Goodwill Toward Men
I think God has been trying to tell me something this Christmas season. The message keeps coming out of unexpected places. And even though I can be slow to sit up and pay attention, eventually he gets his message through...
Author: Edwin Shank
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What is it About Cows?
What is is about cows? It seems we were created to live in harmony with these gentle mothers... to be co-dependent. How else can we explain the historically proven phenomena that persons who live closest to the cows are often the healthiest, and strongest of their society?
Never Be Afraid
You ask how, during these difficult times, our family finds the strength, courage and stamina to go on. Many of you are afraid for us… or for yourselves...
They Missed Him
They missed him, the inn keeper and his family did. But you can't blame them really. They were flat-out frantically busy! Town was full! Thousands, even millions, were traveling from all over the world for the special decreed taxing by Caesar Augustus...
Farmer Incubator
I was struck immediately. A friend had just introduced me to Ted LeBow, a self-described "serial entrepreneur." In our first conversation, Ted defined a sustainable agricultural community as "a farmer incubator." It was love at first sound. A Sustainable Farmer Incubator! It's the Big Dream of The Family Cow expressed perfectly!
The Bull Dog
Six-year-old boys have a unique perspective on life. They trustingly take every word at face value and run with it—so innocent, so sure that they understand it all...
I Really Shouldn't Tell You This
I really shouldn’t tell you this. My wife wasn’t sure about it, my friends just laugh, but I’d like to let you in on the secret anyway. It is risky telling so many people, because if it doesn’t work, you’ll never let me forget it. But, being a notorious risk-taker plus an eternal optimist, I still feel like letting you in on it...
The Heart of Your Farmer
Our family had a food safety wake-up call in January 2012 when some of our raw milk customers were diagnosed with diarrhea from campylobacter. I'm sure you read about it in the news at the time. If you did not read about it then, I think it is important that you read about it now...
The Eagles Have Spoken
I’m neither a psychologist nor a sociologist, but I have observed that one of the most basic human needs is to feel approval. We simply like affirmation that our life's work is not only noticed, but valued. Maybe that explains our family's completely illogical delight when a pair of American Bald Eagles and their young consciously chose The Family Cow as the source of their organic chicken!
Saturday Night Rodeo
I think cows have an affinity with their human companions. They look forward to the weekend. They may have even coined the term the-weekend-get-away! How else can we account for the fact that they so often choose Saturday night or Sunday morning for their escapades?
Holistic Business Ethics
If you're a locavore, the simple act of eating becomes a powerful, three-times-a-day vote for the food system you support. There is power in grocery shopping. You can make a difference. If Food Inc. makes you sick...
Pottenger’s Cats: Book Review
I don’t know why I waited so long to read Dr Francis Pottenger’s classic entitled Pottenger’s Cats. I had read excerpts from it in many other books, and they always fascinated me, but until this past week had never read the actual book from cover to cover. Dr Francis Pottenger Jr. was a medical doctor in California who conducted nutritional/feeding experiments with 900 cats over a 10 yr period during the 1930s...
The Beginnings of a Big Deal
“So much about life in a global economy feels as though it has passed beyond the individual’s control—what happens to our jobs, to the prices at the gas station, to the vote in the legislature. But somehow food still feels a little different..."