Buffalo

Hi Friends,

I hope you are having a good week.

My husband took this photo at the nearby prairie restoration state preserve.

I was able to look up, and wrote this poem.

Buffalo

The only thing scaled to match the prairie itself
the herds of white cumulous clouds
as clean and as slow as the Ice Age
Traveling in one direction,
unspoilable ghosts of the bison
unstoppable by us at that height now

The element wind invisible and dominant here
chewing our feeble constructions like cud
covering in giant grasses anything we build to ourselves
in a week or four decades
more fertility than all the chubby creatures of Iowa could ever hope to devour

Where will we migrate
who will remember us
how long will our wooden palace remain
where fecundity is meted out to mice and crickets and farmers

Antibiotic resistant bacteria in water

Hi Friends,
The Union of Concerned Scientists' newsletter this week mentioned a study in Science Daily. Scientists have warned for many years that the routine use of antibiotics in food animal production leads to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that makes it harder for doctors to treat sick people. Consumers are advised to cook meat well to kill off bacteria, but this measure does not eliminate the threat of antibiotic resistance.

The study by researchers at the University of Illinois found that bacteria in groundwater harbored antibiotic-resistant genes that could be linked directly to area hog confinement operations and to underground seepage of excess manure stored in large pits known as lagoons. The study illustrates that antibiotic-resistant bacteria originating in factory farmed animals can make their way to humans through the environment as well as on food. Researchers link antibiotic use at conventional hog confinement facilities to antibiotic-resistant genes in groundwater.

Organic meat production at Wholesome Harvest doesn't use antibiotics or lagoons. Our small family farms produce meat by hand in small quantities in low density, using organic pastures.

You can vote with your fork for good food and safe water by trying our organic certified Berkshire pork. Please tell a friend about this option. If two of your friends become new customers, we will give you a free sausage variety package with your next order! Just email us the names of the two friends who bought, and we will email you the coupon code to use!

Have a great weekend,
Wende