Sprouting Lesson

So I was motivated to write this post after I received an email from my friend Sapphire (yes I know it's an amazing name). She had forwarded me a press release from our friends at Public Health in Hamilton. The release outlined very clearly in its title:

All sprouts considered hazardous food products

Quite a warning. Salmonella and E.Coli are lurking in our refrigerators, contaminating our sprouts and trying to enter our bodies. Mentioned in the press release, well below and with a smaller font was the statement: "Not all sprouts are contaminated, and the majority of people who eat sprouts do not get sick". But then it jumped back to its recommendation that no one, healthy or ill, eat raw sprouts.

This press release happily was from 2006 but ultimately I think its demonstrative of the state's desire, outlined in a previous post, to control what and when we eat. The funny thing is that people get sick when they buy sprouts in store (and even then), not when they sprout them at home. But don't expect the state to encourage you to do something for yourself. Not going to happen.

So sprouts are actually quite healthy. We seem to eat something sprouted every day at our house: clover, alfalfa, radish, adzuki bean, lentil, sunflower. We think other people should too. So I wrote this post outlining how easy it is to sprout beans. The bean I used was adzuki beans. And remember it doesn't take any fancy specialized equipment (this was what used to keep me from sprouting) apart from the things that you have on hand at home.

1) Soak your beans for 24 hours.


2) Drain your beans in a colander.


3) Rinse them every day. Ideally twice but once is enough.


4) Wait a few days and you'll have nice crunchy bean sprout.

Common Sense Revolution

Something is amiss in Cape Breton. It has to do with what we put in our mouths, food to be precise. The state it seems wants to decide what we put where and when. At the farmer’s markets in Cape Breton and around the province, vendors are being told to fall into line with extremely strict preparation regimes for any food that they sell. At the current time it doesn’t apply to bread, but if you make pizzas, cakes, muffins, wraps and sandwiches you must follow the state’s commandments. Or else.

On the surface this seems fine, obviously food should be prepared in sanitary conditions and with thought given to germs and bacteria and all the rest. Maybe some people are still stupid enough to not wash their hands after wiping their asses but you’d think that most vendors don’t really want to poison or kill their clientele. Seriously, if you give your customers food poisoning or worse, you’re not going to have repeat customers and you’re likely not going to do much business.

And the funny thing, if you can call it funny, is that Maple Leaf Foods, which actually has killed people, yet continues to sell us hot dogs, has a free ride in comparison to small producers. There are some small meat farmers in Cape Breton who have food inspectors breathing over their shoulders every time they slaughter one animal. Yet Maple Leaf makes arrangements to police themselves. Again who do you trust more, the butcher in your neighbourhood or the big corporation who has actually killed people? You do have a choice you know.

But back to the markets and food inspectors, I have recently been told, by reliable sources about an unfortunate incident at a wake. People had come together to celebrate and mourn a life. As usual in a normal, healthy human community, people came together and supported the family by providing them with food so they had time for more important matters.

Then the food inspector showed up. At the wake. And he proceeded to pour bleach on various prepared foods on display so they could not be eaten since they were not prepared in a government inspected kitchen. People were shocked and wept. Talk about insensitivity. Wouldn’t you want to murder this person? What a shithead?

So where is this going to end? This says a lot about the state and control. You see, the state wants to control everything; it wants to put a value on everything. It wants to tell us what we can and cannot do. If you don’t believe me, read a really interesting book called Seeing Like a State, which I read several years ago.

Ultimately the food we eat must only come from the store and be prepared in “sanitary” conditions, pumped full of preservatives. The state must protect us from ourselves. Our kitchens must be banished from our homes, replaced by microwaves (by whose use you can save electricity). This is the only logical conclusion I can come to, having heard and witnessed the above behaviour.

All the more reason to ferment your own food and grow your own food, to meet and support a farmer or farmer coop. These are now becoming acts or resistance in a nutritionally depleted and fascist (as Dan would say) world. And all the more reason, to smash the state (corporations and governments being components of the state). What a useless institution it has become, if it ever was a good idea. Happily its days are numbered anyway but we should all do our part to urge it on its way.

No Computer: Evolve

Well the inevitable finally happened and my laptop is dead. We've had some good times but nothing lasts forever. I paid $400 used for it almost 5 years ago so I've definitely gotten my money's worth. It's just too bad that this high technology is not something that we can fix ourselves. I think this will be the last computer I personally own; we have one for our house which works great, and keeps us from living online lives as opposed to real lives. I just hope I can get my pictures off the hard drive someday. Let this be a lesson to backup your computer regularly.

We are going to the Evolve Music Festival in Antigonish this weekend. Andrew is coming out from Ontario and we're going to check out the hilarious Jon LaJoie. I guess there are other performers too but I don't know any of their music. I'm going to be selling my t-shirts and patches. Dan will sell his buckskin products.

I'm doing something new this time and I'm going to have customers pick out a shirt and I'll put the stencil they want on it right there and then. That way they can pick a shirt that fits well instead of me just putting random messages on shirts. I hope it works out. I just don't want a lot of pressure to put stencils on quick because I'm sure to make a mistake. I don't expect brisk business but maybe this crowd will be into messages like: "Fuck Don't Breed" and "First World No World".

With the stencils I'm really trying to avoid moving away from strong messages. There's a temptation to make silly, meaningless messages which will sell well to a gutless public. I'm making more pictures but I'm trying to pick images that have a strong meaning. It's nice to see what you can create. And we found a number of overhead plastic sheets which make for nice stencils. It's hard to find cardstock around these parts.

I'm going to take some pictures of people modeling my shirts this weekend so I can add them here and you can see what I'm into these days.

Dr. Farmer

I read this silly article, by which I mean, opinion in the Globe and Mail today. Margaret Wente was writing about her experience with new, upscale markets where she lives. She says that lots of young people have moved to the countryside to start farms, inspired by Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. She complains about organic farms being pricey and not being as productive as conventional farms, despite having no evidence to back up her claims. Anyway it's worth a read if only to laugh and read the comments.

She talks about highly educated young people starting these farms, often with PhDs and other post-grad degrees. In her words: "They are highly educated young people with three or four degrees who've gone back to the land to build a better life for themselves and the planet by growing food the sustainable way."

I think she is right, many people I know have gone to university before taking up farming (or better gardening because everyone should grow their own food) and should know better and get jobs as civil servants or in non-profit organizations and collect a generous salary. But we don't. It's not because we want to grow food the sustainable way (since there isn't really much sustainable about agriculture), it's because we know that humans are fucked. We have no connection to our food and don't even know the basics of how food is grown or foraged, seeds are saved, plants propagated and the rest of the equation. This wouldn't be such a problem if grocery stores lasted forever but they are expiring and if we're not careful we will too.

If you are really educated you'll see the world, energy flows and what is coming and know what you have to do. Unfortunately you spend thousands of dollars on your formal education before realizing that you should never have wasted your time doing it in the first place and gone wwoofing instead. So you find yourself with several letters after your name digging around in the dirt, and that's fine.

I guess in the end I wouldn't be me and I wouldn't be here without all the people and experiences along the way. But I'm glad I'm here, much like all those other people selling $5 bunches of organic carrots that Margaret Wente resents so much.

The real question is: do I really want to grow food for someone like her? The answer is no and for now she can keep sucking back her 50 cent pesticide carrots until cancer comes for her or the factories stop producing them, whatever comes first.

Thank You!

My wonderful friends Erin and Matt have left for Ontario having spent a lovely week with us. They helped out with the garden, made us a sign for the road and put together a scarecrow (oh wait, you already knew that dear reader). We went to the beach and splashed in the shallow waves, Erin was more adventurous. There were lovely meals together and lots of happiness, just being together.

I almost shed a few tears at their parting. A real, heartfelt embrace can do that. Maybe my hard shell is a little softer in my old age. I kind of like letting my emotions show, there's nothing wrong with that.

Yesterday we went to the Cape Breton Highlands National Park and it was pretty amazing to hike on top of a mountain with a sheer drop to the ocean below. And we hiked through an old growth forest (never been logged, unlike everywhere else in the Maritimes). I wish I could attach a picture or two but I didn't have my camera. Maybe Erin will send hers my way one day soon and I'll share.

It was as close to a perfect day as I've had in a long time. I felt a bit like a tourist, which wasn't so bad. I guess as I am still learning about this place, I am still a tourist. And maybe that was a vacation that I needed. Though I could have done without all the genetically modified food I ate that day. With Dan I always bring my food, which is always a good move with this dismal food supply.


I miss you already Erin and Matt. Happy trails!

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I read an interesting article by George Monbiot on the Guardian today and thought I would share. He exposes all those annoying and stupid people that leave comments online. You know how articles allow readers to comment? These are the people that attack the writer and not the issue and when they do they don't actually say anything meaningful or appeal to scienticians and the like. Well some of the people that are commenting are potentially in the pay of someone. It makes complete sense and is actually a well-studied technique called Astroturfing. Check it out.

Dream Time

I've been having a lot of deja-vu lately. These visions have coincided with the arrival of two friends from Ontario. Usually when I experience a deja-vu, I can trace it back to a dream that I had a few years earlier. Sometimes it's so obvious and other times it's just a feeling. Does this happen to you? My conclusion is that we dream the future. Or perhaps more accurately we dream countless futures and recognize some of them when they come to pass.

I usually view deja-vus as the universe telling me that I'm on the right path. That's the feeling that I get from them. When I have a lot of them I feel even more sure that things are right.

My friends Matt and Erin are here for a visit. They brought my sister out to see us on the train. It's been a quick trip though we certainly have done a lot. I've done a lot of cooking for large groups, I guess I'm woning my wwoof host abilities. More friends are on their way and that's always a good thing. I would hate to have lost my past completely when I left Ontario. The arrival of good friends keeps that link, which likely won't last in the coming years, strong.

We've had such a nice visit. I wish they could stay here forever. I must admit that they are probably the two kindest friends I have. They really fit my personality well. And I'm so in awe of their relationship which seems so strong but so so fun.

But to get back to what I started with, Erin and I noticed an amazing coincidence this evening. Before I left Ontario, I shared a few beers with friends at a local pub. Erin made us a going away card and had everyone sign it. Well today we glanced at it and noticed that the image she drew on the cover, of an ideal country setting, was very portentous. Yesterday her and Matt made a scarecrow for our fields and on the cover of the card she made was a scarecrow. Not that amazing, but when we looked closer we saw the scarecrow she drew had blue pants and a red shirt, the exact colours of the thrift store clothing that adorns our scarecrow!

I like to find meaning in these small coincidences. Perhaps Erin looked ahead to this time somehow through dreams or just foresight. I'm amazed and maybe this is another example that we are all on the right path.