God's Great Design

     Long ago, buffalo roamed the wild plains in huge herds. They ate the grass and the grass "ate" their droppings. It was a win win. All that land covered in lush lush grass wasn't an accident. Grass and grazing animals go hand in hand. Without grass to hold the manure, the high amounts of ammonia and nitrogen are leached into the soil, down a stream into a lake, or in to the water table. Without large quantities of grass, the herds couldn't exist...The life of the Buffalo herd followed the grass seasons. Babies are born on the lushest pastures so that the mothers could have enough nutrition and calories to make milk and recouperate before being bred again. More nutrient rich milk meant the calves would grow faster and be healthier for the drought season and be given one more chance at a decent grass growth in the fall before the harsh winters came.

      So why on earth would man kind think it beautifully genius enough to separate cows from grass and raise beef cattle in massive feedlots? A feedlot is basically a large square lot devoid of any vegetation where cattle are squeezed in to and given access to feed troughs full of ... corn? Corn is the main ingredient in the grain diet of beef cattle in feed lots. No hay... "Where does the waste go? Wouldn't that attract a lot of disease? So wait, the cattle are wallowing in their own feces? But hold on, the package says USDA grade A or FDA inspected... I don't get it..." The scenario I painted above has none of these problems. This scenario is the monstrosity that has become modern agriculture. I am not exagerrating. These are not falsities. Americans, at least for the past few decades, have deemed things such as video games and cars more important than food. Food needs to be cheap. End of story.  Due to several horrific laws in place such as the inheritance tax and a few others, some small farms that were in families for 4 generations had to be sold just to pay the inheritance tax after the death of the patriarch or matriarch. As more and more people abandon country life and city population grows and grows, the race to grow more, cheaper continues on. People become more distanced from their food sources and hence become ingorant and even sometimes careless about what they consume. If after eating McDonald's ever day of the week means that mom can stay at work an hour longer to earn more so the family can go on a better vacation this year, then by all means. Who cares about the quality of the food.

     But what are we sacrificing? The scenario I listed above is extremely common, albeit an exacerbation for 90% of America. Let's examine the effects. Traditional family sit down dinners are almost a thing of the past. If you are still managing to get them in 4 days a week, great for you. Most families can't. Is it a wonder so many children are losing respect, manners, discipline and responsibility? Families have stoped spending that quality time at the dinner table where everyone discusses their day; where Dad asks about homework to the kids face instead of yelling upstairs while the child is on his own personal computer surfing the internet. We have become a society of bigger is better, more is better, cheaper is better, faster is better. We have the freedom to make those choices and making mistakes is the best way to learn. People are starting to wake up again and realize, as a whole, we have made a grave mistake getting away from the way things used to be so long ago. By always eating at fast food joints, our health declines faster than the length of Hollywood marriages. Our doctor bills go up and eventually our bodies begin telling us we have neglected them for too long. We then prop ourselves up with low dose steroids, chemicals, and pill after pill after pill. The family that works longer hours to earn more for a better vacation wonders why on that vacation the children seem so distant. A year's worth of long hours and neglected one on one time isn't worth that trip to Disney every year.  Ask your child and he or she will probably say the exact same thing. They just want time with us and we better give it to them before them become to old and realize the neglect we as parents have shown them.
  
     How about the beef itself? or the chicken? Man, some family must be making a killing off of McDonald's selling all those chickens. Not so. Those chickens are raised in barns whose families will net maybe $18,000 for operating 4 barns who hold 30,000 chickens each... I will go into much more detail in later posts. Who is the greatest controller of beef prices? The American consumer? Not quite. Mcdonald's is the largest purchaser of beef in the world. By the time the beef gets to the consumer, it has been through so many hands, machines, trucks and cleaners, who cares how the beef was raised.

   It is my deepest heartfelt desire that the American people begin caring again about their health and their land; this great land our forefather's fought for.Why should we be reactive when we could be proactive? As a country, we have become so careless about the things that really matter. "Oh, cigarette smoke in enclosed areas is bad? Ashes from cigarette trays are dangerous? Ok. Let's remove ash trays from cars and smokers can then just throw the butts out the window." HOW IS THAT ACCEPTABLE!!!! I deplore smokers and wish they would all quit. All that extra highway cleaning is raising our taxes, they pollute the air and smoking itself contributes nothing positive to the individuals health nor the health of those around them. The only reason smokers smoke after the first "taste" is the addiction. The calming effect, the weight loss effect are all merely placebo effects. Therefore, by and large it is a drug that should be banned. I am all about people making their own poor choices but when it soooo effect my family and I, I will get personally involved.

    I hope you all have a great and celebratory 4th. May your day be filled with colorful explosions and the appreciation of battles fought. May our future as a country brighten and may our land become rich once again.

Semper Fidelis.