1 hour, 10 Minutes or The Road Through the Woods

1 hour and 10 minutes is how long it takes me to get from the farm to the big city grocery store/art lessons, etc. I take the back way, not really dirt roads, just smaller highways 55 MPH speed limit just about all the way. There is another way that is mostly 70 MPH Interstate and while logic says that is easier, no thinking driving- it takes 1 hour and 45 minutes for the same point to point.

That is kind of a metaphor for the whole of our lives. We go slower, go the back way which is beautiful rolling hills, get there all the same, but happier and safer. I know too many people who choose the conventional fast way, never slow down, choose convenience over logic or common sense just because it is easier to put on cruise control and just drive, drive, drive until something stops the inertia or forces a slow down. Something like heart disease or cancer or a car crash or infertility or a sudden allergy or gall bladder attack or all of the above.

The way we eat is simpler, cheaper, but takes more thought. The clothes we buy, simpler, cheaper, but takes more effort in the finding. The way we parent is simpler, cheaper, but takes more thought and effort. The way we educate is also not mainstream. See the pattern? We still get from point A to point B, which is the goal right? Slow down, take a deep breath and just be for a bit. We take the highway sometimes too. It is all about making it work not an extreme of one over the other.

Now, we don't take back roads by horse and buggy. Obviously we have melded two worlds, two ideals and found what works for us.

We use a wood stove to heat the house and cook with, but we have the gas range and electric in the kitchen in use too. We read real paper books, but also have kindle apps on our phones and computers. This list goes on and on.

Usually, in blog essays like this, I have found that the authors tend to then get very wishy washy about not judging one way of farming/parenting/eating over another- that they are all good and we do what works for us.

That's not how I feel about it at all. Parents who physically and emotionally abuse their children do not get a free pass because it "works" for them. I feel this way about Cry It Out parenting. Not cool. Spanking, also not cool.

Diet and fat free foods are unhealthy and gross. They cause cancer and illness. Diet sodas, fat free dairy products....not good for people and I am not going to stop calling those products chemical shitstorms. I will not ever willingly or knowingly eat margarine. Butter is actually good and healthy. Still, this is not a deal breaker for me, and I generally let live on this topic.

Farming. We do not farm the way we do just because it is easier or works for us. We do it because it is ethical and we strongly believe that animals should be treated with respect and each life cared for before we earn the privilege of that animal nourishing our family or anyone's family. I will not ever say that conventional confinement pork production is fine and ok because it works for someone's family. Sure I understand that folks are in over their head in debt and need to feed and care for their kids, but that doesn't make the cruelty of the animals acceptable and I am not going to ever shut up about it. I believe in a better way and I truly think that the more we educate and demand change the more likely our dollar backed votes will create that change.

I am sick of people being luke warm on these topics, especially farming. Just because I know and you know great and wonderful caring people who farm and raise livestock in a good way doesn't mean the whole industry doesn't need a revolution. Just because those folks are good, doesn't mean they are doing good. Just because people have kids and healthcare needs does not mean that farming practices that exploit people and harm animals get a free pass.

We don't just do what works for us. We are also a voice for change. We have to be, too many people are silent on the matters that matter.

What are you using your voice for?