Revitalise yourself.
Your greatest vitality is from what you eat. In the case of food, ignorance really is bliss. I
became interested in food and in the difference I felt within me when I changed what I
ate about 12 years ago. As my knowledge has deepened over the years I can understand
why many people show no interest in where their food comes from. The problems
associated with most of the food sold are immense. Health issues for the humans who eat
the “food”, environmental damage from the way the food is produced and inhumane
treatment of animals. In fact, I contend that homo sapiens is committing species wide
suicide.
One of the simplest ways to revitalise yourself is to avoid antibiotics in your food. Meat
in particular. This is a lot harder than you imagine. Especially when over 85% of the
antibiotics sold in South Africa go into animals in factory farms. In the US this figure is
86.4%. The FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations) has stated
that antibiotic resistance is the 3rd greatest health threat on the planet.
Antibiotics are fed to animals in concentrated feeding operations primarily for two
reasons. First, because the animals are concentrated in such a small space and are
therefore in close proximity to their excrement there is a very big parasite load.
Antibiotics are good at killing. Unfortunately they kill indiscriminately and therefore do
not distinguish between good and bad bacteria. Second routine antibiotics help as a
growth promoter and when your margins are very tight any little bit of help is
appreciated.
The only way you can avoid these free antibiotics is eating meat that is specifically
routine antibiotic free. There are times when antibiotics can save an animal. I probably
inject one animal every 2 months. So rarely because we move our cattle twice a day to
new pasture and so there is no build up of pathogens.
In addition to generally being routine antibiotic free, grass fed beef is nutritionally
beneficial as opposed to grain fed or feedlot beef which has all the wrong fats in and
critically gives you an overdose of Omega 6. There is a wonderful website
www.eatwild.com that has lots of information on grass fed meat, eggs etc.
The greatest dietary study ever done was by Weston A Price, an American dentist, who
travelled the world for 10 years, in the early 1930’s trying to find people who were eating
as their ancestors had done. Every time he came into contact with these people they were
vital, their societies were healthy, they had no problems with childbirth, they had no
dental problems. The common denominators were that they ate some form of animal
protein, they all ate whole grains (the flour you buy to bake with is 10% of the whole
grain) and from time to time fresh fruit and vegetables. They also avoided white bread,
refined foods, tinned food and sugar. The book is called Nutrition and Physical
Degeneration.
If you ever down in the Cape come and visit me on the farm near Stellenbosch and we
can discuss these matters in more depth.