Wildlife Asset

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June 5, 2024

This morning I had to go up the mountain to check on a water line and spring. After a nice thunderstorm last night, the early morning mist rose up from the valleys as I dodged heavy-droplet leaves hanging out into the gravel road.

As the 4-wheeler and I rounded a bend, I braked quickly for a doe nursing her newborn fawn. We stared at each other momentarily, not more than 20 feet apart. The fawn suddenly vanished—I couldn’t see it run—and the doe stayed there. We stared at each other for a bit and then I had to be on my way.

As I started to go, the doe jumped off the road but didn’t go far. As I eased the 4-wheeler forward, my eye caught the fawn, hunkered flat against the ground under a fern and mountain laurel bush on the edge of the road. Probably less than 24 hours old, the fawn had not yet learned to run from danger, but rather tried to hide.

It didn’t move when I walked to it. Leaning over and gently cooing to it, I stroked the soft fawn like a kitten, assuring it I was a friend. It didn’t move a muscle. I didn’t pick it up or handle it. It could have run off, but didn’t. It just stayed there, pressed tightly against the ground, with mama nearby. I caressed it for another minute, relishing the moment’s magic. Then I eased away.

I had a spring and water line to check on, but as I turned to remount the 4-wheeler and continue on my errand, tears welled up in my eyes. The freshly washed forest, rising mist, nursing mother and newborn fawn, and then the soft connection, all in stillness and mutual reverence. How special is that?

As I fought back tears of gratitude for being able to enjoy magical experiential moments like this, I couldn’t help but think about the agri-industrial complex narrative vomiting out of public relations firms denigrating wildlife as an egregious liability. A minute prior to encountering the nursing doe and fawn, I had enjoyed a wild turkey hen prancing through one of our pig pastures. And yes, I’ve picked up newly hatched wild turkey poults too, while mother hen cavorts and clucks a few feet away. More magic moments.

Last week when I drove down the farm lane and crossed the bridge over Middle River (yes, it looks like a creek, but it’s the beginning of Middle River), I noticed a mother duck with six freshly hatched ducklings paddling up the river. I watched them disappear under the bridge. I wonder where they were headed.

Is all this wildlife really as terrible as the conventional mainline farm industry suggests? Deer bring cow diseases. Waterfowl bring bird flu. The industry makes it sound like if we’re going to survive, we must eradicate wildlife. That attitude is a natural development when you prop up life with artificial means (think unnatural animal habitations, antibiotics, vaccines, etc.). It seems very anti-life.

Starting with Justis von Liebig’s 1837 allegation that all life is simply a re-arrangement of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium and continuing to the herbicide, pesticide, grubicide developments post WWII, industrial food’s assault on life is unspeakably profound. If an animal gets sick, it must be pharmaceutically disadvantaged, not immune-compromised.

The key to good food is ship-ability and shelf life. Cardboard tomatoes and cheese that won’t mold—oh, don’t forget shelf-stable ultra-pasteurized organic milk—is the Holy Grail of modern American industrial food. The new frontier of lab-cultured meat-like substances and 3-D printed proteins is the next iteration in this entire anti-life progression.

Here at Polyface, we believe any farm and food system that demonizes wildlife is fundamentally anti-life and therefore anti-nutrition, anti-wellness, and anti-health. To be sure, that doesn’t mean we let errant and rogue carnivorous predators abscond with our pastured chickens. Or let mice and rats run rampant through the house.

But it means we have a deep and abiding respect for the majesty, complexity, and value of nature and wildlife. If we have an animal sickness, it’s not because of wildlife; it’s because we mismanaged something and compromised the immune system. Any livestock farmer eventually neglects something at an inopportune time and has to learn the hard way that social structure, hygiene, sanitation, genetic selection, rations and other things affect the habitat for health.

The reason I can enjoy these routine magical encounters with wildlife is because we believe the foundation of good farming—and good food—is a vibrantly balanced and functioning ecology. That starts with the native critters. If we can’t add livestock without destroying the native life, shame on us. And shame on the industry for blaming wildlife for diseases. The wildlife figured out long ago how to live without chemicals, vaccines, and pharmaceuticals.

Perhaps it would behoove all farmers to look at the resilient wildlife for instruction in our domestic livestock production. Informed by the natural, cows, pigs and chickens can enjoy a healthy existence without anti-life inputs. When you patronize Polyface, you say to the world “life matters to me, even the bumblebee and fawn.” That’s a great life lesson for our kiddos. Together, as farmer and patron, we can promote life, both wild and domestic.

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

Wildlife Asset

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