Sacred Jobs

written by

posted on

January 23, 2024

Polyface is currently a winter wonderland.

The pond is frozen over, the valleys and hills are dressed in sparkling white snow, and the sun glistens brightly over it all. The pigs and cows are in the barns, cozily bedded down for the cold winter, and we have started feeding hay. We are in the season of long chores and constant tending to the animals.

As we enter this time of throwing hay, filling waterers, washing eggs, and bedding the barns, we remember that every single job is sacred. Our goal is to provide for our animals so they can live happy, healthy, and productive lives and, in turn, provide high-quality and delicious meat and eggs for you- our loyal patrons.

As we tend to our daily tasks, we seek to do it in a way that shows our high regard for the noble work before us. When we do a small task well, we are valuing the bigger picture that each small task is a part of.

This mentality can be applied not only to farming but to all of the noble tasks we are called to do as humans in this world. Your role as mother or father, brother or sister, son, daughter or friend are sacred jobs that we hold. It may feel mundane as everyday jobs tend to feel. Putting a meal on the table for your family, doing the right thing when no one is watching, teaching a new student, washing the dishes, or caring for someone sick may not feel important in the moment. Hand-washing eggs and spreading fresh bedding in the barn certainly doesn’t feel revolutionary, but the important things in life ride on the back of doing these “small” tasks with faithfulness and love.

We are changing the world when we cultivate strong and healthy relationships with those we love or when we leave the Earth better than we found it. Sometimes this change does not happen in big and public ways. Rather, making simple decisions to do the small jobs well brings about those big changes. This is how small tasks find their meaning and show their importance and sacredness.

Here at Polyface, we are making this commitment to you every day: to do the small things with faithfulness and love to serve you. Our team works hard to do our job well whether that be taking on a large forestry project or packing the items that get shipped to your door. But this call does not end with us. We want you to join us. You may not have a farm or even a garden, but I know that you are in a “sacred” role of some sort wherever you are. What “small jobs” are in front of you that you can do with faithfulness today? Remember, every job is sacred.

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

SOY

We've had a breakthrough in soy. We've had our chickens checked by energy fields, pendulums, crystals, chromatography...Now we have definitive proof.

Thanksgiving

The older I get, the more grateful I am for my parents who embraced different. Indulge me in a couple of stories from our family's past to illustrate how we relished "maverickness".

Sacred Jobs

More from the blog

Why Choose Fermented Foods?

SOY

Thanksgiving

About

Education

Shopping

Polyface Farms

Healing the land one bite at a time!