Seeing the positives of the pandemic(s)

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April 10, 2020

There are both positives and negatives in nearly any situation. In our current pandemic, there are obviously many terrible and tragic situations happening. But of course, there’s also positives.

In honor of Earth Day next week, I want to speak about one big positive side effect of the pandemic - environmental impact.

The slowing of humans worldwide over the past few months has had an incredibly positive impact on the environment. It’s as if the Earth has been in a pandemic for decades, which is now called “climate change”. The Earth has become infected with humans - reproducing, expanding their territory, and decimating natural resources.

All we need to resolve the COVID-19 pandemic AND the environmental pandemic is to slow down.

In Wuhan, residents posted pictures of blue skies in a usually smog-laden city.

The canals in Venice are no longer murky but beautifully clear.

With less planes and cars and energy needs, air pollution has gone down significantly. Check out these maps of NO2 values before and during the pandemic in China and France.

Seismologists have noticed that they can hear the natural earth better. Can you feel it when you walk barefoot outside?

Marine ecologists have noticed a reduction in noise in the oceans. They can hear humpback whales and other marine life from a great distance.

And I myself in my home that backs to forest can hear the animals, the wind in the trees, and the running streams around me better than ever before.

Since mainstream food chains are failing, alternative food systems are thriving. Small farmers are inundated with business. This allows them to continue producing sustainable food that regenerates our soil (and I hope that trend continues long after the pandemic subsides).

These are just a few examples. Do you know of any more positive environmental impacts of the pandemic? I want to know!

To me, this is just so incredible. From my small place of power, I try to improve the environment every day. I support and source food from select small farms, I buy used clothing, I use reusable bags, I choose earth-friendly bath and cleaning products, I compost, I’m very aware of my energy use and impact, and more.

What if humans worldwide could get on board? What if we all could slow down a little bit? What if we can reimagine an earth-friendly world together? Are you with me?

Please, let’s not go back to the same thing as before. This is a chance for a resurrection of Earth (yes, I’m thinking resurrection as Easter is this Sunday).

So you know, the farmer is thinking forward, too. His next move forward is with sustainable packaging materials.

If you order via mail shipping, you may have received a box with recycled and biodegradable denim insulation recently. The farmer is planning to switch to that 100% in the next few months. He also has plans to switch to many other eco friendly packing materials, but it will take some research and time. If you have any recommendations, please send them our way!

Happy Easter! Happy Earth Day! And, please do enjoy the food.

Ugh greenwashed labels. What does it take to get ___ on a label anyway?

Not a fan of the confusing, greenwashed labels in store? Yea, me too! And it's especially real for me, because I'm responsible for getting our labels approved with the "powers that be". Here's a little story with a big inside scoop... I made new labels for our bone broth a little while ago. It didn't go as smoothly as planned. Why? I put the little icons about our farming practices on them. They look like this: Yup, despite being 100% accurate and true, they were denied!! We're not allowed to put those statements on our food labels. So, I asked the USDA guy, "What would it take to get those claims on the labels, anyway?" The answer was kinda shocking. First off, there's some guidance on wording. Silly technicalities in my opinion. For example, you can't use the term "No Spray" but you can say "Produced without the use of synthetic pesticides." Or another example is that you can't say "No Routine Antibiotics or Vaccines" but you can say "Raised without routine use of antibiotics or vaccines." Second, the processor needs to update their documents to provide traceability. In other words, they need to document how they make sure the bones for our bone broth don't get mixed up with bones from other farms. I mean, this is pretty simple, especially with small batch foods like ours. But the documentation needs to be meticulous. Drafting it in government-approved language can be time consuming and/or costly. And lastly, once you get the wording and process right, you need proof. This was the real shocker for me: Want to know what proof would suffice for all the claims above? A 2-3 sentence affidavit (AKA a super short letter) signed by all farmers that supply us. That's it!? This lead me to a bunch of questions: What if a company submits a letter from one farmer but actually has other farmers that supply them, too? What if a company changes farmers? Will they submit new letters?What if a company's farmers change their practices in the future? Will they immediately update their labels?Are the "powers that be" checking on this? Is anyone checking on this?Is this why most farms and food facilities don't allow outside people coming in? It seems to me that, if a business isn't doing what the label says, the only way to find out is via a whistleblower. And the only way to make them stop is to take them to court. You know, like what's happening with Vital Farms and their pasture raised egg claim right now. It seems to me that, all that good natural stuff on labels - grass fed, pasture raised, antibiotic free, etc - doesn't mean it's true. Certifications are a little better, but the same kinda thing can be said about those, too. This is why, at Miller's, we choose to NOT sell in stores. No wholesale for us. In fact, we don't even have an on farm store. We only sell directly to our customers via our website. And, we choose to only get certified for what's required. This way, we can make our own natural standards. And, we can provide you will all the info and proof you need. Descriptions, photos, blog posts, test results, and more. So, what do you think? Should we do the affidavit thing to get claims on our bone broth labels? What proof do you need to feel confident in your food choices? I'd love to hear from you. Comment below (no account required - just start typing) or contact us 😊

Should I choose animal rennet or vegetable rennet in my natural cheese?

Let’s take a look at what rennet is and why it’s used in cheesemaking, compare the different types of animal and vegetable rennets, check out the labeling requirements for rennet, and consider the potential health consequences. Keeping all this in mind, Miller’s Bio Farm aims to produce the most nutrient-dense, natural, A2/A2 cheese we can and gives you all the info you need to make the choice that’s best for your body!

Is yolk color is no longer a great indicator of the egg's nutrition?

It used to be true that, if your egg yolks were darker in color, then the better the egg's nutrition. Conscious consumers of the past would look for that deep orange yolk and stray away from lighter yellow yolks. It's sad, but this simply isn't the case anymore. Here's why you can't trust cheap store-bought eggs with orange yolks and need to know your farmer instead.

Seeing the positives of the pandemic(s)

More from the blog

Ugh greenwashed labels. What does it take to get ___ on a label anyway?

Should I choose animal rennet or vegetable rennet in my natural cheese?

Is yolk color is no longer a great indicator of the egg's nutrition?

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