Ruminations

An article in the July 13 issue of the New York Times by Carl Zimmer reports on researchers’ study of microbes in the fight against diseases. Microbes are critical to our success as grass farmers as well.

An astonishing statistic is that we have more than ten times more microbes than human cells in our bodies. Yet, they are little understood. Now an international team of researchers are cataloging the DNA of these microbes.

Read more.

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Temple Grandin, professor of animal science at Colorado State University and well known in the field of humane animal handling, is ranked #32 in Time Magazine’s 2010 list of 100 leaders, artists, innovators and icons who are the most influential people in the world. This is based on popular vote.

Click here for the complete list.

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It’s rare that one of our favorite people who has battled on behalf of animal welfare receives such good treatment at the hands of the television people.  HBO’s production of Temple Grandin’s life and achievements premiered Feb. 6. Temple Grandin was diagnosed with autism at a young age and her parents were advised to institutionalize her (which they didn’t do). She has become an outspoken advocate for autism, successful author, and designer of  livestock-handling equipment, as well as consultant for Burger King, McDonald’s, Swift, and others.

The New York Times, praising the HBO special, notes: “Ms. Grandin credits autism for her achievements, arguing that she would never have been so attuned to animal sensibilities or the fine points of agricultural engineering without the distinctive vision and hypersensitivity that comes with autism.”

Here is a link to more information about the HBO movie: www.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/arts/television/ 05grandin.html?emc=eta1

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Yes, Virginia, pasture-raised beef is better than grain-fed beef. That’s the theme of NaturalNews.com, and this succinct summary of what is so wrong with post-WWII beef production.

There are many good links from this article to other well-written pieces, as if we need more persuasion: http://www.naturalnews.com/027199_meat_cattle_health.html

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Yes, the New York Times reports on a farm that offers a vacation for only $332 a night (guests sleep in a tent with a flush toilet and running water). Plus, the guests get to do the work on the farm. What a deal!

This article discusses other farms that offer the chance to pay to get your hands dirty: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/26/dining/26farms.html?emc=eta1

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Welcome to Ruminations, where we discuss news relating to grass-fed beef, nutrition, soil, and anything else that strikes our fancy.

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How did we end up in this “tainted” food crisis? Here’s one perspective on how it has happened. Paul Krugman, writing in the New York Times June 13, 2008, writes, “. . . there always seems to be at least one food-safety crisis in the headlines — tainted spinach, poisonous peanut butter and, currently, the attack of the killer tomatoes. The declining credibility of U.S. food regulation has even led to a foreign-policy crisis. …

“… failure to regulate effectively isn’t just bad for consumers, it’s bad for business. And in the case of food, what we need to do now — for the sake of both our health and our export markets — is to go back to the way it was after Teddy Roosevelt, when the Socialists took over. It’s time to get back to the business of ensuring that American food is safe.”

Bad Cow Disease By Paul Krugman

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