Yep, I’m a junky. I have to have it. My current lifestyle depends on it.
That is a sad way to start a blog post for a guy that is presenting a lifestyle of self sufficiency, permaculture, homesteading and gardening.
If we are honest with ourselves we can recognize our real challenges. I admit that I am addicted to commercial grains, therefor I can work on finding a remedy.
The first step to finding a solution to a challenge is admitting there there is a challenge, right?
I have a Commercial Grains Addiction.
There I said it.
Ok, so how am I addicted to commercial grains? This addiction is in our how we feed our livestock, pets and even in our own kitchen pantry. Would my family be able to live entirely without commercially grown corn, wheat, oats or rice? I think, ultimately, the answer is yes, but the transition will be slow.
Commercial Grains Addiction: Livestock
Let’s analyze how we feed our livestock for a minute. I have chickens, ducks and goats. I know it would be awesome to have no commercial grains going into them. Right now I am not producing enough food on the farm to feed them full time. We do graze them when we can, but we still supplement with feed sack grains.
My autistic son loves the routine of going to the feed store and buying grains. Right now I enjoy this with him, but I know in the long run I can’t keep that up. I share a message about permaculture, homesteading and gardening. In time I’ll be able to demonstrate my message and shed the hypocrisy.
Hi,
I agree with you. You can’t decide one day to not buy food anymore. It’s a step by step process. Here is my story:
The first step my family did is to stop as much as possible to buy processed food. We still consume wheat for example but we buy raw wheat an transform it in bread, cakes, etc. The second step was to eat less grain and more roots (sweet potatoes, cassava, etc). The third was to eat less meat (we divided our consumption by ~5) and eat a lot more beans (it exists a lot of different beans here). The fourth step was to try to buy all these things locally. The last step will be to try to grow all these things.
As always I enjoy your posts
Great comment 🙂 I like your methodical approach and all the steps in the right direction.
I love your idea of buying raw wheat. I’m currently trying to figure out the most economic way for my family to consume breads without buying the plastic-wrapped loaves at the store.
I would really like to reduce my intake of commercial meat, too. Out of the meat you still eat, is it acquired at a market, or do you raise it yourself?
I think the most economic way to eat wheat is to do it yourself. It’s fun, easy, customizable, without any additive, etc…
We buy raw wheat and make bread at most once a week. It’s not hard work. We do small breads and put them in the freeze. We take one bread from the freeze at night, it slowly unfreezes during the night and we put it in the toaster before eating.
For breakfast, we eat bread, or a kind of pancake made from cassava (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapioca#Brazil), or traditional pancake or couscous from corn or rice (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Couscous), or avena with milk and banana for example. We have plenty of option.
As you see, everything is unprocessed. We only buy raw ingredients.
We still eat chicken and a little bit of beef. No pig, no fish. We could raise our own chicken, but we can’t kill them. We had chicken for eggs for the last 2 years, but they were like pets for us. I can’t imagine killing them. Now they are with other chickens in a family member. 2015 will be my transition year to become vegetarian (and vegan in 2016 ?).
For the last 2 years, in the month of August, we have cut out all refined sugars and all grains.
The first year we also cut out all non-natural chemicals as well.
The no chemicals part was the most difficult. Since that first August, we have continually
been decreasing the amount of grains we eat. My husband eats no wheat and his joints thank him daily.
When we do use grains, we use ancient grains.
We also use very little sugar, but when we do, it is raw pure cane.
The other thing is what we don’t grow ourselves, we try to find as local as possible.
I can’t tell you the last time I ate a banana. It is do-able. It’s just that most of us
weren’t raised that way so it is a bit of a mind game.
Just found your site ~ great post.
I never thought I would find anyone as addict to grains as my husband was. I would plead with him because he has autism and grains are a real poison for people suffering from this condition, besides he would have to flush out the aluminum (mostly from amalgam on his teeth ) with EDTA and other measures. Now, one day he saw on TV and interview about this surgeon alleging (and he was partly correct) that one of the main reason for heart problems are grains. So he told me he would never eat grains again and I thought to myself, ‘how’ he is already a vegan…how am I going to cook for him? Nevertheless, something strange happens when you stop eating grains (he still eats some oats but that is all and it is very sporadic)…the cravings depart from you. Even I, who eat grains in moderation (love rice and beans, within a few days, I was completely free from the craving. By the way, there’s a book of a mother who became an alternative physician to heal her son from autism and she did with herbs and by avoiding certain foods.
I hope this help (for anyone who suffers from any chronicle condition, such as autism–my husband had asperges– I suggest a treatment with alternative medicine. My husband is not cured because he refuses to remove the aluminum from his teeth but we flush it out periodically with EDTA and his diet has kept him out of crisis and having an almost normal life. Yesterday we spent quite a few hours conversing, which is a miracle considering his degree of autism.
Best
Thank you for your thoughtful comments. I’m so glad that you found a way to break the cycle and to improves your lives!
Children develop autism because of vaccination. It has a great dose of mercury. If you find an alternative health practitioner I encourage you and your family to treat your son. So many people got cured of autism when treated at an early age. You can find a lot of information if you search autism and mercury. I think ‘grain’ is so much part of our culture, we don’t even realize we are eating it. It was good to see your blog and it brings awareness to us. Thank you for the information
We’ve had our son tested and recently found out that his “autism” is caused by a genetic mutation of the gene called FOXG1. Prior to his official diagnosis, not long ago, I had never heard of FOXG1. I created a new YouTube channel for him to help raise awareness of this condition. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJiJqWfgiJ16fwn3ZpSMHhQ Would you help share it?
I want to see the video, but YOUTUBE now required a google account, and I so oppose those political giants that track and overshadows our lives, but I get so much of YOUTUBE that I must just have to cave into their demands. I am truly looking forward to seeing this video. Have you ever tested your son for the content of aluminum? just a thought. I will forward the link. Thank you so much.