mRNA and Vaccines

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posted on

January 9, 2024

Many folks wonder what the Polyface position is on vaccinations and now the new mRNA materials.

In short, we don’t use any of it. But please read on for a more complete understanding.

We used vaccines twice in our history, both now about 20 years ago. The first was in chickens and the other was in beef. A lady asked us to raise 500 laying hens for her because she didn’t feel comfortable starting the chicks. We said yes but when it came time for them to lay, she changed her mind and didn’t want them.

We hadn’t prepared for 500 extra chickens and didn’t have anywhere for them to go. That spring was cold and damp. And cold and damp. We kept them in the brooder house hoping the weather would clear so we could put them outside. A week turned into two weeks. They got crowded. Not something you’d want to take a picture of—unless you were working for an animal welfare group.

By the time the weather broke enough to get them out, they were stressed. They contracted a relatively weak virus called Marek’s disease and we lost most of them. Kind of a cross between respiratory infection and coughs, this was a common problem in the early 20^th century before the widespread use of vaccines and antibiotics. It’s highly communicable and we were unwilling to kill and incinerate every chicken on the place to start over.

So for two or three years, we vaccinated our chicks against Marek’s as a layer of protection until the virility of it could dissipate. It did and we quit and have never had a problem since.

The point? The disease was our fault.

Case number two. We rented a nearby farm property to get more pasture to expand our beef numbers. This place had acres of thick, 12-foot high blackberry patches, some covering as much as 2 or 3 acres. The landowner didn’t want us to mow them down because they provided some wildlife habitat. But they were spreading and we had plenty of edge and steep spots for habitat; the place was not lacking for wildlife habitat.

We decided to start our quiet under-the-radar eradication program by stomping and tromping them out with the cattle by placing the mineral box in the brambles. We took a herd of about 70 calves weighing 5-600 pounds each over there and after a week, one died. The next day another one. The next day two. That never happens at Polyface and we knew we had something terribly wrong. We called the vet and in 5 minutes he had our answer: blackleg. It’s a 100 percent deadly condition that attacks the nervous system, inducing quick paralysis and death.

Largely eradicated through the use of vaccines, this protozoa stays in the soil for decades. The only way to get ahead of it was to vaccinate the herd, which we did, and that stopped it immediately. But that didn’t sit well; we don’t use vaccines and don’t want to be dependent on them. Why, of all our animals and on all our ground, did this one herd, at this time, on this place, suddenly succumb to blackleg?

We started looking through our old cattle books—quite a collection we’ve put together over the years—and every single one said it was ubiquitous and vaccination was the only remedy. But in the last book, the last paragraph, we found an Aha! “Often induced by anaerobic puncture wounds caused by thorns and brambles.” Voila! There was the answer. We’d turned these cattle into veritable pincushions and overrun their immune systems with abuse. Our fault.

We presented this information to the landowner, who promptly gave us permission to mow the brambles and we’ve never had a problem since and never vaccinated again. The point of this is that in our experience, things people vaccinate for are caused by us. We stress animals or don’t feed them right or don’t pick robust animals.

How do you know which ones have a good immune system if you cover up weaknesses with vaccines? By taking away the crutches, the robust animals thrive and nature weeds out the weak. That’s the way we gradually move immunological vibrancy forward. Sure, losing an animal is no fun, but never knowing who is strong and who is weak is no fun either because you can never make immunological progress.

Interestingly, government-sanctioned organic certification takes no position on vaccination. Nor does it take a position on the now genetically-manipulated mRNA counterpart. The livestock industry began substituting mRNA for old-style vaccines in poultry about 10 years ago, in pork about 5 years ago, and in beef about 2 years ago. Yes, it’s in the supermarket meat counter. And organic certification does not prohibit its use nor does it need to go on any label.

Two more things. Polyface does purchase some young animals from others. We know one piggie supplier (we don’t birth piggies; we buy weaned piggies and raise them up for you to enjoy as bacon and pork chops) does use an old-style vaccine in his sows, not his piglets. Some of the weaned calves we purchase have some old-style vaccines. We would love to get vaccine-free completely from these guys, but we fight one battle at a time. Nobody uses mRNA.

Finally, what about these vaccinated critters? We realize we’re being ultra-transparent here and opening ourselves up for backlash, but hang in there. First, they are all very young. And the regimen is only one or two, not 60-couple like humans are now supposed to get. If childhood vaccinations had never gone beyond what they were in 1950, the anti-vax movement may have never gotten a footing. The cocktail seems to be what is most deadly, and none of the baby pigs or weanling calves we buy from hand-picked farms are subjected to multi-injections. It’s more like things were in 1950, before autism, food allergies, and ADHD.

Let’s finish with a quick look at detox. How does nature detox? The number one agent is chlorophyll. Guess what’s in grass, clover, herbs, and weeds? Chlorophyll. Lots of it. Because all our animals enjoy a life on and with access to green salad (fresh pasture) the chlorophyll gradually works its detox magic and by the time these animals grow into maturity and we harvest them, they’ve had copious amounts of greens. Nature offers a way to cleanse. When animals spend their lives in a factory farm, devoid of green material, the toxins build up rather than excrete.

The calves born to our cows (brood cows) never receive a vaccine. Ditto the lambs. Ditto the chickens and pigs, although the chicks we buy for broilers (meat) and some of the piglets come from parents who were vaccinated, so that’s one generation removed.

We hope this open-handed treatment of a touchy subject helps your understanding and gives you a bit of the back story behind the short statement “Polyface does not use vaccines of any type.” Thank you for your interest and loyalty in healing the land one bite at a time. Your children thank you.

- Joel Salatin

Why Choose Fermented Foods?

My grandparents on my father’s side used to make sauerkraut in wooden barrels in the basement. My mother’s side made cheese and salami. I could smell these concoctions throughout the entire house. Fermenting is part of your national heritage, no matter your family’s country of origin. Alongside nourishing grass-fed/grass-finished pastured meats like Polyface raises, every person should include real fermented foods into their diet. This method of food preservation goes back farther than most realize, reconnecting us with ancient traditions, long before the refrigerator-freezer was invented. Every culture consumed something fermented every day. Here are the reasons why I like fermented foods. Fermentation preserves food without using high pressure, high heat, or chemicals, so it both conserves and increases them. The nutritional value of fermented foods lies mostly in the pro-biotic bacteria that are present, and byproducts of their digestion. The bacteria’s digestive “waste” is a collection of vitamins, enzymes, and co-factors needed for every system of the body. These include: Vitamins B1, B6, B12, C, and K2 Superoxide dismutase (SOD, an antioxidant) GTF chromium (assists sugar metabolism) Glutathione (a potent detoxifier) Phospholipids (cell membrane building blocks) Digestive enzymes Beta 1,2 glucans (present in shiitake mushrooms; modulates immune system) Fermentation neutralizes or eliminates these: Phytic acid (present in seeds, nuts, beans, legumes) Enzyme inhibitors (also present in seeds, nuts, beans, legumes) Nitrites Prussic acid (hydrogen cyanide) Oxalic acid (binds minerals) Nitrosamines (known carcinogen) Glucosides Probiotics and enzymes in whey neutralize phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors, allowing your digestion to access the nutrients in the food. Enzymes are proteins. Proteins are delicate molecules with very complex structure and shape. The structure of the enzyme gives it its function. Without structure and form, the enzyme will not do its job of catalyzing biochemical reactions. Without enzymes, biochemical reactions would cease. Enzymes are denatured (unraveled or broken down) by high pressure, high heat, acidic conditions, toxic chemicals, and electrical disturbances. Once denatured, they lose their form and shape, therefore they lose their function. Unlike canning and commercial processing, fermenting occurs at atmospheric pressure and room temperature, encouraging beneficial bacteria to thrive. Temperatures above 117 degrees Fahrenheit denature enzymes and kill probiotic bacteria. If you wonder what 117 degrees feels like, it’s the temperature at which you cannot touch an object with your bare hands and hold it for a few seconds. If it’s hot, but you can still touch and hold it in your hand and not pull away, it’s under 117 degrees. This innate protection mechanism (i.e., reflex) prevents your own protein (i.e., skin on your finger) from being denatured. It’s also a good indicator of when your food is hot enough to kill probiotics and denature enzymes. For best results, fermented foods must be eaten raw, never hot or cooked. Fermented foods are safe and protective against pathogens. USDA scientist Roger McFeeters, who oversees a fermentation laboratory, says, “The lactobacilli can number a billion per gram of tissue at the height of fermentation. The bad bacteria can't compete." According to McFeeters, lacto-fermentation has caused no known food-borne illness. "As far as we know, it's been going on for thousands of years. It's perfectly safe.” The sauerkraut that my grandparents made had a layer of raw pork chops embedded in the salted cabbage. When the sauerkraut was done, you could safely eat the pork chops raw! They were pre-digested by the bacteria, and “cooked" by the organic acids in the kraut. Probiotics prevented pathogens from establishing. None of us ever got food poisoning. My grandmother lived to be 100. Fermented foods have anti-carcinogenic properties. They normalize blood pressure and heart rate, help to break down fat in the liver, and maintain healthy systemic pH. And they are quite tasty. In the supermarket, look for fermented foods in the refrigerated section, not on the shelf with canned foods. Shelf-stable canned foods were subjected to high temperatures. The probiotics and enzymes have been denatured. Look for “live cultures” or “live probiotics” on the label. Eat something lacto-fermented every day, like your ancestors did. Just a tablespoon or two of sauerkraut or an ounce or two of cheese is enough to have the desired effect. Choose a salad dressing made with raw apple cider vinegar, or a tablespoon of a fermented condiment such as ketchup, mustard, or mayonnaise. Try a fermented beverage, like kombucha, beet kvass, or ginger ale. (Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon has some great recipes for all of these.) The original condiments were digestive aids. They’re easy to make. Try it. May you be deeply nourished! Susan

mRNA and Vaccines

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