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Wednesday, March 31, 2010

These boots were made for walking


My Favorite Things...Boots

Ever since women had disposable income, or had a man with disposable income and/or the means to tan leather and stitch it together to make something, women have been wearing boots and loving them.

My favorite boots for performing are these fabulous, over-the-knee boots that I love to wear with a short skirt, with short-shorts (with diamond-cut fish-nets), and over skinny jeans or tights. I don't have a good picture of mine, but here's a similar pair. Mine are Kenneth Cole and I wore them so much I had to get the top of the heel redone. I can't find them online anywhere, but that makes sense because I got them about five years ago. The only thing similar by Kenneth Cole is a short-heel version. I adore the Christian Louboutin version, but have agreed to only get them when I make my first million which is just around the corner so I should probably check at their LA store for my size. Mine are slightly shorter than the Louboutin's and of course are missing the trademark red sole, but all-in-all, they've done me well.













But the high heel, over the knee boots are not really made for walking, at least not long distances.

But the following boots are made for walking. Here's my favorite boots that really are made for walking:

Ugg Boots. Copper. Tall.


These are very good for walking, but I still resisted getting a pair for a long time. Then I saw these copper, tall boots and I finally gave into the years-old fashion trend. I love that you can wear them barefoot. I'm sure my feet will thank me.


Minnetonka Lace-up Knee High Fringe Boots.


I resisted buying these for a while too, but ultimately decided they were the boots for me! They go with everything, are very comfortable for walking and all-day wear, but they're also feminine and cute and they go with everything. I like the brown color (which is a carmel-color and is lighter than the "dusty-brown" color). But I may have to get the black boots as well because I love mine.

Note: Be gentle when you tighten the laces and tie them, the laces are leather and if you pull too hard you may tear them.

Let me know your favorites, ladies. And walk on!

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Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Oh boy, that's a good question! or How to Deal with the Census

The census is happening again.

Does this happen every 10 years or every 5 years? It must be 10 because I don't remember this happening at all in 2005.

Just watch this video and chuckle. Then you'll have some guidance via Christopher Walken on how to handle the census.



Whomever wrote this on SNL, bravo!

Priceless.


How many people live here?
I don't know, maybe eighty. That sounds pretty high. How 'bout four. I'm so bad at guesstimating.
Who lives here?

Me, my wife. Some plants. We have some candy bars. I really overshot it at eighty.


However good the concept and writing is on this, it certainly helps that Christopher Walken's doing it, because he's great at delivering these lines.

Enjoy!



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Monday, March 29, 2010

If I were a Ninja, I'd wear these shoes


I wore my vibram five fingers to set yesterday. By set I mean working on a film, television or commercial set where filming is involved. (When prepping a production, we usually call it prep and reserve set for the filming location.
Anyway, I worked on a commercial yesterday, and decided to wear my black, KSO five fingers to set.

I was a boom operator yesterday, and though this position is relatively new to me, I knew the five fingers would do me well because it’s very easy to move stealth (quiet and soft) in these shoes. Also, my feet were tired the first day because I wore some sneakers and by end of day my feet were sore. Ever the physical explorer doing experiments on myself, I decided to wear my five fingers to see how they compared to normal shoes.
Generally, we who work on set often don’t have a lot of time to chit-chat. This is not to say there isn’t down time, which usually happens depending on department so most people tend to bond with their own department - both from working together and from not working together. But most people working on a commercial, especially on a two-day shoot like we were on yesterday, are focused on their jobs, so they don’t comment on each other’s clothing, style or jobs unless it pertains to getting the job done (wardrobe virtually talks about clothing all day long). But yesterday, on a crew of about 30-40 people, at least 20 people stopped what they were doing (when they could) to ask me about my shoes. Now I admit, I knew a few people would ask about them based on reactions to the shoes when I’ve worn them out in public, but it was way beyond my expectations.
So, I’m blogging about these shoes again and answering the most popular and funny questions from yesterday. Also, there’s a video below that talks about what I most often explained to the people who stayed around for more than 2 minutes to talk about my shoes.
Q= Question (obvious, I know)
SA= Short Answer (or Sassy Answer, depending on the questioner)
LA= Long Answer (which happened when people gave me that look – like they wanted to know more)

Q: Are they comfortable?
SA: Yes.
LA: Yes. But I had to get used to them because they’re very similar to walking barefoot, but with a little extra foot protection. But after a month or two the muscles in my feet adapted and I don’t get too sore anymore. Also, I tend to walk more gently, sort of from the front-side of my feet because it’s too much impact to walk heel-toe. Also, I’ve found that they’re more comfortable if I wear them with toe-socks because there’s less abrasion.

Q: What are those shoes?
SA: They’re called vibram five fingers.
LA: They’re supposed to be as close as possible to being barefoot. For 150,000+ years humans did everything barefoot. We evolved that way, and there are theories that a lot of our injuries today are due to the weakness in our feet from over-padding and –protecting them so that we have bad form (and put undo stress on our feet, knees and hips) and compromised feet and leg muscles. If you’re interested in this kind of thing you should read Born To Run by Christopher McDougall.

Q: Can you wear those for surfing?”
LA: Yes, but they have other styles that have neoprene that are better for water sports. These are mesh so water would get into them so they probably wouldn’t work well for keeping your feet warm.

Q: Where did you get those?
SA: Adventure 16
LA: Adventure 16, but you can order them online too. But I’d try them on first to check for size.

(At the end of the day)
Q: Are your feet sore?
SA: Actually, no.
LA: Actually, no. My legs are a little sore from standing all day but my feet feel pretty good.

Q: Are you a ninja?
SA: No.
SA#2: Not exactly, no. But I can kill you with my feet.
SA#3: Ha. No. But I do martial arts in these shoes.
SA#4: If I were you wouldn’t be able to see me, so no.
SA#5: No, but if I were a ninja, I'd wear these shoes. (And I certainly wouldn't be working here...)

So all of this attention on set made me want to blog about it. But I must say, though I was mostly happy to talk about these shoes and how I think they are great and ultimately really great for our bodies, I was slightly shy at time about the attention. When I'm on-stage, it's different. I'm prepared mentally and emotionally for all the attention. I enjoy it even because I understand that my role is to entertain, receive attention and share my gifts with people. But my mode on set is more utilitarian. I feel like it might be further evidence that, even though it was shoe-induced, I should be doing something else besides being a worker-bee on a commercial/television/film set.
A note about procuring a pair of vibram five fingers. It seems these shoes are more popular than vibram anticipated and they’re currently out of stock in a lot of sizes and colors. Supposedly they’re manufacturing more. Also, when I blogged about these shoes back in December, I’d been wearing them primarily without socks and commented that the friction-generated heat during my martial arts training was unpleasant and that my feet would sometimes get cold during cold weather. Both of these issues are virtually eliminated when I wear toe-socks with the shoes. I didn't wear these in extremely cold weather (nothing below 45°), but they were fine with socks for moderately cold weather. If you plan on wearing socks, please keep that in mind when you decide what size to get or try them on (most stores that carry them should also carry toe-socks). With the KSOs, they seem more flexible so the same size is just fine with or without socks. With the FLOWS (neoprene-upper), I’m not sure you’d want to wear socks, but the fit seems more snug. Anyway, toe-socks made already great shoes even better for more active-wear. I’m considering the performa because I want to wear these with outfits where I don’t look like a gorilla or ninja, and the performa seem a bit more feminine. I’m going to go try them on today or tomorrow, but it's worth noting that I don't plan on wearing socks with the performas.

Please post a comment if you have any more questions that weren’t covered by my cohorts on set.



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Friday, March 26, 2010

How my friend Sally became the new First Lady

For about five days now I've been 100% raw primal, which means I've been eating only organic, raw, uncooked food, including organic, grass-fed animal products and fresh pressed vegetable and fruit juices. Overall I've felt fantastic eating this way, and however socially challenging it can be (most restaurants don't serve this type of food, save sushi restaurants and a few raw-vegan restaurants around town), I've managed for almost a week just fine.

Well last night, I had two organic tortillas (not raw) with some organic, raw avocado, tomato, raw cream, raw cheese and salsa.

I feel hung over today! Seriously. (Didn't drink anything last night, for the record. Haven't been drinking much these days.)

I'm kinda bummed. I like eating that cooked, floury stuff sometimes.

GrrrR!

Damn by body confirming what I already know! Which is I should be eating this primal-diet way as much as possible. I guess I'll just have to be more mindful about the gluten stuff (eat potatoes when craving simple carbs instead of gluten-based carbs. Fortunately, potatoes are on this primal diet as long as they're mixed with copious amounts of raw butter or coconut oil – which only makes the potatoes better).

But back to my gluten issues at hand. For anyone out there who knows a little about nutrition, you might conclude I'm gluten-intolerant. That may very well be true though my symptoms aren't nearly as severe as some friends of mine who have more remarkable reactions when they eat foods that contain gluten. For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, here's a little info that's part of conventional thought about being gluten-intolerant (henceforth known as glutards as my friends Lisa and Camilla affectionately call themselves). By the way, in searching for this information, I came across the Gluten Intolerance Group of North America. They have a group. Wow. One thing I love about the internet is that you can find a group that likes, doesn't like, tolerates or intolerates whatever you've got going on. Even NAMBLA, which honestly makes me feel sort of ill and is often the butt of jokes, is a real, honest-to-goodness organization. I only mention NAMBLA here because, like the Gluten Intolerance Group, it is too big for just the United States and must include all of North America.

But I digress. Here's an explanation from the Gluten Intolerance Group of North America. The most extreme form of glutardedness is Celiac disease, described here (to clarify, hay fever is to anaphylactic shock, as glutarded is to Celiac disease - they are two sides of a very wide spectrum):

Celiac disease (CD) is also referred to as gluten sensitive enteropathy (GSE), gluten intolerance, or celiac sprue. It is considered to be the most under-diagnosed common disease today, potentially affecting 1 in every 133 people in the USA. It is a chronic, inherited disease, and if untreated can ultimately lead to malnutrition. Gluten intolerance is the result of an immune-mediated response to the ingestion of gluten (from wheat, rye, and barley) that damages the small intestine. Nutrients are then quickly passed through the small intestine, rather than being absorbed. To develop celiac disease (CD) three (3) things must be present: 1) you must inherit the gene, 2) consume gluten, and 3) have the gene triggered. Common triggers may include stress, trauma (surgeries, pregnancy, etc.), and viral infections. Approximately 1 in 20 first-degree relatives could have CD triggered in their lifetime. The disease is permanent and damage to the small intestine will occur every time you consume gluten, regardless if symptoms are present.

To learn more about the recently published multi-center prevalence study of celiac disease visit, www.celiaccenter.org.


But the more primal-diet folks seem to think that the majority of people today have some form of gluten intolerance because human evolution did not include gluten or wheat-based products as we eat them today. Think about it, most processing of wheat to create breads requires machinery or great effort and for the majority of human existence we didn't have this machinery or reason to exert the effort. Additionally, we only started hand or stone-grinding wheat when we started doing agriculture. While we were nomadic, wheat was just a grass and there wasn't enough of it to stone-grind. Translation: effort to grind was not worth the yield of wheat flour nor the effort to prepare bread once we had the flour when we were on-the-move. So even though bread is thousands of years old - potentially 5000-10,000 years old, around when humans started doing agriculture and staying put (according to The Answer Bank), that doesn't mean it's part of our digestive and dietary evolution. Remember, humans have been around for something like 150,000 years (and potentially 2 million including our primal ancestors), so even though 10,000 years of bread-making and eating seems like a long time, it's a blink compared to how long humans have been on earth in some form. It's sort of like a 90-year old person who says they've been eating bread all their life, but really they just started eating it at 80 years old, and forgot that they didn't eat it for the first 79 years of their life because it tastes so damn good. (For the record, I do like the taste of bread.)

Geesh. I'm tired. But believe it or not, I started this blog to talk about how I was affected by eating my gluten-laden tortillas last night. True to form, though, I had to give you a little background.

So besides feeling hung over this morning... Last night, after my first meal in five days that was cooked and happened to have gluten, I had a crazy dream. Let me tell you about it.

I dreampt that I was at some big convention and I was hanging with my friend Sally. Additionally, there was some cute guy who I kept calling the bachelor, though he wasn't from The Bachelor, the show, but it must've crept up from my subconscious because I have several friends who work on the show, and of course it's been in the news. I was supposed to make said bachelor some chicken but I kept forgetting to put it in the oven. So we're at this big convention and I give a talk about the importance of social responsibility (or something – my memory of this talk is a little fuzzy), and my old boss Bill (writer and documentary film director), was there and he thanked me for my words. At another point in the dream we all (in the audience who just received my “talk”) voted and Sally (who lives in Minneapolis and helps teenagers transition from being in the juvenile protection services to being independent and self-sufficient – in other words, she's a social worker fighting the good fight), anyway we all voted and Sally became the new First Lady. (I love Michelle Obama, but for some reason in my dream Barack Obama needed a new first lady. Don't ask me why, I've no idea. It wasn't a set-up or marriage thing, more of a position as First Lady.) The last thing I remember is sitting next to Sally and telling her I'd move to D.C. to be one of her advisers or aids. I also remember thinking (yes, I think while in my dreams) about how cool it is that one of my closest friends is the new First Lady of the United States.

Either I should go into politics, public speaking, or I should be institutionalized.

Or maybe I should give up gluten.

But I must look at the bright side here. At least my gluten-indulgence provided me with a very entertaining and interesting dream.


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Thursday, March 25, 2010

My Boyfriend has Autism...Maybe


My boyfriend Marcus has some peculiar behaviors.

Mostly, they're endearing. Sometimes they're annoying. But overall, I recognize that they make our relationship better, and they're damn entertaining. Fortunately, he's open to talking about any and everything that I want to talk about regarding any of these behaviors, which I love almost as much as his idiosyncrasies.

You see, here are some of his idiosyncrasies, as I see them now, and as we've discussed he had to adapt to in his formative years:

Adult Idiosyncrasies:
  • He likes to wear outfits, like his kung-fu style uniform that he wears over 90% of the time (much like Einstein, he has this same outfit so he doesn't have to think about what to wear - though Marcus has more color variety than Einstein reportedly did). The other 10% of the time, like some Polynesian or islander (which he currently is not), he also likes to wear sarongs when at home, in warm weather, or when...wanting to feel comfortable (or in my opinion, let things hang even more loose). Basically, it's a tie-on skirt. Yes, that's right. The girl who was told she was intimidating to boys as early as age 14 has a boyfriend who wears a skirt. (By the way, Marcus is not at all intimidated by me. Scared of me at times, maybe, but emasculated or intimidated by me...never! Whew!)
  • He doesn't care too much what people think. This is true to the extent that with clients (he's a martial arts teacher and health expert) he will do or say whatever is necessary to communicate with them what he sees they could change in their life to create the life they claim to want. The crazy, and great, and sometimes infuriating thing is that he's usually right. I've witnessed this with my Mother (who he took on as a client within a month of when we started dating), my Father (who is pre-diabetic and who I write about in my blog Yelling - One of the Highest Forms of Compassion), and his clients who are too stuck in their self-destructiveness to see their issues clearly. His main concern is their health, not that they like him.
  • Related to the above, he also has no problem being oppositional and no problem with confrontation. He prefers things all harmonious and calm, but will go toe to toe with anyone, especially clients, family and friends who are sacrificing their health and wellbeing because they're too stubborn or self-destructive to change. (Marcus says he believes he has more compassion than they have resistance.)
  • He has trouble with spelling, writing, and typing. He communicates very well verbally, but is prone to malapropism (habit of misusing words ridiculously, especially words that sound similar), and often mixes metaphors. For example, he likes to say prostrate, as in to bow down in submission, when he means prostate, as in the thing up a man's ass. He also says All-timers when he means Alzheimers. This is hilarious most of the time, though requires some translation when others are involved.
  • He is totally comfortable with silence, solitude, and being in his own little world.
  • He easily recalls and reiterates in minute detail facts about nutrition, physiology, bodily functions, statistics, physics, spirituality, and martial arts - basically anything he's passionately interested in, he'll get obsessive about, and will study and read about whatever topic (sometimes only once), and will recall and reiterate verbally with great detail. In fact, sometimes he gets so caught up talking about some topic he's passionate about that I have to whap him on the shoulder to snap him out of his rant.
  • He often rocks himself when he's trying to sleep or while in a very shallow-sleep-state.
  • He's loyal to a fault and has even let clients and friends go when (with his ex) people spoke up against his chosen mate.
  • He doesn't understand certain emotional withholding and defensiveness he sees in others and doesn't seem to do this himself.

Formative Year Idiosyncrasies:
  • He didn't start speaking until he was relatively old (3-4 years old) considering his IQ (taken at age 13) was 175.
  • He never crawled. He went from laying on the floor and maybe rolling around, straight to walking (or falling and getting back up, so determined he was to get to his feet).
  • He liked to rock himself back and forth. Says he just liked the way it felt. He would often calm himself or put himself to sleep by sitting cross-legged, rocking, and then he'd fall over once asleep.
  • He liked to wear outfits as a child and throughout high school and didn't care what his peers thought. For example, as a child he wore a cape and nothing else. Oh, wait, he sometimes wore socks too, but that's it. A cape and socks. In high school, he liked to wear a a hat: either a derby hat, a top-hat, or a rainbow, propeller beanie, a coat with tails, and cargo pants or Bermuda shorts. And under the coat, he would wear a Hawaiian shirt, and under the Hawaiian shirt he wore a t-shirt with something obscene or rude written on it. And he used to rollerskate everywhere. But when he wasn't wearing some form of this outfit with rollerskates, he would wear $200 casual loafers. No socks (unlike his cape-wearing days as a child).
  • For fun as a teenager he'd go argue with religious zealots in West Hollywood late into the night.
  • He never liked the taste of alcohol or cigarettes and was generally immune to peer pressure about such things.
  • But for about 2 months around the age of 12 he smoked cigars because he thought it looked cool. (But he gave it up because it stunk more than it looked cool.)
  • He started meditating when he was seven, mostly because he wanted to be a witch or wizard, and he read in a book that wizards and witches have to be peaceful and open, and certain meditations and prayers are the best way to achieve that.... He says he knew what prayer was, but wanted to check out meditation. So at seven years of age, went to the local spiritual book store (The Bodhi Tree for you Los Angelenos), and asked if they had any books on meditation (which is sort of like walking into a grocery store and asking if they have any food).
  • It was a good thing he found meditation, because right around the same time, he had a nervous break down because he was overstimulated by the world and his contemplations, particularly his concerns with particle- and astrophysics. He says he knew how destructive and impermanent everything could be and it stressed him out to the point of having a breakdown, and this stress was exacerbated by the fact that he felt isolated because none of his friends at the time (even his "older" 13-year-old friends), nor his parents, could really converse with him about all of his end-of-the-world concerns. Thank the heavens he found meditation soon thereafter because otherwise he might've gone to drugs (prescription or recreational) to quell his demons.

The reason I'm listing all of these things is simple. Anyone who has any experience with Autism or Asperger's knows that a lot of these "symptoms" are associated with these diagnoses. He may also have some traits that might classify him as ADD, or Attention Deficit Disorder, even though when he really decides to focus on something, he can do so. He still has a vast capacity to consider many different perspectives simultaneously, and were he a child today, there's a high probability he'd be flagged as Asperger's, ADD, or some other disorder-du-jour in the school system.

And I want to tell all of you. He is a fantastic man. All of these idiosyncrasies are attributes that not only make him great at his work, but they make him a great and loyal boyfriend, friend, son and relative. It's worth mentioning that he's also never been medicated or diagnosed for any of the aforementioned idiosyncrasies. This is what your child with Autism, ADD or Asperger's could turn into. Now I readily admit that if he does have some version of Autism or Asperger's, he's very high functioning, and I don't pretend to know how challenging it must be to have a child who has Autism. But I just feel so compelled to share with you all about Marcus, because I suspect part of the challenge of having a child with Autism or Asperger's is trying to imagine their future. Well their future could very well be bright and unique.

Two side notes:
I recently saw a video from a guy I've mentioned on several blogs, Aajonus Vonderplanitz, and he talked about how he had dyslexia and Autism growing up and how it lifted when he was in his early twenties after he drank organic, fresh-pressed carrot juice & raw milk for ten days. Ten days. (Though when he stopped drinking the raw juice his dyslexia started to come back, so it seems to be a systemic nutritional thing.) I'd say it's worth a try. Good nutrition certainly won't hurt. (Sources: The Primal Diet Workshop DVD Set and Natural Health Magazine interview.)

The second note is to see the movie Temple Grandin and if you're intrigued, to read her books. It was on HBO a few months ago, but can be found online and should be available via DVD shortly. Clare Danes does an excellent job as Temple, and the story is captivating, moving, and sheds so much light on one woman's story and the struggles and gifts of her Autism for her and the world.

What else?

Oh. It might have something to do with his Asperger's that he's the first man I've ever been in a relationship with (and I've dated some fantastic men) who hasn't done some version of the emotional pull-away and/or lost his attraction for me as the relationship progresses. It's only been a year and I recognize that our relationship will evolve in unknown ways, but when we talk about this he says he doesn't understand why men would pull away emotionally. "Why would they want to feel, give and receive less love? That doesn't make any sense to me." He has superior pattern recognition, and I think early on in his life he identified patterns in relationships, and concluded that to have more love, affection and closeness, it made no sense to pull away. Also, the same mechanism for people with Asperger's or Autism that creates obsessiveness also can create calm and sound determination... that once they decide to do something, they tend to stick to it. That's how Marcus views relationships, love, and feeling good.

So whomever you are out there, with a child, sibling, nephew, niece or grandchild who may have Asperger's, Autism, or ADD, know that you should treat this person as gifted and special, and in no way is this a dire diagnosis. I know my Asperger beau is gifted and special and I wouldn't want him any other way.

But you might want to vehemently encourage meditation and good, wholesome nutrition. If they're too hyperactive for the sitting-still style of meditation, check into Qi Gong or Tai Chi, where the meditation happens with movement.

In parting, Marcus says, "I'm a very good driver...very good driver."

Indeed, he is. Though he stopped watching Judge Wapner years ago.


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Wednesday, March 24, 2010

And All the Cows Said Moo!


Help finding Raw, Humane, Grass-Fed Animal Products


I forget, sometimes, how lucky I really am. Besides the facts of my life that are intrinsic - great parents, family, health, friends, etc., I also live in southern California, more specifically, in Santa Monica, which means I can find good, organic, pasture-raised, grass-fed animal products and food by simply going to a local farmer's market, Whole Foods (though their selection is limited), or to my favorite, local, co-op-style Farmer's Market, Rawsome, which I will go to later today. (*details on Rawsome below)

The independent, family-run Rawsome is extremely strict and diligent about the food they sell at Rawsome being organic and raw and if it's not completely raw (like some cashews they carry because heat makes harvesting easier) they'll post a sign about it or tell you. Oh, and they also visits all the farms from which they get animal products to make sure they are organic, clean, humane, natural/pasture-raised and grass-fed (or natural-fed depending on the animal). Since I tend to sometimes get obsessive and/or research-driven, they make my life easier. I can relax. They do all the research and due diligence for me. (Thanks, Rawsome.)

Here's a testimony on Rawsome from yelp.com:
There are about 3,000 of us, in So Cal, who eat only raw food, including raw meat. Most of us follow a book called "We Want To Live," written by a man named Aajonus [Vonderplanitz]. Rawsome has all the foods that we eat: healthy raw meat, raw dairy, raw honey, and raw vegies to make juice. Most of us work with the theory that bacteria are our friends and not our enemy and some of us eat old raw meat, with seemingly healthy results.

I'm 71 years old, in perfect health, and have been eating raw for about six years, with excellent results. I have good steady energy and often run from my car to wherever I'm going, just because it feels good to do it.

Good luck and good health.

*Rawsome:
665 Rose Ave.
Venice, CA 90291
Hrs: Wednesday 12-8pm; Saturday 9am-4pm
Rawsome is a members-only organic and raw food co-op. You can pay $1 for your first visit, but must pay cash-only for your food. Membership is $25/year per person (or $2 per month), and is pro-rated, and once a member, you can pay by check.


I'm especially lucky because I live about 4 miles from Rawsome. But if you live outside of the Los Angeles area, you might be hard-pressed to find the most healthful foods. Well, due to the fact that I'm a little bit obsessive (to my own benefit and demise at times!), I recently came across Eat Wild, a website that is a resource for finding healthy, grass-fed and pasture-raised beef, poultry and dairy farms near you. Basically, this website is supporting natural, old-school farmers who believe that the way these animals naturally live and eat is best for them and for us. When you find the farm near you, please remember to check that your humane meat is 100% grass-fed (beef and bison), never frozen, and that the dairy is raw and unpasteurized, as the health benefits are astounding over frozen and pasteurized dairy (and will be detailed more fully in a near-future blog).

So before I sign-off and leave you with an excerpt from Eat Wild's Grass-Fed Basics page, I'm just going to say that we are all lucky because more natural farming is catching on again. What animals and humans did for thousands of years as co-habitators of the earth that went out of fashion for purely economic reasons in the last 75 years or so is now, increasingly, back in vogue.

And all the cows said, Mooo!

Here's an excerpt from Eat Wild's Grass-Fed Basics page:

Back to Pasture. Since the late 1990s, a growing number of ranchers have stopped sending their animals to the feedlots to be fattened on grain, soy and other supplements. Instead, they are keeping their animals home on the range where they forage on pasture, their native diet. These new-age ranchers do not treat their livestock with hormones or feed them growth-promoting additives. As a result, the animals grow at a natural pace. For these reasons and more, grass-fed animals live low-stress lives and are so healthy there is no reason to treat them with antibiotics or other drugs.

More Nutritious. A major benefit of raising animals on pasture is that their products are healthier for you. For example, compared with feedlot meat, meat from grass-fed beef, bison, lamb and goats has less total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and calories. It also has more vitamin E, beta-carotene, vitamin C, and a number of health-promoting fats, including omega-3 fatty acids and “conjugated linoleic acid,” or CLA. Read more about the nutritional benefits of raising animals on pasture.

The Art and Science of Grassfarming. Raising animals on pasture requires more knowledge and skill than sending them to a feedlot. For example, in order for grass-fed beef to be succulent and tender, the cattle need to forage on high-quality grasses and legumes, especially in the months prior to slaughter. Providing this nutritious and natural diet requires healthy soil and careful pasture management so that the plants are maintained at an optimal stage of growth. Because high-quality pasture is the key to high-quality animal products, many pasture-based ranchers refer to themselves as "grassfarmers" rather than “ranchers.” They raise great grass; the animals do all the rest.

Factory Farming. Raising animals on pasture is dramatically different from the status quo. Virtually all the meat, eggs, and dairy products that you find in the supermarket come from animals raised in confinement in large facilities called CAFOs or “Confined Animal Feeding Operations.” These highly mechanized operations provide a year-round supply of food at a reasonable price. Although the food is cheap and convenient, there is growing recognition that factory farming creates a host of problems, including:
• Animal stress and abuse
• Air, land, and water pollution
• The unnecessary use of hormones, antibiotics, and other drugs
• Low-paid, stressful farm work
• The loss of small family farms
• Food with less nutritional value.

Unnatural Diets. Animals raised in factory farms are given diets designed to boost their productivity and lower costs. The main ingredients are genetically modified grain and soy that are kept at artificially low prices by government subsidies. To further cut costs, the feed may also contain “by-product feedstuff” such as municipal garbage, stale pastry, chicken feathers, and candy. Until 1997, U.S. cattle were also being fed meat that had been trimmed from other cattle, in effect turning herbivores into carnivores. This unnatural practice is believed to be the underlying cause of BSE or “mad cow disease.”

Animal Stress. A high-grain diet can cause physical problems for ruminants—cud-chewing animals such as cattle, dairy cows, goats, bison, and sheep. Ruminants are designed to eat fibrous grasses, plants, and shrubs—not starchy, low-fiber grain. When they are switched from pasture to grain, they can become afflicted with a number of disorders, including a common but painful condition called “subacute acidosis.” Cattle with subacute acidosis kick at their bellies, go off their feed, and eat dirt. To prevent more serious and sometimes fatal reactions, the animals are given chemical additives along with a constant, low-level dose of antibiotics. Some of these antibiotics are the same ones used in human medicine. When medications are overused in the feedlots, bacteria become resistant to them. When people become infected with these new, disease-resistant bacteria, there are fewer medications available to treat them.

Caged Pigs, Chickens, Ducks and Geese. Most of the nation’s chickens, turkeys, and pigs are also being raised in confinement. Typically, they suffer an even worse fate than the grazing animals. Tightly packed into cages, sheds, or pens, they cannot practice their normal behaviors, such as rooting, grazing, and roosting. Laying hens are crowded into cages that are so small that there is not enough room for all of the birds to sit down at one time. An added insult is that they cannot escape the stench of their own manure. Meat and eggs from these animals are lower in a number of key vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids.

Environmental Degradation. When animals are raised in feedlots or cages, they deposit large amounts of manure in a small amount of space. The manure must be collected and transported away from the area, an expensive proposition. To cut costs, it is dumped as close to the feedlot as possible. As a result, the surrounding soil is overloaded with nutrients, which can cause ground and water pollution. When animals are raised outdoors on pasture, their manure is spread over a wide area of land, making it a welcome source of organic fertilizer, not a “waste management problem.” Read more about the environmental differences between factory farming and grass-based production.

The Healthiest Choice. When you choose to eat meat, eggs, and dairy products from animals raised on pasture, you are improving the welfare of the animals, helping to put an end to environmental degradation, helping small-scale ranchers and farmers make a living from the land, helping to sustain rural communities, and giving your family the healthiest possible food. It’s a win-win-win-win situation.

© 2007 by Jo Robinson


Explore these topics in greater detail. Read Pasture Perfect by Jo Robinson and continue to explore the wealth of science-based information on Eatwild.com. To find a local supplier of healthy, grass-fed products, visit http://www.eatwild.com/products/index.html

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