn about such a simple thing as where our food actually comes from?
I don’t know, I’ve always scratched my head at this. I'm not an expert, and maybe the logistics and details are more difficult to work out than I imagine with all the bureaucracy and zoning laws and nonsense that we’ve instituted. Or maybe it's deeper than that.
Your writing is much appreciated. I'm not a farmer, but I'd like to venture into this world at some point and build what I'm able to. And I know that I would have had fun digging up dirt and growing and eating real food when I was in fifth grade.
It's a valid question with no honest answers. There's answers, yes, but "zoning" and "safety" and "property values" are just the icing on the BS cake. At its centre is the separation of people from their food. We've lost the skills around raising and harvesting our food. We're dependant on grocery stores to feed us. Grocery stores are dependant on food processors to make them money. The people are kept buzzing in the city hives. It's not chance, it's all by design. But there's no fixing it unless we exercise a hearty dose of civil disobedience and be willing to risk a little for some unknown human in the future just because it's the right thing to do.
I also wonder at this because where I live, in Vermont, this is pretty common. Many "preschools" and elementary schools have a school garden where the kids learn to plant and grow food and the food is often used to feed the kids snack and lunch. Many, if not most, communities have some kind of community garden space where those without the land to grow food have access. They, then, also have access to community to talk/help/brainstorm gardening and growing ideas. So many homes have a garden and by mid to late summer you can often find stands at the end of folks' driveways with free zucchini for the taking, or cukes, or whatever they grew too much of! And Farmer's Markets are scattered all over. I personally don't know what our state has done to encourage this, strong lobbying in the state government, or a general sense that this is how it should be so let's make it happen? I apparently take it for granted because I don't know how this lifestyle and understanding came about. This is actually encouraging to type out because I've been a bit down about the state of other things in my state lately. Nice to reflect on what we are doing that's going well!
That's great to hear, I'm glad something is going right somewhere!
And again - we are sitting and having a virtual visit with you this morning. This is a common conversation in our household and amongst our community of like-minded individuals. Our focus as a small farm, is to not only produce as much of our own food as possible, but to also educate other people on this path to being self-sufficient. The most common comment we get from people is that what we do is "so much work". When did that become a negative? It is so much food!
Isn't that comment so telling?! We have people in our lives who look at how we live and think we're crazed for "working so hard". We've started being more careful to include all of the pleasure in our work when people engage us in those conversations. As an example, we had some friends here who were looking around and said "You guys live in paradise, but holy shit, SO MUCH WORK!" to which I replied, "Yes, so much pleasurable, tangible work to grow the most beautiful food in the world! We get to set our own pace, work together and problem solve together and take breaks all day where we sit under the shade of the apple tree and sip on lilac cordials or eat peony popsicles. And then at the end of the year, we get to rest by fires and eat the riches of our efforts." I got a "That's true." from them, but I don't know that they were totally convinced. Seeds, that's all I can do, scatter seeds. You, too. And I still feel like a sloth when I think about the work our ancestors used to take on. :)
We do the same thing! Not to defend our position - but to explain that life has to be balanced with pleasurable activities as well. However, we find productive work pleasurable. Tending to our herd of goats (milking, kidding, snuggling) has brought us such immense joy and contentment. Having chickens (chicks), ducks (ducklings) and geese (goslings) brightens our existence. Standing back at the end of the day and feeling accomplished by whatever project we've been working on or routine we've completed is rewarding. Looking at the food on our plate and subsequently the strength of our bodies is incredibly fulfilling - literally and figuratively. Sitting in the shade of a tree, surrounded by our menagerie whilst sipping a cool minted drink - sublime. We have intentionally created a life we don't feel as though we need a vacation from while at the same time feeding ourselves, our family and our community.
This gives me chills and a bit more of a boot in my ass! We are moving frustratingly slow some days in creating our small farm and we need to do more. Thank you always for your words as I try to share them as widely as possible!
Thank you, Jenelle. A boot in the ass is something we all need every now and then.
Wow, wow, and wow. So many profound observations about the state we find ourselves in today. Why are we rejecting, as you put it, the very foods our species have evolved and interconnected with since the dawn of time? Your scariest point is the fear there may eventually be no examples of robust health if we continue as is. In the USA, we have the Food and Drug Administration, yet they only emphasize research into drugs and forget about the first word in their actual name!! I was raised vegetarian because of my family's religion (SDA) and transitioned to meat after marrying my husband who grew up on real food his family raised. I am in total agreement with your perspective!
I agree, it is scary and you can see it unfolding before our eyes. I fear a time when children grow up thinking it's normal to have an autoimmune disease and diabetes. The pharma companies have already done a bang-up job convincing people that diseases are to be 'managed' not 'cured'.
Your observation that in just a span of 100 years, our whole world has been rewritten is right on. Not only with food, but in other areas as well. In our arrogance we negate everything that came before -- we know best is very Pharisee like. Thank you for your work countering the current elite group think about humanity and food.
It is sadly already normalized, the parents look for the quick fix for themselves and therefore for their children, they do not know otherwise. Whenever I can, I talk to my fellow parenting friends, I point them into other direction for answers, most have no clue what I am even talking about. 'You do not have to give Tylenol for a fever?' 'What are electrolytes?' And so on.
When I point out how different we eat/live from our ancestors they immediately think of their grandparents, and the bread they baked and slathered with margarine. They do not consider the millions of years of human evolution that has brought us this far.
I put faith in that and I hope I am planting some seeds in the minds of those around me to consider that as well.
This has been on my troubled mind so much lately. Thank you for putting it into words. I have a small farm stand where I sell our raw milk products and I am truly scared for the future. It's refreshing to come across like minded people, most days I am feeling stuck and defeated.
Angie, you are doing powerful things. I know there are days when it can feel so defeating, but your work is needed and it is also thankless at times. Do it because it's right and be in awe of your own resolve when those around you don't get it. xo
This is such a great work to be involved in. I have friends who live in subdivisions and they say the "formula shortages" are horrible for the young mothers. My friend said some new mothers were making their own "formula" with dried milk and corn syrup. I said, "oh, wait! Sally Fallon Morrell and Nourishing Traditions have a much better recipe. You need RAW MILK." They looked at me like I was crazy... but I still press on.
Great writing, Tara!! Hubby and I are driving to RI to take care of my dad who just fell and broke his hip. Compounded is his new heart condition from last year after getting the dumb jab. His brother talked him into it. He went from a vibrant, healthy 87 year old to a shadow of himself after 3 heart surgeries in 3 months🙈. Dealing with the medical profession as a retired nurse but someone who is very much aligned with your way of living etc., is so frustrating. Just start at the food they serve these poor people trying to recover from surgery. We bring in most of his food. Staff doesn’t understand.
At any rate, what you say is just so true. We try to grow as much food as we can, but that’s not much being basically carnivore but are committed to our local farms that raise food humanely and on open pasture. I love all your writings. I’ve bought many books to figure out how to do things I’ve never done before (pickling, fermenting, making wild vinegars is my latest). I love all of it. It’s so empowering on so many levels. The thought of plants grown in factories without windows is absurd and frightening. What the elite are doing to the masses is disheartening and most don’t even see it. So many roll their eyes at me and label me a fanatic when they hear of me collecting wild apples off our back property line with all their spots etc…but, not one worm! To make my own burnt butter, sage apple butter and can it is so fulfilling. Tapping our trees for maple syrup etc. same thing. No one I speak to has ever had tea made from maple sap…it’s one of life’s finer pleasures. Waiting for my milkweed to come in to make that cordial (thank you very much).
For those that are in cities, read, read, read and find some way to do the best you can. Learn about some foraging and take a trip out of the city and see what you can find. I believe there’s always a way, though admittedly not always easy.
Finally, just finishing up the Invisible Rainbow as we drive…ugh. Want to wrap our house in a faraday cage and cut the electric to our home🤣. We can only do what we can do but we should find all we can do and do it, imho. Thank you I for all your writings!
I think it is amazing how you are supporting your Dad in hospital with good food and advocating for him. I have been through it. Just wanted to encourage you, it makes all the difference. A hospital is one place you do not want to be alone. I smuggled my mum chicken broth in a flask after her surgery. And yes the invisible rainbow made me feel that way too! I am jealous about the maple syrup!!
Thanks so much! We’ve done this multiple times for our parents. My mom almost died years ago from medical system not knowing anything. We changed her diet to the SCD diet. Doctor told us we were fools, she should eat whatever she wanted as she only had weeks. He told us what you eat has nothing to do with your gut 🤦🏻♀️He is a gastroenterologist. When she turned around with diet changes and is still living 9 years later on the same diet, he told her it was luck, not diet. Needless to say he was one of a couple docs we fired. With all the heart stuff my dad went through, they put him on a low salt, low fat diet…but jello, apple juice and sherbet abounded if he wanted. We smuggled in lobster and hamburgers and broth. 🤣 one of the nurses almost lost her mind when she saw him enjoying a lobster drenched in butter. It’s a scary place and everyone needs an advocate these day in the hospital. Thanks again for your kind thoughts. Means a lot! Would be happy to share some maple syrup and a cup of maple sap tea (when in season) sometime😉
Thank YOU Pam, you made me laugh and cry at the same time, so many good mental pictures. Hope he LOVED that lobster. I can't tell you how glad I am to hear about your mum. Stories like that seem so few. Chatting over maple tea sounds like heaven :-) Over here (NZ) we buy teeny bottles of "real maple syrup" for huge amounts when we want a treat.
NZ to Wisconsin makes it tough to share a cup of tea🤣. Know it’s done in spirit. And, yes, he LOVED the lobster. Was just as good for his soul as his body.
Where do you find hope? Have you? Or do you carry on without? This seems to me right now to be the biggest question that I cannot answer. I know all this that you have written to be true, or that I agree with it. I have these conversations with myself all the time, round and round. And we are doing a lot of the things that you have talked about, but if I am honest I am on autopilot. When did I start thinking in terms of survival, not thriving and dreaming? Will it be worth surviving for? Is that even the point anyway. It is how you live not whether you live? Planning for "the end of the world" really gets in the way of life. Am I just giving in to the planned hopelessness? Making yourself aware, with little to do to combat it, seems to feed it, but is the only alternative sticking your head in the sand completely? I guess each of us can only work it out for ourselves? I expect hope is not a reason, or rationale, but a real live thing that has to come from somewhere or be born or grow or.... In any case I feel like I would like to trade in my grim determination for something better. Something easier for my family to live with, or maybe that should be something to make ME easier to live with. Despair is not workable. It is not a good thing. How to antidote it? Well I am not good at expressing things in words, but connecting is a good thing, thank you. You do have a gift with words, much nicer than to listen to than talking to myself!!
I know of a small farmer in Illinois (USA state in the middle) who grew up a single mother of five in NZ. She plants trees. On top of everything else she’s done regeneratively and organically on what was a chemically farmed farm, she plants so many trees.
Her hope faded one time and she shared that she stopped thinking about the next twenty years or the next eighty years. She skipped right past the fall of this empire (or earth) and went for the future beyond that. What, she thought, would any surviving humans need?
Fruit. Nuts. Firewood. Animals to hunt in the woods. Fish to eat from streams filtered through forests.
And so she plants trees for them.
You can find your hope and your work for that future. It’ll come. Tend it like a weak candle flame for now as you need to. Protect the flicker and it will burn hot and strong and long when you’ve found the right fuel. 💚
Thank you Alli, I really appreciate that. We ordered trees to plant this winter for ourselves, but now when we plant I will remember this, they are not just for us. And I have been lighting candles for myself lately, just to look at. I can ponder this too.
'I realized that if I was feeling hopeless or discouraged, I was not being either true-hearted, virtuous, or wise' and '.....and it became so clear that the one who created it all did it out of pure love. I realized I had fallen out of alignment with what is true' are two of the most beautiful and sincere things I've read in so long - aside from dear Tara's words, of course. Thank you so much for sharing such truths. God bless Grandpa and your good, sumptuous self! x
Thank you for this. I really appreciate you taking time to write it down. It means a lot. It will take a while to digest I think. My words are deserting me this afternoon, just wanted to let you know,Alicia
Years ago my husband started a job in a rural part of Colorado. It is the home of big agriculture for the region. Being a mountain girl, I had never been around these systems but soon learned of their horrors. The community people were lovely, honest, hardworking people. Yet every week at the local bank notices of condolences, memorial service and memorial fund accounts were posted for some family that had lost a loved one to cancer. I learned of the chemicals sprayed on the ground and the fields. I knew these chemicals were in the ground water, how could it be otherwise? I learned that these farmers could not get loans from the bank for yearly production without presenting evidence that chemicals would be used in order to best guarantee a return on investment.
We talked to the farmers we knew about better, regenerative practices but of course we were not heard. We left that area as soon as my husband could transfer because we did not want to live in the toxic soup. However, the realities of those chemicals are still there poisoning the land, the people and all the rest of us. It is in the soil, the water and the food.
I too, get on my soap box and talk about how necessary it is to raise food. In the end we have opted to focus that energy on our own farm so that we can raise enough for ourselves and maybe have enough for those in need. Being the example to others that you don't have to accept pain, illness and emptiness as a way of life. Outside this broken system of chaos there is life.
There are areas just like that here in Canada, too. Friends of ours live in a small community where, every week, notices of more deaths from cancer are pinned to the bulletin board in the post office. It's heartbreaking.
I truly believe that it's in our actions that we are most powerful. We can talk away, but unless we are living and breathing a way of life counter to what we are told is "normal life", the emperor has no clothes. I write and share as much as I can, but in my "real life" I just work and do what I can. It's been amazing for me to see how powerful silent advocacy is. Lead by example, as my hubby says. Yes, exactly that :)
This will give the author and all of you more hope. As an Environmentalist I noticed the vegan and fake meat diets are taking root more not just because some are sensitive about killing animals or have milk allergies, but because they have been taught wrongly that all grazing will ruin the earth and make climate change worse. I tried correcting this but old colleagues get mad at me. This article shows it ain't so and that old old Native Cultures practice with new innovation make small farms and larger grasslands actually CORRECT climate change! Hallelujah! Even atheists can rejoice. I'm quiet as a Christian but every religion is part of our eating world and the USA Democracy. https://natcapsolutions.org/growing-a-finer-future/
Thank you, Tara, for this excellent and prophetic reflection. Couldn't have said it better. Thank you for sharing about your grandparents escaping Communism and immigrating to Canada.
I was born and raised in East Germany during the Cold war and under Communist rule, and what's happening here in the US and globally right now is an uncanny reminder of the infamous power of indoctrination with an ideology that hijacks the innate desire of people to "be good" -- turning them into obedient serfs. Here's to hope that this Wall will come down too, as it has in 1989. I was there.
I found it so upending to realise that many of my beliefs have been co-opted to justify a future far different from the one I believe in. But then, listening to the brilliant conversation with Dr. Leroy you linked to (Thank you! Thank you!), I began to realise that all I need to believe in is my (and all others) essential, elemental, instinctive humanness. And what better way to honour this than real foods - foods that make my body sing; the pot of dhal that my daughters look forward to every week; foods that we have grown or found; jars or bags of abundance shared; a feast to honour, to celebrate, to share or just because. It somehow feels like both gateway and key to these times. The rambling realisations that arrive when you weed and collect fallen branches for a bonfire! :)
I really appreciate your thoughtful essay Tara and the links you provided to such insightful work....with heartfelt thanks for inspiring my outside ponderings...
I remember communist times in my country pretty well.
These times are much worse. We had more time then and many possibilities escape from the control.
Now, with smart technologies, less and less time just to relax and be lazy, more and more control on what you say, do or think.