29 Comments

I couldn't agree with you more. Amen.

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Thank you Katherine!

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"These same people, institutions, and corrupt corporations continue to lie to us to manipulate us into buying certain things and perpetuate an unhealthy system.”

And here’s a good example of this from what is proudly described as “the Silicon Valley of Food”:

https://d2csxpduxe849s.cloudfront.net/media/F2A6C4A7-3B3D-42FC-95D9B645D6BC2728/112C8541-1CBE-4893-A7998199E6F1FBA3/7A77C2C8-1859-4510-AE4E139FE3EAF196.mp4

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Indeed, Jake.

I couldn't even sit through 2 minutes of that ridiculous video. 😂

To think how far we've come from having food growing readily within our reach, to that video you posted.

You might also like reading the history of raw milk here in America. https://lizreitzig.substack.com/p/fascinating-story-of-raw-milk-in

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I’m so glad I’ve found your substack Liz as everything I’m reading on it resonates with me!

I read the raw milk story and it is truly an eye-opener. I will share it with my daughter who has two young children and I’m sure she will find it as fascinating as I did.

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Thank you Jake! So glad to have you here. I hope your daughter gets some value from the article.

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I grow 80% of my own food and train people how to do so.... but if you like in the city you almost have to be rich to eat healthy :( I think there is a bit of a back to the land movement... starting... specialy because of remote work... your thoughts?

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That's amazing that you are able to produce so much of your own!

There are definitely challenges we need to figure out regarding food production in the cities.

Are you familiar with Ron Finely and his work? He addresses some of those challenges.

I could probably write a dissertation length response on this... :) So I won't do that here.

But, I think there is SO MUCH we can do with space and resources we have in the cities. Think about all the land/lawns--including business and municipal--that are currently landscaped. They are being landscaped/worked anyway, why not turn some of that into perennial food production?

How many golf courses in the cities? (I know this is a "third rail" for most Americans.)

Ultimately, I think there is so much about food production, land use, etc that is a mindset and priority issue rather than a real physical issue.

AND....how we currently allocate land is part of that bigger issue. So it will take more people seeing land as a shared asset that we must all take responsibility for, before much changes.

The question I wonder about is whether we will see that tipping point for mindset change BEFORE there is a crisis or if it will come about because of a crisis...

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are you familar with communes?

I grew up in one in NZ , and now I'm an advisor for a number around the world as I work to building my own.

https://www.dancingrabbit.org/ thats is a good one

and the one I grew up on in NZ is

https://www.wilderland.org.nz/

People are in the citys becuase they are city peeps.

When they get into backyard gardening or alotments... or urban farms thats the gate way... and they often just move rural... :)

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...And then there is the suburbs.... 😂 A whole other story and a big mix of different reasons why people are there.

Even regarding the cities, I know many who are there for work, to be close to family, because they can't afford to move to more land... many reasons.

I wish you all the best success in building your commune. There is a need right now for many different ideas and ways of life.

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Yeah! I have an "Urban Farm" in a suburb. With high fences you can do a lot :)

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There's a lot of truth in this. Even when you're vigilant, they can often trip you up: You buy flour so you can bake for yourself, only to find it now contains a lab-processed fungal enzyme to help it "rise" during baking, as if our ancestors hadn't been baking risen bread for thousands of years just fine without it.

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I buy my flour from www.bartonspringmills.com. Independent farmers with small acreage. Reasonable prices.

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Thank you for the referral.

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More on this? I buy King Arthur flour...

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I also cover this more broadly on my podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1IlojDzezAl9JlPUTbqB0o

Getting into the HOW and WHY these things get added and what to look out for.

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Liz, thanks for the link to your podcast. I'm now following you on Spotify (feel free to do so back, as well as subscribe to us here on Substack; I don't see you on our list). Maybe there are opportunities for us to collaborate.

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For sure! Reach out -- NourishingLiberty at gmail

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Great podcast! I knew about the GRAS, but you helped fill in some blanks... also I didn't realize THAT's what CRISCO is. I grew up on that stuff.

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Sure, Cynthia: https://www.brunettegardens.com/p/sourdough-woe

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Wow Lisa, I haven’t read the ingredient list on King Arthur in ages, I will have to check. I make all my own bread, been doing it for almost 20 years!

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This is just the bread flour, but I'm not sure to which other ones they've added it. Maybe Liz Reitzig covers it in the podcast she linked to above.

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This episode covers the FDAs GRAS status and what it means for our labels and our food processing. I do go into some of the additives in breads. I believe the show notes link to the the list of additives on the GRAS list so you can peruse that by keyword.

Do you have a local source of grain/flour anywhere near you?

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Yes, sort of. In the article I linked to in other comments, I mentioned Janie's Mill, which is in Illinois (neighboring state). Here it is again: https://www.brunettegardens.com/p/sourdough-woe

How about you?

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I just bought some bread flour, just 10 lbs. I’m at work atm but I’ll have to check it when I get home. Thanks for the info!

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Thank you Lisa! I’ll chk it out.

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Is the enzyme you’re referring to:

1. The Malted Barley

2. The transglutaminase (aka “pink slime”, “meat glue”,) which finds itself in all kinds of products you wouldn’t suspect, or

3. Yet another one I haven’t run across yet?

Asking for a few billion friends...😊

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I also shared this to Notes.

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