I fired up my computer specifically to share a delightful story. And then I came across a link to something that made me mad and sick to my stomach. First, the angering story, then the fun one, so as to end on an up note.
Generally, I try to be very rational and thoughtful about what I post on contentious issues. I don’t want to spew venom and bitterness, if I poke at something I want to do it carefully, with a specific purpose. Today, tho, I need to just be ill about Organic Standards. http://inthesetimes.com/article/6330/the_cruel_irony_of_organic_standards/ This is why I will not be certified organic. This is why I cannot support certified organic standards. I know we, as consumers, need shorthand for how things are done and raised, and there must be standards and universally accepted definitions. But the 100% ban on antibiotics is STUPID. My folks didn’t throw me away when I got strep throat and I was treated with drugs. It makes me sick, and I’m tearing up as I type this. That beautiful heifer was a GIFT FROM GOD. If you don’t care for that language, how ’bout a gift from her momma, the cow? And we FAILED HER. I don’t like failure, I don’t like suffering, I don’t enjoy hearing about pain that was inflicted maliciously. I feel we fail the animals, the farmers, the consumers, and the food web at large when something like that happens, AND THAT MAKES ME ANGRY. REALLY FUCKING ANGRY. Failure on that level is a conspiracy of stupidity, with a committee of stupid, with an oversight committee of best intentions and ignorance.
I try to be fair, but today, we’re just going to roll with; That article clearly showed why I choose not to be certified organic, and reasons I am concerned about the system at large. There are good people over on that side of the fence, and I am concerned for them and for the animals under their care.
Now, for something completely different.
My momma is a fabulous human. She said something adorable this morning, and I wanted to share it. I have five sheep. Ma asked me where my sheep were. I said, “Erm? Ma, where are my sheep?” And she said, “I went to see lock the cows in yesterday, and as I looked out there, just before you can clearly see where the critters are, I saw one on the wrong side of the wire. And then I realized I d0n’t have any cows that are that white. There were your five sheep, just chillin’. ” My ma said my sheep were chillin’! And she even got pictures on her phone! The pics weren’t good enough to put here, tho I tried. My sheep ran away from the building site and are following the cows. They had been hanging out at the building site on Tuesday, when we got FOUR INCHES of rain. I remember clearly because I wanted to mention that sheep look really funny in the rain, and if you thought it was bad when your dog shivered the water out of her coat, you haven’t seen ANYTHING on a sheep with soaked wool do the same thing. They were just laying in the rain, and every once in a while they would shake their heads, and water would go every where. Pretty funny.
I’ve been ill, and need to nap so I can have my head on straight to work with my critters. I’ll be less mad when I rest. I generally try to sleep first, then post, but I’m still going to post this one as I’ve written it here. Won’t apologize for my position, but will say a preemptive apology if I stepped on toes.
