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From the Executive Director – Fall 2021
Dear Members and Friends,
Harvest Moon is the full moon that occurs closest to the autumnal equinox; this year it fell on September 20, and it was majestic! While all the cycles of the cosmos affect us, few full moons connect with our ancestral heritage as much as the Harvest Moon does.
When I think about the travel experiences of Weston A. Price, DDS, and his wife, Florence, I imagine them encountering Native peoples during times of harvest, when community celebration was widespread and connection with the environment was deep-rooted. In our modern-day experience, what Dr. Price called the “civilized” world, our connection to nature and our understanding of how and where our food is raised and grown are nearly absent. If we are to appreciate the fruits of our harvest, autumn, as the great poet William Blake observed, is an important time to reflect and learn: “In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy.”
Amid the challenges of big agriculture overwhelming our environment with monocrops and toxic pesticides, and our growing climate crisis, the “Nature as a Model” excerpt from Meditations with Cows in this issue provides an intimate look at the regenerative and carbon-sequestering potential of pastured animals. Other stories about reconnecting with nature recently profiled in our new News for Now blog (available in social media, at our website, and via email) included a report in Modern Farmer on the doubling of the USDA Grassland Conservation Reserve Program and Forbes appraisal of Paul Hawken’s four challenges to achieve widespread adoption of regenerative practices from his informative book, Regeneration: Ending the Climate Crisis in One Generation.
We’ve also featured an initiative in News for Now, reported by YaleEnvironment360, that advances regeneration by returning land stewardship to Native peoples. The resumption of ancestral practices is being promulgated in the United States by federal and state governments and various land trusts. Similar land and animal management transfers are taking place globally.
These and other developments can have a direct impact on the quality of our food supply and are hopeful signs for a more connected future. I was reminded of the chasm that distances us from our food sources today by Gerald Clarke, a journal contributor and Cahuilla Indian. He told me that his tribal community, who have inhabited the Coachella Valley for nearly 7,000 years, doesn’t have a word for “nature.” Instead, they are a part of nature and therefore interconnected with the land and animals that sustain them.
At Price-Pottenger, we continue to equip you with tools for informed action and to provide trustworthy guidance to improve your health and well-being. Our curated online news initiative, News for Now, is a valuable new resource available 24/7 that provides access to timely information on human and planet health. Access News for Now at price-pottenger.org/news.
As we enjoy this traditional season of community, I am hopeful that we will learn to embrace our interconnectedness with nature, and I am grateful for the gifts of harvest and for our shared pursuit of healing. Your support empowers our work, and especially during this time, we thank you!
Wishing you health and joy,
Steven Schindler
Executive Director
Published in the the Price-Pottenger Journal of Health & Healing
Fall 2021 | Volume 45, Number 3
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