Harder Than I Thought

I guess that title could apply to a lot of things. It seems that most things in my life have proven harder than I thought it would. Perhaps this is a good thing…I am at least able to convince myself and my family to give things a whirl that we may not other wise try. So it has been with this whole notion of suburban homesteading. It has been difficult. At times, it has been exceedingly difficult. It is not that the work in the garden and such isn’t enjoyable. I love being outside with my hands digging in the dirt. But it seems like as a family we have lost some of the steam that we had in making this dream of moving toward self-sufficiency. I feel like I carry the blame for most of this. We aren’t composting, which is something I was once very dogmatic about. We have been eating out a lot. We actually left vegetables on the vine this year to basically rot. We’ve been buying meat from the grocery (something I abhor). We’ve been getting tons of rain and the water barrel isn’t even set up. In other words, we have slipped back into some of our old, bad habits and I really hate it. 

I’ve been thinking of kicking this blog back up if for no other reason than to give me some sort of accountability for the things I want to do around here to be more self-sufficient. It may not be as easy as it appears in Mother Earth News, but I need to do something. Our culture, our world, it is changing. It needs to change. I would rather change now and be able to learn and hand down skills to my children than to be caught with the ability to supply for my family when it is no longer feasible to transport our food from far away locales.

Well, Duh!

My Political Views
I am a right social libertarian
Right: 5.46, Libertarian: 7.18

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My Foreign Policy Views
Score: -2.23

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My Culture War Stance
Score: -1.29

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The Naked Pastor on Church Growth

Here.

Face it, David is one funny dude and welcome to fill in for me any time!

Hatred of the Suburbs

Interesting Wall Street Journal piece here.

Every time I hear a snotty urban dwelling hipster speak ill of suburbia I am reminded of Mike Ness speaking of suburban LA on the live Social Distortion album, “We have winos, junkies, pimps and whores” too.

I think I have more to say on this, maybe specifically dealing with Atlanta’s ITP (inside the perimeter)  and OTP (outside the perimeter) cultural  paradigm.

On Again

Ok, looks like we are back live here at Suburban Resistance. I tried getting this thing off the ground this summer, and it took an odd turn of just becoming a place where I chronically complained about politics. Naturally, that got rather old.

At the same time I do realize that my old blog, Idle Ramblings of the LutherPunk, has run its course. I haven’t had the energy or thoughtfulness to even blog there much the past few months. I am hoping that the coming garndening season and our family’s continued pursuit of suburban homesteading that this little blog will take off. If not, I guess I’ll just stick to seeing folks on facebook.

Rejecting rBGH Foods

Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH) is a genetically engineered form of Bovine somatotropin, which is administered to dairy cattle in order to increase production. It is marketed under the name Posilac by Monsanto, an agri-business giant (the same company produces Roundup to control weeds, another product I no longer use).

The use of rBGH is what prompted us to start buying organic foods, especially milk, which our young daughter consumes in large amounts. The price difference is really negligible.

Currently the United States is the only Western nation that allows rBGH to be used. The European Union, Australia, Japan and Canada have outlawed its use due to adverse side effects in both the cattle who receive the injections and in people who consume the milk. Cows that receive the steroid injections are productive for only half as long as a cow that is raised naturally; they are more likely to suffer infections and thus need antibiotics, which are passed along in milk; are more likely to suffer from mastis (swelling of the utters); digestive problems; birth defects (including underdeveloped legs and hoofs).

Humans are at an increased risk of cancer, antibiotic resistance, and early onset of puberty (especially in girls).

As is typical, our government agencies act in the best interest of corporations, not on behalf of the people.  As recently as 2007, the State of Pennsylvania made it illegal to advertise milk as rBGH free, striking a blow to free speech and liberty everywhere. (Note: the decision was reversed earlier this year, allowing labeling and advertising of rBGH free products) The best way to fight this sort of corporate bullying is through consumer pressure, which has led to the decrease in use of rBGH. The Organic Consumer Association lists the following companies that have gone either partially or fully rBGH free:

Top rBGH & rBST-Free Processors

1. Dean Foods ( P)
5. Kroger (C) (as of 2/08)
6. Dairy Farmers of America (P)
7. HP Hood (P)
11. Darigold (P)
12. Prairie Farms Dairy (C) (as of 2/08)
14. National Dairy Holdings (P)
16. California Dairies, Inc. (C)
18. Safeway Dairy Group (P)
30. Publix Super Markets (C)
42. Tillamook County Creamery Assoc. (P)
43. Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc. (C)
53. Stonyfield Farm, Inc. (C)
58. Michigan Milk Producers Assoc. (C) (as of 2/08)
59. Wilcox Farms (C)
72. BelGioioso Cheese Inc. (C)
73. Cloverland/Green Spring Dairy (C)
74. Smith Dairy Products (C)
85. Oakhurst Dairy (C)
88. Wawa Dairy (C)
92. Joseph Gallo Farms (C)
97. Oberweis Dairy Inc. (C)

Number: Rank by total dairy sales (2006)
P: Partially rBGH-free
C: Completely rBGH-free

If you can’t find organic milk, at least try and find rBGH milk from one of the above sources. Starbucks and Chipotle have also gotten on the bandwagon. Ben and Jerry’s (producers of my favorite ice cream flavor) have long been rBGH free.

By continuing to put pressure on companies to stop using this dangerous product, we can hopefully eliminate it from the market.

Tabula Rasa

A fresh new blog…like a chalkboard that has never been written on, or a jar of peanut butter that has just been opened and has no knife swirls. There’s just so much potential.

For those of you redirected here from the old “Idle Ramblings” site, you will see a few changes. Rather than being all theology and music, this blog will also include political ramblings (especially about Libertarianism, Anarcho-Capitalism, rejection of the the two party system, and the preservation of civil liberties) as well as reflections on the lifestyle change my family is attempting to make toward self-sufficiency and suburban homesteading.

The site is just starting to take shape, but I hope it will be fully functional and brimming with content in the next few weeks.