A friend of mine and his lovely wife discovered the human evolutionary diet a few years ago. Simon and Ashley have never looked back. He lost about 30 pounds of pure fat and has never looked better. She looks about 15 years younger than her actual age. These two don’t even exercise much. They just look and feel great because they eat this way almost all of the time. They love to travel, have great epicurean curiosity and enjoy food from all over the world.
They visit France and Italy quite often and are quite aware of the slow food movement, the negative realities of GMO’s (genetically modified organisms) and the laundry list of other terrible things about most modern processed and industrially farmed foods. They love to cook and have a freezer full of naturally raised meats and an awesome, ever-growing recipe list. Needless to say, we often share information regarding where to get Paleo foods – farmer’s markets, small neighborhood farm stores, and of course, local farms which sell their food directly.
I was over at Simon’s place for dinner the other day. They served up beef stew with a red wine sauce that included turnips instead of potatoes. I’ve never had tastier stew. We talked about the meat they had used in this meal. Simon jumped at the chance to extol the virtues of his favorite farm, which is located about an hour outside of the big city. The cost of the grass fed meat from this farm is extremely reasonable.
He mentioned how much they love visiting the farm. This farmer has a small herd of cows that simply wander around in natural pasture grazing all day. Because of the naturally healthy, high quality of the meat and the reasonable price, this particular farmer was getting more and more attention. Clearly, positive word of mouth from happy customers like Simon and his lovely wife were creating the buzz.
When he told me the reasonable price of the meat, I knew right away it was a great deal. I have over a thousand people on my gym’s email list and we post new sources for reasonably priced Paleo foods – that would be naturally raised meats, fruits and vegetables of all kinds – whenever we find them. During our conversation, I asked Simon, to email me the details so I could post the farm and tell all our fine members.
He shuddered. He and his wife collectively stated, “Uhmmm, we’re not sure if we want to do that. You know…he’s kind of like “our” farmer. We wouldn’t want him to get overwhelmed.” I could do nothing but smile in response.
Ah, the invisible hand of economics! Adam Smith would be proud. When the realities of modern food are exposed and people are enlightened to the vitality, health and taste of our true human evolutionary diet – the modern processed, inferior garbage disguised as our food is then strongly avoided. For the most part, these folks just never end up eating the products of Monsanto, ADM, Sysco, Cargill, Nestle, or General Mills.
Further, the facts reveal that the largest companies comprising our modern food industry aren’t really operating in a free market anyway. The small farmers don’t receive the massive tax subsidies of the largest producers of corn, soy, and industrially raised livestock – some of the main constituents of our unhealthy processed foods.
Nor do they have the power to influence our government as do these massive industries. Modern agriculture and food production seem to represent an oligopoly run amok with little to no true oversight. The free market doesn’t seem so free where big food producers are concerned. Still, the small farmers do have something more powerful. They have us – the ever more enlightened (and angry) public. These smaller, more artisan farmers tell the truth and they possess the answers where healthy food is concerned.
Whether I post Simon’s favorite farm on our website or not, this farmer is going to need to expand his herd and likely look for more pasture. For every couple like Simon and Ashley, there are two fewer customers for modern processed food. Of course, that means there are two new customers for people like this wonderful small farmer. Indeed, with each enlightened, individual conversion a positive solution is chosen as an alternative to the lies, ill-health, obesity, and untold harm to our environment caused by modern food.
This righteous process is happening every day as industrial food and the corporate greed that has pushed it to near hegemony of our food supply is steadily defeated, customer by customer. It’s the slow death they deserve.
Meanwhile, for the small farmers who have toughed it out against overwhelming odds – finally, their collective cups are beginning to “runneth over”. New opportunity, prosperity, good fortune and success are at hand – highly deserved! Given free access to the truth, isn’t this how unfettered, free markets are supposed to work? Thank you Adam Smith! I have new found faith in the great “invisible hand” you so poetically identified.