MOTHER EARTH NEWS April - May 2016

Are humans wise to eat meat, eggs, fish and dairy products? Or, is it “better” — more healthful? more eco-friendly? more moral? — to avoid animal products altogether? Each of us must evaluate many complex factors to answer these questions. Certainly, the inhumane and unsustainable factory farm systems that now dominate our food supply do not deserve our support, regardless of how much meat we choose to eat. One key factor all conscientious, healthy eaters should keep in mind is the role of omega fatty acids. Emerging research reveals that omega-3 fats, found in high concentrations in fish and pastured meat, are essential to optimum brain function. Omega-3 deficiencies have been linked to a startling list of mental health conditions, including low IQ, violent behavior, memory loss and depression. The…

“I’ve gained more from your articles than I could’ve learned in college.” Accepting Advertisements I was glad to see Yanmar’s ads in the recent issues of MOTHER EARTH NEWS. I’ve had a Yanmar 336D tractor for nearly 30 years, and I’ve forced that poor thing to do far more than it ever should have. It keeps plugging along, though, and I’ll never regret buying it. In the February/March 2016 issue, a reader commented that the magazine “has nothing but ads for expensive objects.” I think he forgets what sustains a magazine, which I doubt could survive on subscription fees alone. Plus, I love poring over your ads, whether they’re for expensive or inexpensive stuff. They help inspire entrepreneurial ideas, and they also let readers see the variety of products available.…

The following reader letters are in response to Joel Salatin’s article “Teaching Youth the Cycle of Life,” which appeared in our February/March 2016 issue. In the article, Salatin encouraged involving children in livestock care and harvesting so they gain a better understanding of — and appreciation for — animals’ lives and ethically raised meat. Home-based livestock processing has greatly impacted my family. The 9-year-old boy that Joel Salatin wrote about in his article is my son. I can’t tell you how thankful I am that David Schaefer and Mr. Salatin let our curious son onstage during their chickenprocessing demonstration. We involve our children in gardening, raising animals, and, yes, even processing our livestock. Our children’s involvement with the animal harvest is their choice, just as it was our son’s choice…

The Massachusetts-based biotech company AquaBounty Technologies developed the GM salmon back in the 1990s, and its approval process spent several years in limbo as government organizations reviewed safety information, while many consumers, scientists and environmentalists pushed back with fervent opposition. The “AquAdvantage Salmon” has been genetically modified to grow to market size in about half the time as a non-engineered, farmed salmon. The company combined growth hormones from Chinook salmon and a gene from the ocean pout, an eel-like species, to cause the new salmon to produce growth hormones year-round instead of only in spring and summer. A prominent concern is that wild salmon populations could be affected if the labengineered fish were to escape into oceans and rivers. The GM salmon are made sterile to prevent reproduction in the…

A troublesome trail of money often flows from corporations to the people conducting what is supposed to be independent scientific work. Industry-funded research routinely produces favorable results for corporate sponsors, reports “Public Research, Private Gain: Corporate Influence Over University Agricultural Research.” This recent report was produced by Food & Water Watch, a nonprofit organization involved in investigating the safety of what we eat and drink. Research at land-grant universities, which were established to teach agriculture and provide research-based advice to farmers and communities through state extension programs, was once supported mainly by public money. By 2010, however, nearly one-quarter of the agricultural research money at these state schools came from the private sector — often from companies that stood to profit should research show certain results. Censorship and Silencing Research…

Old-World Crops for New-World Kitchens Spring begins at different times in different places, but its arrival happens in a predictable sequence. Southern Californians welcome daffodils in February and Mainers anxiously await them in April, but no matter where they’re growing, they always bloom before tulips. It’s the same with edible perennials, such as sorrel, chives and dandelions — one heralds the appearance of the next. Sorrel is the horse to bet on — so early that it’s up as snowdrops bloom. What a welcome sight it is! When it comes, we’re ready to use its lemony flavor to spark up salads and give a fresh taste to soups. Meanwhile, the root cellar empties out as remaining stores turn spongy and sprout new growth. Even in the dark, they know it’s…