His day job is a double decker bus driver. Nothing frustrates him more than seeing a dirty van that he would like to “paint”. He is actually cleaning a van rather than defacing it by using an artist brush to clean away the dirt but leaving behind a beautiful image.
Scott Wades: Dirty Car Art: http://www.dirtycarart.com/
The LivinginPeace project aims to combine elements of art, travel, permaculture and education to create an environmentally, socially and economically sustainable business.
Rongo Backpackers & Gallery, Karamea Farm Baches and the Global Gypsy Gallery form the financial base of the project and support the development of the project by providing income to fund expansion. The eco-tourism businesses incorporate art, permaculture (permanent organic agriculture), and volunteerism, into their management structures and strive to be energy efficient, progressive thinking, professional and profitable.
The new Fenian/Oparara Loop Track provides an excellent opportunity to promote the eco-tourism potential of the Karamea region. Mountain bikers can leave Karamea in the morning, cycle the Fenian Track trough to the Oparara Basin and visit the Moria Gate and Oparara arches as well as the Mirror Tarn before cycling back to Karamea ––a round trip of about 60 kilometres and full day of healthy fun, exercise and adventure, but mountain biking is currently not permitted on this track.
Travel: International travel is the best form of self-education available. To experience different cultures, fashions, food, architecture, art styles, language, traditions etc is extremely beneficial for and individual’s personal development and tourism is an important element in the LivinginPeace Project business model. Karamea is rapidly becoming a popular destination for both domestic and international travellers and the LivinginPeace Project aims to provide travellers to Karamea with a comprehensive, vibrant, educational and memorable travel experience.
Permaculture: Permaculture (permanent+agriculture) is a self-sustaining organic farming system that will provide agricultural produce for the LivinginPeace Project volunteers, enable us to serve fresh, locally grown organic meals to our guestomers, which will add value to our farm produce, provide top quality, healthy food for people staying at our accommodation facilities and minimise the carbon cost of food production by reducing the amount of food imported to Karamea to feed visitors to the region.
Art: Artistic excellence and creativity is the cornerstone of the LivinginPeace Project. For example, Rongo is the result of the collective imaginations of many creative people from all round the world and the entire property is now a work of art, which houses a fabulous and diverse local and international art collection.
2007: Dave Besseling: www.davebesseling.com
2008: Kyle Browne: www.kylebrowne.com
2009: Jason Ponzuric: www.artistponzi.com
2010: Norma Burrowes: http://vividlogic-art.blogspot.com/
2011: Shota Kawahara: http://www.shotakawahara.com
Also:
Shota Kawahara: http://www.shotakawahara.com
Erik Sanner: http://www.eriksanner.com
Ed Davis: http://www.underbelly.co.nz
In addition, we have hosted numerous artistic events, including a poetry recital by Sam Hunt, literary evening with New Zealand authors Kate De Goldie, Peter Wells, Nick Bollinger, Tusiata Avia, Fiona Farrell and James Brown, as well as musical performances by; Luke Hurley, Paul Ubana-Jones, Karen Hunter, Paul McLaney, Nigel Gavin, Richard Adams, The Jews Brothers, Will “Panda” Coffey and many others.
Karamea has enormous permaculture potential, fertile, well-drained alluvial soils, plenty of sunshine and evenly spaced, ample rainfall throughout the year, which alleviates the need for irrigation (a large cost saving in the establishment of a permaculture farm).
***Mr Efficiency from Brixton says, “SAVE doing unnecessary ironing by putting on your shirt and tucking it into your trousers. Then, draw a line around the shirt at belt level with an indelible marker pen. The material below this line will never need ironing, thus saving time and effort.”
***Ms Annie Lennox says, “SAVE a fortune on laundry bills by giving your dirty shirts to Oxfam. They will wash and iron them and you can buy them back for 50p.”
**IDENTICAL twins say, “Use Morse code to cheat in exams by stabbing yourself in the arm with a sharp compass. The other twin, at home with a text book, can “feel” the question and stab you back the answers.”
**Mr Roger Melly (The Man on Telly) says, “SPAGHETTI BOLOGNAISE makes great intestines for a badly wounded Action Man.”
**Mr Jack Hughson says, “CREATE instant designer stubble by sucking a magnet and dipping your chin into a bowl of iron filings.”
**Mr Freddy Kruger says, “MINOR skin grafts can be performed on pigs by covering any cuts and grazes with thin strips of bacon.”
**Naughty Angler says, “CLIMB on to your neighbour’s roof and dangle a fish on a bit of string in front of his windows. He’ll think his house is underwater.”
**Mr Homer Simpson says, “BUY a television set exactly like your neighbours’. Then annoy them by standing outside their window and changing their channel using your identical remote control.”
Mr Homer Simpson
**Mr Naughty Neighbour says, “CHEER loudly at 8pm each Saturday to fool the neighbours into thinking you have won the Lottery.”
**Mr David Duchovny says, ” X-FILES fans. Create the effect of being abducted by aliens by drinking two bottles of vodka. You’ll invariably wake up in a strange place the following morning, having had your memory mysteriously “erased.””
**Mr KVL 741Y says, “SAVE money on expensive personalised car number plates by simply changing your name to match your existing plate.“
**Ms Frequent Flyer says, “AVOID jet lag by simply taking an earlier flight, thus arriving fully refreshed and on time.”
**Mr Gold Fish says, “PUTTING just the right amount of gin in your goldfish bowl makes the fishes’ eyes bulge and causes them to swim in an amusing manner.”
Mr Gold Fish
**Ms Jenny Craig says, “THICKEN runny, low-fat yogurt by stirring in a spoonful of lard.”
**Ms Co Tanger says, “A NEXT door neighbour’s car aerial, carefully folded, makes an ideal coat hanger in an emergency.”
Ms Co Tanger
**Mr Pious Piscine says, “DETER goldfish from having sex by throwing a small bucket of air over any you catch in the act.”
**Mr Scat Tologist says, “SWEETCORN fans. Save money on loo paper by simply pouring the stuff straight down the pan.”
**Ms Bovine Carnivore says, “INVITED by vegetarians for dinner? As you’d no doubt be made aware of their special dietary requirements, tell them about yours – ask for a nice steak.”
**Ms Park King says, “AVOID parking tickets by leaving your windscreen wipers turned to “fast wipe” whenever you leave your car parked illegally.”
**Mr Salty SeaDog says, “OLD contact lenses make ideal portholes for small model boats.”
**Ms Cougar FatSlag says, “Girls. Too old to go on an 18 to 30 holiday? Simply get pissed, lie in a pit in your garden and shag every bloke who looks at you over the fence.”
**Mr Vegetable Orgasm says, “Don’t buy expensive ‘ribbed’ condoms, just buy an ordinary one and slip a handful of frozen peas inside it before you put it on.”
**Mr Blinking Idjut says, “Don’t waste money buying expensive binoculars. Simply stand closer to the object you wish to view.”
Mr Blinking Idjut
**Mr Howard Marks says, “Pass yourself off as Welsh by putting coal dust behind your fingernails and talking gibberish all the time, stopping occasionally to sing loudly, or set fire to someone else’s house.”
**Mr D. Rogers, Hemel Hempstead says, “Save time when crossing a one-way street by only looking in the direction of oncoming traffic.”
**Size 0 Barbie, says “Anorexics. When your knees become fatter than your legs, start eating cakes again.”
**Ms Ulrike Meinhof says, “Hijackers. Avoid a long stressful siege and the risk of arrest, imprisonment or death by simply making sure you book a flight to your intended destination in the first place.”
Ulrike Meinhof
**Sister S., Berwick says, “An empty aluminium cigar tube filled with angry wasps makes an inexpensive vibrator.”
** Mr B. Johnson, Canada says, “Olympic athletes. Disguise the fact that you’ve taken anabolic steroids by running a bit slower. “
Mr B. Johnson (right)
**Mr Poo Bear says, “Pretend you’re a giant panda by giving yourself two black eyes, eating only bamboo shoots and refusing to have sex with the misses.”
***Manchester United fans. Save money on expensive new kits by simply strapping a large fake penis to your forehead. It is now clear to all, as to your allegiance.
**Manchester United fans. Avoid an asymetrical bulge in your right arm by masturbating furiously with your left arm too. (tip applies to booth male and female fans).
**Mr Con Sid Erate says, “Avoid arguments with the missus about lifting the loo seat by simply pissing in the sink.” (Tip may also apply to women).
** Mr Neggar Schwarz says, “Weedy fellas. Develop a right forearm like Arnold Schwarzeneggar by buying one of those Cindy Crawford workout videos.”
Mrs Deirdre Smoker, says, “Smokers. Save on matches and lighters, by simply lighting your next fag from the butt of your last one.”
**Mr Ruff Ryder says, “Spice up your sex life by trying a bit of “rodeo sex.” Take your missus from behind and, holding on tightly to her jugs, call her by the wrong name. See how long you can stay mounted for.”
**Mr T. Vee, says, “FOOL other drivers into thinking you have an expensive car phone by holding an old TV or video remote control up to your ear and occasionally swerving across the road and mounting the kerb.”
Mr T. Vee
**Mr Kelvin Nator says, “DRILL a one inch diameter hole in your refrigerator door. This will allow you to check that the light goes off when the door is closed.”
**Ms Dynamite Semtex says, “BOMB disposal experts’ wives. Keep hubby on his toes by packing his lunchbox with plasticine and an old alarm clock.”
**Mr Bill Murray says, “SAVE electricity by turning off all the lights in your house and walking around wearing a miner’s hat.”
**Ms Barg Inhunter says, “HOUSEWIVES. I find the best way to get two bottles of washing-up liquid for the price of one is by putting one in your shopping trolley and the other in your coat pocket.”
** Mr Ewan McGregor says, “DON’T INVITE DRUG ADDICTS round for a meal on boxing day. They may find the offer of cold turkey embarrassing or offensive.”
**Miss Take says, “OLD telephone directories make ideal personal address books. Simply cross out the names and address of people you don’t know.”
**Mr Avid Reader says, “WHEN reading a book try tearing out the pages as you read them. This saves the expense of buying a bookmark, and the pages can later be used for shopping lists.”
**Ms Wannabe Pilot says, “BUS DRIVERS. Pretend you’re an airline pilot by wedging your accelerator pedal down with a heavy book, securing the steering wheel with some old rope, and then strolling back along the bus chatting casually to the passengers.”
**Mr Eco Driver says, “SAVE petrol by pushing your car to your destination. Invariably passers-by will think you’ve broken down and help.”
**Miss Di R. Hea says, “LOSE weight quickly by eating raw pork or rancid tuna. I found that the subsequent food poisoning/diarrhea enabled me to lose 12 pounds in only 2 days.”
**Mr Vitrinox says, “WHEN throwing someone a sharp instrument such as a Stanley knife, or bread knife, always throw it blade first as they invariably tend to turn whilst in the air.”
Mr Vitrinox
**Mr E. Z. Park says, “AVOID being wheel-clamped by jacking your car up, removing the wheels and locking them safely in the boot until you return.”
Mr E. Z. Park
**Chief Fire Fighter says, “SMELL gas? Locate the suspected leak by striking an ordinary match in every room in the house until a loud explosion reveals the source of the escaping gas.”
**Mr Travis Bickle says, ” TAXI drivers. Why not pop into the garage and ask them to fix your indicators lights for you so that other motorists know where the heck you’re going.”
Mr Travis Bickle
**Mrs Mavis McTavish says, “PENSIONERS. Try sitting on a pile of encyclopedias next time you go for a drive in your car. That way you will be able to see out of the front window.”
Mrs Mavis McTavish
**Mr Fel Tex says, “INCREASE the life of your carpets by rolling them up and keeping them in the garage.”
**Oscar the Grouch says, “TAKE your dustbin to the supermarket with you so that you can see which items you have recently run out of.”
**Miss Sus Piscous says, “MAKE shopkeepers feel like criminals and con men by carefully checking their change and holding bank notes up to the light before accepting them.”
**Miss Phillipa Lanthropist says, “SAVE on charity donations by spending a pound on clothes at a charity shop, then selling them for 50p to another charity shop. This way you can give twice as much, at half the cost. I think.”
**Miss Jessica Biel says, “NO TIME for a bath? Wrap your dirty parts in masking tape and remove the dirt by simply peeling it off.”
**Ms B. Hair says, “EXPENSIVE hair gels are a con. Marmalade is a much cheaper alternative, but beware of bees in the summer.”
**Ms Red Scarlett says, “APPLY red nail varnish to your nails before clipping them. The red nails will be much easier to spot on your bathroom carpet.” (Unless you have a red carpet, in which case a contrasting varnish should be selected).
Mr FatBastard says, “Weight watchers. Avoid that devilish temptation to nibble at the chocolate bar in the cupboard or fridge by not buying the fucking thing in the first place, you fat bastards.”
Mr FatBastard
**Mr T Rubble Reeding says, “Dyslexics. Try deliberately spelling words wrongly. This way at least you have a chance of spelling them correctly.”
Mr Jake Speed says, “Bearded men can obtain the appearance of an upper class Arctic explorer by simply applying Tippex to their beards, painting their noses blue, and cutting off a couple of toes. It never fails to impress the girls.”
**Mr Des Perate says, “Give up smoking by sticking one cigarette from each new pack up a fat friend’s arse, filter first, then replacing it in the box. The possibility of putting that one in your mouth will put you off smoking any of them.”
**Mr Homer Simpson says, “If a small child is choking on an ice cube, don’t panic. Simply pour a jug of boiling water down its throat and hey presto! The blockage is almost instantly removed.”
**Miss Steak says, “Avoid cutting yourself while clumsily slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold them while you chop away.”
**Miss Witchy Poo says, “Housewives: When nipping out to the shops, remember to carry a stiff broom in the boot of your car. Use it to sweep the broken glass to the side of the road every time you have a minor accident.”
**Mr P. Tentious says, “Make people think you have an expensive car phone by calling them, asking them to repeat everything they say and then hanging up half way through their reply.”
Mr P. Tentious
**Ms Com Muter says, “Keep the seat next to you on the train vacant by smiling and nodding at people as they walk up the aisle.”
**Mr H.V. Drinker says. “Save on booze by drinking cold tea instead of whisky. The following morning you can create the effects of a hangover by drinking a thimble full of washing up liquid and banging your head repeatedly on the wall.”
Mr H.V. Drinker
** Mr Good Daddy says, “Make bathtimes as much fun for kiddies as a visit to the seaside by pouring a bucket of sand, a bag of salt and a dog turd into the bath.”
Mr Good Daddy (left)
**Miss Para Noid says, “Make guests believe your home might be bugged by running your hands under tables and inside lampshades, then turning the shower on every time you want to speak.”
**Mr Prac Tickle Joker says, “Increase blind people’s electricity bills by switching all their lights on when their guide dog isn’t looking.”
**Mr DIY says, “Recreate the fun of a visit to a public swimming pool in your own home by filling the bath with cold water, adding two bottles of bleach, then urinating into it, before jumping in.”
**Mr Complete Bastard says, “Make your girlfriend cry when you’re having sex by phoning her up and telling her.”
**Dr No says, “International master criminals. Tell your guards to shoot James Bond in the head at the first opportunity. Under no circumstances give him a guided tour of your base, or leave him in the custody of attractive women in bikinis.”
**Mr Something for Everyone says, “KING-sized Mars bars make ideal normal-sized Mars bars, for giants. NORMAL-sized Mars bars make ideal king-sized Mars bars for dwarfs, as well as fun-sized ones for giants.”
**Ms Bernie Mars adds, “FUN-sized Mars Bars make ideal normal sized Mars Bars for midgets.”
**Ms Toble Rone says, “PEOPLE whose surname is Toblerone should always take along an empty ‘Toblerone’ chocolate box when attending interviews for office jobs. This would save your potential employer the expense of having to make a name plaque for your desk, and therefore increase your chances of getting the job.”
Nancy Wake: The “White Mouse”
One of the most decorated Allied servicewomen of World War II, Nancy Grace Augusta Wake was known to the Gestapo as “The White Mouse” for her ability to evade detection and capture.
The New Zealand-born heroine joined the French Resistance in 1940 but was forced to go into hiding after her network was betrayed. She continued to work undercover and once cycled more than 500 miles through several German checkpoints to replace codes that her wireless operator had been forced to destroy during a raid.
Later in the war, she joined the Special Operations Executive (SOE) and was parachuted back into the Auvergne region of France to provide guerrilla groups with arms. Her compatriots praised her strength and courage, two qualities she needed in abundance when she killed an SS sentry with her bare hands to stop him raising the alarm during a raid.
After the war ended, Nancy was awarded the George Medal, the US Presidential Medal Of Freedom, the Médaille de la Résistance and three Croix de Guerres from France. She also discovered that her husband had died at the hands of the Gestapo in 1943, having refused to reveal her whereabouts.
Nancy Wake was born in Wellington, New Zealand, on 30th August, 1912. The family moved to Australia in 1914 and after being educated in Sydney she travelled to Europe where she worked as a journalist. In Nazi Germanyshe saw the rise of Adolf Hitler and Anti-Semitism. On one occasion in Vienna she witnessed Jews being whipped by members of the Sturm Abteilung (SA).
In 1939 Nancy married the wealthy French industrialist, Henri Fiocca, in Marseilles. Nancy was in France when the German Army invaded in May 1940. After the French government surrendered, Nancy joined the French Resistance. She worked with Ian Garrow’s group helping British airmen shot down over France to escape back to Britain.
In December 1940 the network was betrayed and Nancy was forced to go into hiding. She continued to work for the French Resistance and was eventually arrested while in Toulouse. However, the authorities did not realize they had captured the woman known as the “White Mouse” and she was released after four days.
It was now too dangerous to remain in occupied France and Nancy crossed the Pyrenees into Spain before travelling to Britain. David Stafford has pointed out: “Henri promised to follow. But he was picked up by the Gestapo and shot. She blamed herself for his death: if it had not been for her, she mourned, he would have survived the war.”
Nacy Wake now joined the Special Operations Executive (SOE) and agreed to become a British special agent. Her training reports said “a very good and fast shot” and she “put the men to shame by her cheerful spirit and strength of character”. Vera Atkins, who worked in the SOE’s French section, remembered her as: “A real Australian bombshell. Tremendous vitality, flashing eyes. Everything she did, she did well”.
On 29th April 1944, Nancy was parachuted into the Auvergne region of France. Her main objective was to locate local bands of the Maquis and to provide them with the ammunition and arms that were being dropped by parachute by the Royal Air Force four times a week.
Nancy had the task of helping the resistance to prepare for the armed uprising that was due to coincide with the D-Day landings. She also led a raid against the Gestapo headquarters in Mountucon and a German gun factory. Henri Tardivat, one of her comrades in the resistance later said that: “She is the most feminine woman I know, until the fighting starts. Then she is like five men.”
After the war, Nancy worked for the Intelligence Department at the British Air Ministry. As her biographer has pointed out: “She never quite adjusted to peace. A desk-bound job in the British embassy in Paris quickly drove her wild with boredom, and she returned to Australia, where she stood unsuccessfully as a Liberal candidate in 1949 and 1951. Still restless, she moved to London and married John Forward, an RAF bomber pilot. He liked a drink, enjoyed a joke, and they were well matched. They relocated to Australia and had a gregarious life marked by dining, golfing, occasional trips to Europe and interviews with journalists about wartime exploits.”
After the death of her second husband in 1997 she returned to London and lived in the Star and Garter Home for ex-servicemen and women in Richmond. To fund her later years she sold her war medals. She commented: “There was no point in keeping them. When I die, I’ll probably go to hell and they’d melt anyway. My only condition is when I die, I want my ashes scattered over the hills where I fought alongside all those men.”
Nancy Wake died on 7th August, 2011.
Recommended Further Reading: Nancy Wake by Peter Fitzsimons:
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THE industrial production of animal products is nasty business. From mad cow, E. coli and salmonella to soil erosion, manure runoff and pink slime, factory farming is the epitome of a broken food system.
There have been various responses to these horrors, including some recent attempts to improve the industrial system, like the announcement this week that farmers will have to seek prescriptions for sick animals instead of regularly feeding antibiotics to all stock. My personal reaction has been to avoid animal products completely. But most people upset by factory farming have turned instead to meat, dairy and eggs from nonindustrial sources. Indeed, the last decade has seen an exciting surge in grass-fed, free-range, cage-free and pastured options. These alternatives typically come from small organic farms, which practice more humane methods of production. They appeal to consumers not only because they reject the industrial model, but because they appear to be more in tune with natural processes.
For all the strengths of these alternatives, however, they’re ultimately a poor substitute for industrial production. Although these smaller systems appear to be environmentally sustainable, considerable evidence suggests otherwise.
Grass-grazing cows emit considerably more methane than grain-fed cows. Pastured organic chickens have a 20 percent greater impact on global warming. It requires 2 to 20 acres to raise a cow on grass. If we raised all the cows in the United States on grass (all 100 million of them), cattle would require (using the figure of 10 acres per cow) almost half the country’s land (and this figure excludes space needed for pastured chicken and pigs). A tract of land just larger than France has been carved out of the Brazilian rain forest and turned over to grazing cattle. Nothing about this is sustainable.
Advocates of small-scale, nonindustrial alternatives say their choice is at least more natural. Again, this is a dubious claim. Many farmers who raise chickens on pasture use industrial breeds that have been bred to do one thing well: fatten quickly in confinement. As a result, they can suffer painful leg injuries after several weeks of living a “natural” life pecking around a large pasture. Free-range pigs are routinely affixed with nose rings to prevent them from rooting, which is one of their most basic instincts. In essence, what we see as natural doesn’t necessarily conform to what is natural from the animals’ perspectives.
The economics of alternative animal systems are similarly problematic. Subsidies notwithstanding, the unfortunate reality of commodifying animals is that confinement pays. If the production of meat and dairy was somehow decentralized into small free-range operations, common economic sense suggests that it wouldn’t last. These businesses — no matter how virtuous in intention — would gradually seek a larger market share, cutting corners, increasing stocking density and aiming to fatten animals faster than competitors could. Barring the strictest regulations, it wouldn’t take long for production systems to scale back up to where they started.
All this said, committed advocates of alternative systems make one undeniably important point about the practice called “rotational grazing” or “holistic farming”: the soil absorbs the nutrients from the animals’ manure, allowing grass and other crops to grow without the addition of synthetic fertilizer. As Michael Pollan writes, “It is doubtful you can build a genuinely sustainable agriculture without animals to cycle nutrients.” In other words, raising animals is not only sustainable, but required.
But rotational grazing works better in theory than in practice. Consider Joel Salatin, the guru of nutrient cycling, who employs chickens to enrich his cows’ grazing lands with nutrients. His plan appears to be impressively eco-correct, until we learn that he feeds his chickens with tens of thousands of pounds a year of imported corn and soy feed. This common practice is an economic necessity. Still, if a farmer isn’t growing his own feed, the nutrients going into the soil have been purloined from another, most likely industrial, farm, thereby undermining the benefits of nutrient cycling.
Finally, there is no avoiding the fact that the nutrient cycle is interrupted every time a farmer steps in and slaughters a perfectly healthy manure-generating animal, something that is done before animals live a quarter of their natural lives. When consumers break the nutrient cycle to eat animals, nutrients leave the system of rotationally grazed plots of land (though of course this happens with plant-based systems as well). They land in sewer systems and septic tanks (in the form of human waste) and in landfills and rendering plants (in the form of animal carcasses).
Farmers could avoid this waste by exploiting animals only for their manure, allowing them to live out the entirety of their lives on the farm, all the while doing their own breeding and growing of feed. But they’d better have a trust fund.
Opponents of industrialized agriculture have been declaring for over a decade that how humans produce animal products is one of the most important environmental questions we face. We need a bolder declaration. After all, it’s not how we produce animal products that ultimately matters. It’s whether we produce them at all.
James E. McWilliams is the author of “Just Food: Where Locavores Get It Wrong and How We Can Truly Eat Responsibly.”
By Joel Salatin
The recent editorial by James McWilliams, titled “The Myth of Sustainable Meat,” contains enough factual errors and skewed assumptions to fill a book, and normally I would dismiss this out of hand as too much nonsense to merit a response. But since it specifically mentioned Polyface, a rebuttal is appropriate. For a more comprehensive rebuttal, read the book Folks, This Ain’t Normal.
Let’s go point by point. First, that grass-grazing cows emit more methane than grain-fed ones. This is factually false. Actually, the amount of methane emitted by fermentation is the same whether it occurs in the cow or outside. Whether the feed is eaten by an herbivore or left to rot on its own, the methane generated is identical. Wetlands emit some 95 percent of all methane in the world; herbivores are insignificant enough to not even merit consideration. Anyone who really wants to stop methane needs to start draining wetlands. Quick, or we’ll all perish. I assume he’s figuring that since it takes longer to grow a beef on grass than on grain, the difference in time adds days to the emissions. But grain production carries a host of maladies far worse than methane. This is simply cherry-picking one negative out of many positives to smear the foundation of how soil builds: herbivore pruning, perennial disturbance-rest cycles, solar-grown biomass, and decomposition. This is like demonizing marriage because a good one will include some arguments.
As for his notion that it takes too much land to grass-finish, his figures of 10 acres per animal are assuming the current normal mismanagement of pastures. At Polyface, we call it neanderthal management, because most livestock farmers have not yet joined the 20th century with electric fencing, ponds, piped water, and modern scientific aerobic composting (only as old as chemical fertilization). Hence, while his figures comparing the relative production of grain to grass may sound compelling, they are like comparing the learning opportunities under a terrible teacher versus a magnificent teacher. Many farmers, in many different climates, are now using space-age technology, biomimicry, and close management to get exponential increases in forage production. The rainforest, by the way, is not being cut to graze cattle. It’s being cut to grow transgenic corn and soybeans. North America had twice as many herbivores 500 years ago than it does today due to the pulsing of the predator-prey-pruning cycle on perennial prairie polycultures. And that was without any corn or soybeans at all.
Apparently if you lie often and big enough, some people will believe it: Pastured chicken has a 20 percent greater impact on global warming? Says who? The truth is that those industrial chicken houses are not stand-alone structures. They require square miles of grain to be carted into them, and square miles of land to handle the manure. Of course, many times that land is not enough. To industrial farmers’ relief, more often than not a hurricane comes along just in time to flush the toilet, kill the fish, and send pathogens into the ocean. That’s a nice way to reduce the alleged footprint, but it’s devilish sleight of hand with the data to assume that ecological toxicity compensates for the true land base needed to sustain a factory farm.
While it’s true that at Polyface our omnivores (poultry and pigs) do eat local GMO (genetically modified organism)-free grain in addition to the forage, the land base required to feed and metabolize the manure is no different than that needed to sustain the same animals in a confinement setting. Even if they ate zero pasturage, the land is the same. The only difference is our animals get sunshine, exercise, fresh pasture salad bars, fresh air, and a respectful life. Chickens walking on pasture certainly do not have any more leg sprains than those walking in a confinement facility. To suggest otherwise, as McWilliams does, is sheer nonsense. Walking is walking — and it’s generally considered to be a healthy practice, unless you’re a tyrant.
Joel with his organic, free-roaming chickens on Polyface Farms
Interestingly, in a lone concession to compassion, McWilliams decries ranging hogs with rings in their noses to keep them from rooting, lamenting that this is “one of their most basic instincts.” Notice that he does not reconcile this moral imperative with his love affair with confinement hog factories. Nothing much to use their noses for in there. For the record, Polyface never rings hog noses, and in the few cases where we’ve purchased hogs with rings, we take them out. We want them to fully express their pigness. By moving them frequently using modern electric fencing, polyethylene water piping, high-tech float valves, and scientifically designed feed dispensers, we do not create nor suffer the problems encountered by earlier large-scale outdoor hog operations 100 years ago. McWilliams has apparently never had the privilege of visiting a first-rate, modern, highly managed, pastured hog operation. He thinks we’re all stuck in the early 1900s, and that’s a shame because he’d discover the answers to his concerns are already here. I wonder where his paycheck comes from?
Then McWilliams moves on to the argument that economic realities would kick in if pastured livestock became normal, driving farmers to scale up and end up right where we are today. What a clever ploy: justify the horrible by eliminating the alternatives. At Polyface, we certainly do not discourage scaling up — we actually encourage it. We think more pasture-based farms should scale up. Between the current abysmal state of mismanagement, however, and efficient operations, is an astronomical opportunity to enjoy economic and ecological advantages. McWilliams is basing his data and assumptions on the poorest, the average or below. If you want to demonize something, always pick the lowest performers. But if you compare the best the industry has to offer with the best the pasture-based systems have to offer, the factory farms don’t have a prayer. Using portable infrastructure, tight management, and techno-glitzy tools, farmers running pastured hog operations practically eliminate capitalization costs and vet bills.
Finally, McWilliams moves to the knock-out punch in his discussion of nutrient cycling, charging specifically that Polyface is a charade because it depends on grain from industrial farms to maintain soil fertility. First of all, at Polyface we do not assume that all nutrient movement is anti-environmental. In fact, one of the biggest reasons for animals in nature is to move nutrients uphill, against the natural gravitational flow from high ground to low ground. This is why low lands and valleys are fertile and the uplands are less so. Animals are the only mechanism nature has to defy this natural downward flow. Fortunately, predators make the prey animals want to lounge on high ground (where they can see their enemies), which insures that manure will concentrate on high lookout spots rather than in the valleys. Perhaps this is why no ecosystem exists that is devoid of animals. The fact is that nutrient movement is inherently nature-healing.
But, it doesn’t move very far. And herein lies the difference between grain used at Polyface and that used by the industry: We care where ours comes from. It’s not just a commodity. It has an origin and an ending, start to finish, farmer to eater. The closer we can connect the carbon cycles, the more environmentally normal we will become.
Second, herbivores are the exception to the entire negative nutrient flow argument because by pruning back the forage to restart the rapid biomass accumulation photosynthetic engine, the net carbon flow compensates for anything lost through harvest. Herbivores do not require tillage or annuals, and that is why all historically deep soils have been created by them, not by omnivores. It’s fascinating that McWilliams wants to demonize pasture-based livestock for not closing all the nutrient loops, but has no problem, apparently, with the horrendous nutrient toxicity like dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico the size of New Jersey created by chemical fertilizer runoff to grow grain so that the life of a beef could be shortened. Unbelievable. In addition, this is one reason Polyface continues to fight for relaxing food safety regulations to allow on-farm slaughtering, precisely so we can indeed keep all these nutrients on the farm and not send them the rendering plants. If the greenies who don’t want historically normal farm activities like slaughter to occur on rural acreage could understand how devastating these government regulations actually are to the environmental economy, perhaps McWilliams wouldn’t have this bullet in his arsenal. And yes, human waste should be put back on the land as well, to help close the loop.
Third, at Polyface, we struggle upstream. Historically, omnivores were salvage operations. Hogs ate spoiled milk, whey, acorns, chestnuts, spoiled fruit, and a host of other farmstead products. Ditto for chickens, who dined on kitchen scraps and garden refuse. That today 50 percent of all the human edible food produced in the world goes into landfills or greenie-endorsed composting operations rather than through omnivores is both ecologically and morally reprehensible. At Polyface, we’ve tried for many, many years to get kitchen scraps back from restaurants to feed our poultry, but the logistics are a nightmare. The fact is that in America we have created a segregated food and farming system. In the perfect world, Polyface would not sell eggs. Instead, every kitchen, both domestic and commercial, would have enough chickens proximate to handle all the scraps. This would eliminate the entire egg industry and current heavy grain feeding paradigm. At Polyface, we only purport to be doing the best we can do as we struggle through a deviant, historically abnormal food and farming system. We didn’t create what is and we may not solve it perfectly. But we’re sure a lot farther toward real solutions than McWilliams can imagine. And if society would move where we want to go, and the government regulators would let us move where we need to go, and the industry would not try to criminalize us as we try to go there, we’ll all be a whole lot better off and the earthworms will dance.
Joel Salatin is the owner of Polyface Farm — which was featured in Michael Pollan’s book The Omnivore’s Dilemma and the documentary film Food, Inc. He is a third generation family farmer working his land in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley with his wife, Teresa, son Daniel, daughter Rachel, and their families. Polyface Farm, an organic grass-fed farm, services more than 3,000 families, 10 retail outlets and 50 restaurants through on-farm sales and metropolitan buying clubs. Salatin writes extensively in magazines such as Stockman Grass Farmer, Acres USA, and American Agriculture.
The Nazi leader wanted to control the world, but he couldn’t even control his own digestion, and nor could his half-baked doctor, writes Tony Perrottet, adding perhaps a touch more detail than you might think appropriate …It may sound like a Woody Allen scenario, but medical historians are unanimous that Adolf was the victim of uncontrollable flatulence. Spasmodic stomach cramps, constipation and diarrhea, possibly the result of nervous tension, had been Hitler’s curse since childhood and only grew more severe as he aged. As a stressed-out dictator, the agonising digestive attacks would occur after most meals: Albert Speer recalled that the Führer, ashen-faced, would leap up from the dinner table and disappear to his room.
This was an embarrassing problem for a ruthless leader of the Third Reich. With uncharacteristic concern for his fellow human beings, Hitler had first tried to cure himself when he was a rising politician in 1929 by poring over medical manuals, coming to the conclusion that a largely veg diet would calm his turbulent digestion as well as make his farts less offensive to the nose. A rabid hypochondriac, he would also examine his own feces on a regular basis and administer himself camomile enemas.
Adolf Hitler: A Rabbit Hypochondriac
Hitler decided to swear off meat completely in 1931, when his niece (and presumed romantic interest) Geli Raubel committed suicide: When presented with a plate of breakfast ham the next morning, he pushed it away muttering, “It’s like eating a corpse.” From that squeamish moment on, great piles of vegetables, raw or pulped into a baby mulch, were Hitler’s daily staple. (All cooked foods, he decided, were carcinogenic). He showed a particular fondness, culinary historians assure us, for oatmeal with linseed oil, cauliflower, cottage cheese, boiled apples, artichoke hearts and asparagus tips in white sauce.
Strangely, Hitler was unfazed by the fact that this high-fiber diet was having the opposite effect on his digestion than what he had intended. His private physician, Dr. Theo Morell, recorded in his diary that after Hitler downed a typical vegetable platter, “constipation and colossal flatulence occurred on a scale I have seldom encountered before.”
Adolf Hitler’s Personal Physician Dr. Theo Morell (second fron the left) following the Fuhrer to monitor his rampant flatulence.
Hitler’s stomach problems may even have played their part in his losing the war, thanks to this shadowy figure of Dr. Morell, an incompetent quack who took over Hitler’s medical care in 1937. The pair had met at a Christmas gathering in the Berghof, the bucolic mountain retreat decorated with Bavarian knick-knacks and edelweiss, the year before.
Morrell was an unpleasant figure even by Nazi standards–grossly obese, with frog-like features, sulfurous B.O. and venomous halitosis. But when he cured a painful case of eczema on Hitler’s legs and provided temporary relief for his stomach cramps, the Führer was won over. To the irritation of other Nazi doctors, Hitler then proceeded to swallow any of Morell’s advice, no matter how hair-brained, for the next eight years.
For example, to combat recurrences of the volcanic stomach problems, Morell plied him with a remedy called “Dr. Küster’s Anti-gas pills,” which contained significant amounts of strychnine–and Hitler often took as many as 16 of the little black pills a day. The sallow skin, glaucous eyes and attention lapses noted by observers later in the war are consistent with strychnine poisoning; another ingredient in the pills, antropine, causes mood wings from euphoria to violent anger.
Even more peculiar were the injections of amphetamines that Morell administered every morning before breakfast from 1941, which may have exacerbated the erratic behavior, inflexibility, paranoia and indecision that Hitler began to display increasingly as the war ground on. And there was a barrage of other supplements–vitamins, testosterone, liver extracts, laxatives, sedatives, glucose and opiates, all intended to combat the dictator’s real or imagined ailments.
After the war, U.S. intelligence officers discovered that Morell was pumping Hitler with 28 different drugs, including eye-drops that contained 10 percent cocaine (up to 10 treatments a day), a concoction made from human placenta and “potency pills” made from ground bull’s testicles. But despite the barrage of medicines, Morell’s diaries (which were recovered from Germany and are kept in the National Archives in Washington, DC) make clear that the bouts of “agonizing flatulence” remained a regular occurrence.
Always the opportunist, Adolf Hitler sought practical applications for his flatulence…here he is seen experimenting with the gas a means of propulsion.
A relatively healthy man when he met Morell, Hitler degenerated quickly towards the end of the war until he was a physical wreck. Hitler’s arms were so riddled with hypodermic marks that even the normally passive Eva Braun complained to her mother about Morell as “the injection quack.” When Hitler came down with jaundice in 1944, three Nazi doctors tried to have Morell fired. But the Führer remained fiercely loyal–or just as likely, addicted to his chemical cocktails–and dismissed the trio of troublemakers instead.
Morell stayed with Hitler in the Bunker almost until the bitter end, as his patient began to fall apart completely (and a tremor in his left hand became uncontrollable, a probable symptom of advancing Parkinson’s disease). On April 20, 1945, days before the Russians took Berlin, Hitler suddenly refused Morell’s hypodermic, ordered him to strip off his uniform and leave. Desperately ill himself, Morell was soon captured by the U.S. Army and kept in prison for two years of interrogations, but was never charged with war crimes. He was hospitalized immediately after his release and died in 1948.
If he had not been so cravenly devoted to Hitler, a hero-worship he expressed over and again to US interrogators, one might have thought Morell a spy. It was a suspicion that had occurred to other Nazis, especially during the 1944 jaundice attack. Heinrich Himmler interrogated Morell’s assistant Richard Weber in Berlin’s Gestapo Headquarters about whether the doctor was deliberately poisoning the Führer with his treatments. “Out of the question,” Weber replied. “Morell’s too big a coward for that.”
Adolf Hitler’s vegetarian diet made him fart uncontrollably. Apparently the Fuhrer was also a fan of injections of bull semen, which his physician convinced him would do something for his sex drive. Hitler also took cocaine to “clear his sinuses” — an excuse his doctors apparently didn’t buy for long since they cut him back after a while. Knowing about Hitler’s farty, bull-semen-soaked cocaine problem does help explain why he was such a prick though.
SOURCES/FURTHER READING: Gordon, Bertram, “Fascism, the Neo-Right and Gastronomy: A Case in the Theory of the Social Engineering of Taste,” Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery (1987); Heston, Leonard and Renate, “The Medical Casebook of Adolf Hitler: His Illnesses, Doctors and Drugs”, (New York, 2000); Irving, David, “The Secret Diaries of Hitler’s Doctor”, (London, 1983); Waite, Robert G.L., “The Psychopathic God: Adolf Hitler”, New York, 1993.
Theodor Morell
From Wikipedia
Theodor Gilbert Morell Born July 22, 1886
Trais-Münzenberg, GermanyDied May 26, 1948 (aged 61)
Tegernsee, Bavaria, GermanyOccupation medical doctor Known for treating Adolf Hitler Theodor Gilbert Morell (July 22, 1886 – May 26, 1948) was German Führer Adolf Hitler‘s personal physician. Morell was well known in Germany for his unconventional treatments. Morell had medical training and was licensed as a general practitioner in Germany long before he met Hitler.
Early life
Morell was the second son of a primary school teacher, born and raised in a small village called Trais-Münzenberg in UpperHesse. Morell’s paternal ancestry was of Frisian origin prior to the 12th century. He studied medicine in Grenoble and Paristhen trained in obstetrics and gynaecology in Munich beginning in 1910. By 1913, he had a doctoral degree and was fully licensed as a medical doctor. After a year serving as an assistant doctor on cruise ships, he bought a practice in Dietzenbach. He served at the front during World War I, then as a medical officer. By 1919, he was in Berlin with a medical practice and in 1920 married Hannelore “Hanni” Moller, a wealthy actress. He targeted unconventional treatments at an upscale market and eventually turned down invitations to be personal physician to both the Shah of Persia and the King of Romania.
Morell claimed to have studied under Nobel Prize-winning bacteriologist Ilya Mechnikov, along with having taught medicine at prestigious universities, and sometimes called himself “professor”. He also owned significant interests in several medium-sized European pharmaceutical companies. Morell had joined the Nazi party in 1933.[1]
Hitler’s physician
During a party at the Berghof near Berchtesgaden, Hitler first met Morell, who said he could cure him within a year. Morell’s wife was unhappy when he accepted the job as Hitler’s personal physician. Morell began treating Hitler with various commercial preparations, including a combination of vitamins and hydrolyzed E. coli bacteriacalled Multiflor. Hitler seemed to recover, and Morell eventually became a part of Hitler’s social inner circle, remaining there until shortly before the war ended. Some historians have attempted to explain this association by citing Morell’s reputation in Germany for success in treating syphilis, along with Hitler’s own (speculated) fears of the disease, which he associated closely with Jews. Other observers have commented on the possibility Hitler had visible symptoms of both Parkinson’s disease and syphilis, especially towards the end of the war.
As Hitler’s physician, Morell was constantly recommended to other members of the Nazi leadership, but most of them, including Hermann Goering and Heinrich Himmler, immediately dismissed him as a quack. As Albert Speer related in his autobiography:
- “In 1936, when my circulation and stomach rebelled…I called at Morell’s private office. After a superficial examination…Morell prescribed for me his intestinal bacteria, dextrose, vitamins, and hormone tablets.“
- “For safety’s sake I afterward had a thorough examination by Professor von Bergmann, the specialist in internal medicine at Berlin University. I was not suffering from any organic trouble, he concluded, but only from nervous symptoms caused by overwork.“
- “I slowed down my pace as best I could and the symptoms abated. To avoid offending Hitler I pretended that I was carefully following Morell’s instructions, and since my health improved, I became for a time Morell’s showpiece.” (Albert Speer, Inside the Third Reich, 1970).
When Hitler had trouble with grogginess in the morning, Morell would inject him with a solution of water mixed with a substance from several small, gold-foiled packets, which he called “Vitamultin” whereupon Hitler would get up refreshed and invigorated. A member of Himmlers SS acquired one of these and had it tested in a laboratory, where it was found to contain mephamphetamine.
Speer characterized Morell as an opportunist who, once he achieved status as Hitler’s physician, became extremely careless and lazy in his work; one who was more concerned with money and status rather than providing medical assistance.
Goering called Morell Der Reichsspritzenmeister, a nickname that stuck. This term does not have a precise English translation. Among the translations of this nickname are “Injection Master of the German Reich“, or Reichmaster of Injections “The Reich’s Injections Impresario” (Junge, Until the Final Hour), and “The Master of the Imperial Needle” (O’Donnell, The Bunker). When this term is translated, its underlying meaning is the same—it implied that Morell always resorted to using injections and drugs when faced with a medical problem, and that he overused these drug injections.
Morell developed a rivalry with Dr. Karl Brandt, who had been attending Hitler since 1933. The two often argued, though Hitler usually sided with Morell. Eva Braun later changed her opinion of Morell, calling his office a “pig sty” and refusing to see him any more.
In 1939, Morell inadvertently became involved with the forced annexation of Czechoslovakia. The Czechoslovakian president, Emil Hacha, became so scared at Hitler’s outburst that he fainted. Morell injected stimulants into Hacha to wake him, and although he claimed these were only vitamins, they may have includedmethamphetamine. Hacha soon gave in to Hitler’s demands.
After the 20 July 1944 assassination attempt against Hitler, Morell treated him with topical penicillin, which had only recently been introduced into testing by the U.S. Army. Where he acquired it is unknown, and Morell claimed complete ignorance of penicillin when he was interrogated by American intelligence officers after the war. When members of Hitler’s inner circle were interviewed for the book The Bunker, some claimed Morell owned a significant share in a company fraudulently marketing a product as penicillin.
By April 1945, Hitler was taking 28 different pills a day, along with numerous injections (including many of glucose) every few hours and intravenous injections of methamphetamine almost every day.
On 22 April 1945, about a week before committing suicide, Hitler dismissed Morell from the Führerbunker in Berlin, saying that he did not need any more medical help. Morell left behind a large amount of prepared medicine; during the last week of Hitler’s life, they were administered by Dr. Werner Haase and by Heinz Linge, Hitler’svalet.
Death
Morell escaped Berlin on one of the last German flights out of the city but was soon captured by the Americans. One of his interrogators was reportedly “disgusted” by his obesity and complete lack of hygiene. Although he was held in an American internment camp, on the site of the former Buchenwald concentration camp, and questioned because of his proximity to Hitler, Morell was never charged with any crimes. His health declined rapidly. Grossly obese and suffering from speech impairment, he died in Tegernsee on May 26, 1948 after a stroke.
Substances given to Hitler
Morell kept a medical diary of the drugs, tonics, vitamins and other substances he administered to Hitler, usually by injection or in pill form. Most were commercial preparations, some were his own. Since some of these compounds are considered toxic, many historians have speculated Morell may have contributed to Hitler’s poor health. This fragmentary list of representative ingredients would have seemed somewhat less shocking during the 1940s:
- Amphetamines
- Belladonna
- Atropine
- Caffeine
- Chamomile
- Cocaine (via eye drops)
- E. coli
- Enzymes
- Glyconorm
- Methamphetamine
- Morphine
- Nux Vomica (a form of strychnine)
- Oxedrine Tartrate
- Potassium bromide
- Prophenazone
- Proteins and lipids derived from animal tissues and fats
- Sodium barbitone
- Sulphonamide
- Testosterone
- Vitamins
Morell apparently never told Hitler (or anyone else) what he was administering, other than to say the preparations contained various vitamins and “natural” ingredients—although this is discredited, as Hitler knew what was being administered. Some ingredients were later confirmed by doctors who had been shown pills by Hitler while temporarily treating him. A few of the preparations (such as Glyconorm, a tonic popular in Switzerland for fighting infections) contained rendered forms of animal tissues such as placenta, cardiac muscle, liver and bull testicles. During his interrogation after the war, Morell claimed another doctor had prescribed cocaine to Hitler, and at least one other doctor is known to have administered it through eyedrops after he requested it in the hours following an almost successful assassination attempt on 20 July 1944. Cocaine was routinely used for medical purposes in Germany during that time, but Morell is said to have increased the dosage tenfold; despite this, the concentration was still weak, as the eyedrops were only 1% cocaine. Overuse of cocaine eyedrops has been associated with psychotic behavior, hypertension and other symptoms; given the weak dosage, it is more likely they were caused by Methamphetamine, of which these are also common symptoms. However, historians have generally tended to discount any effects of Morell’s treatments on Hitler’s decision-making.
Morell was subject to many accusations by members of Hitler’s inner circle. Several people claimed he regularly injected Hitler with morphine without telling him, and that Morell himself was a morphine addict. Some went so far as to claim Morell used Hitler as a “guinea pig” for several of the drugs he tried to develop and sell, but these latter claims were made by people without medical backgrounds and may not be reliable.
(Tony Perrottet’s latest book, “Napoleon’s Privates: 2500 Years of History Unzipped”, will be published next year by William Morrow.)
WISE WORDS
*******Words of Wisdom for Daily Life*******
Desiderata
Go placidly amidst the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labours and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its shams, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.
“Learn to live like a lotus, untouched by the filthy water it lives in.”
“Sound, sound the clarion,
fill the fife!
Throughout the sensual world proclaim,
One crowded hour of glorious life
Is worth an age without a name.”
Thomas Osbert Mordaunt (1730-1809)Rate this: