Many of you reading this are aware that some plants contain toxins as well as physical defenses that can injure. Some good examples are rhubarb leaves and wild mushrooms, both of which can make you very ill and possibly kill you. We all should know not to pick mushrooms without either having an expert forager with us or at the very least a field guide that shows which to avoid so you don’t die from poison.

Additionally think about very common physical defenses such as thorns on roses, blackberry and raspberry bushes, stinging nettles, cactus, poison ivy, oak, sumac, etc. There is much available evidence to demonstrate that plants do aggressively defend themselves with an arsenal of tools, none of which we enjoy.

Even though this is common knowledge most don’t equate plants having thorns or toxins as a way of defending themselves. Rhinos don’t have giant tusks just for show, those are weapons just like antlers, canine teeth, bear claws, etc. But plants don’t growl or run after you, they stay in place and hope their defenses keep them alive. Pretty amazing intelligent creations if you think about it.

Inside plants are also some pretty tough defenses, in the form of chemicals, enzymes, and other toxins. A few that you may have heard of are lectins, found in many beans, and oxalates, found in many plants, fruits, seeds, roots, etc. Of course, the “health experts” scream from the rooftops about NOT eating meat but instead healthy plants like kale, spinach, almonds, peanuts, and whole grains yet they do not mention the defense chemicals in these “foods”.

A great recent example of plant defenses happened the other day. I bought home a beautiful fresh pineapple, I cut it open and my daughter Ava gobbled up half a pineapple along with grapes and mangoes. Later she started getting rashes and hives all over her body, she thought it was a new deodorant she tried. My other daughter ate three or four pieces of pineapple then some nachos and blamed the nachos for her piercing stomach ache which had her in the fetal position for a few hours. The next day she also bought some fresh cut pineapple and ate it with a snack, within an hour she came home from work and laid on the bed miserable until I gave her club soda which seemed to help.

The next day Ava’s feet, and lips were STILL very swollen, she had to take allergy meds and Advil to curb the swelling and pain. So you see these innocent-looking plants can really mess with us humans.

In my quest for health, I have tried just about every fad diet there is in an effort to eliminate psoriatic arthritis that can damage joints and make a mess of your skin. Veganism destroyed my health (and my wife’s) in 5 mos, and we were forced to abandon the diet to heal. Paleo dieting which is rife with kale and nuts did not help me much either, yes it was better than vegan but still, I suffered from skin and joint pain.

For the last few years, I have read much about the carnivore diet which promotes eating grass-fed meats, organs, eggs, dairy and limited fruits, and very limited plants. While I love meat, the one thing I did not miss at all on a vegan diet was meat, the cheese is what got me most upset. I have been tinkering with a carnivore light diet and have started to research how plants defend themselves and if these defenses can affect me, and low and behold they do!

When I eat high oxalate foods my joints swell and my skin immediately shows signs of problems. It usually is nuts like almonds, peanut butter, and plants like broccoli that affect me. All of those are high oxalate. Oxalates bind with calcium and not only cause gut health issues they rob vital minerals too, making your electrolyte balance go whacky.

My father-in-law eats a few things in his daily regimen; black tea (he’s English), chips, peanuts, chocolate, potatoes, bread, all high oxalate foods, he shows many of the symptoms of oxalate poisoning; skin that bleeds easy, stomach issues like bloating, cramping, diarrhea, joint pain, mental fog, plus a history of kidney stones and gout. Of course, he just gobbles Advil and keeps going but will not change his ways, stubborn man he is! His doctors have never mentioned oxalates or any plant defense chemicals, yet they wear white lab coats :)

The list of high oxalate plant foods is long but the good news is many plant foods have tolerable amounts of oxalates. Both lists are below but first, let’s discuss what oxalates are.

There is much debate about whether cooking reduces oxalates in food, some say yes, some say no.

Here are some high oxalate foods:

beans, grains, bran, sesame and other seeds, peanuts, almonds, and other nuts, swiss chard, spinach, beets, potatoes, chocolate, rhubarb, figs, kiwi, blackberries, black pepper, cumin, turmeric.

Here are low oxalate foods:

meats, dairy, eggs, fats and oils, and other non-plant foods arugula, avocado, Bok Choy, cabbage, cauliflower, cilantro, cucumber, garlic, kohlrabi, lettuce, mustard greens, mushrooms, green peas, watercress

A few words from the website of the foremost oxalate expert Sally K Norton who is. avast resource on oxalates and has a degree from Cornell University in nutrition.

A Small Bite of Oxalate Chemistry

When oxalic acid, which is water-soluble,  combines with mineral ions it yields various oxalate “salts.” These mineral salts form minute crystals. Some types of oxalates remain soluble, such as sodium oxalate, and some form insoluble solids, such as calcium oxalate. The mineral calcium has a strong affinity for oxalate and thus can draw the oxalic acid away from the sodium ion and form calcium oxalate. (Thus, a soluble form of oxalate becomes insoluble.) Calcium oxalate is the predominant form of oxalate found in soils, plants, and in the human body.

Crystals of calcium oxalate start out as particles and nano-crystals that have a tendency to grow bigger. Plants take advantage of this and create a number of fascinating crystal shapes in specialized cells. Oxalate crystals can also amalgamate into “stones.”

A Bite of Health Science

Tiny oxalate crystals attach to healthy cells and to damaged cells or cellular debris. When the cells can’t contain, dissolve, and discard the attached crystal, it will attract other available oxalate particles and grow. This type of pathological crystal formation in the body may be fairly common in arteries, the thyroid gland, and elsewhere. This famously happens in the kidneys when oxalate crystals amass into kidney stones. Oxalate ends up in our urine because our bodies can’t alter it and must excrete it. Otherwise, it can do serious harm inside your body.

In humans and animals, kidney stones typically consist of calcium oxalate. When kidney stones block the flow of urine, they become very painful and dangerous. Kidney stones are a challenging medical problem.

I realize this is a lot to digest (no pun intended) but for me, it simplifies life because focusing on a few food groups and eliminating many vegetable nuts, and fruits is easier to manage and also informs my future plans for a homestead and what I want to grow and raise.

Show notes https://keithsnow.com

Visit Food Storage Feast-use: save25 to save $25

Lactobacillus Reuteri (L-Reuteri) is a lactic acid strain of bacteria in the Lactobacillaceae family of bacteria. It used to be common in humans and most animals but a steady diet of toxins and pharmaceuticals like Advil, glyphosate, pharma drugs of all kinds plus food additives like polysorbate 80 that is found in many processed foods including ice cream and can slowly kill off L-Reuteri and other beneficial gut bacteria that can allow can overgrowth of bad gut bacteria leading to a common condition called SIBO.

Polysorbate 80 is a common food additive that acts as an emulsifier, a solubilizer, and a surfactant. It's generally—but not universally—considered to be a safe substance, although it may cause problems in special cases. One of these cases is in people with Crohn's disease. In this disease, the lining of the gastrointestinal tract is inflamed. Polysorbate 80 may worsen the inflammation.

Research performed at Georgia State University has raised the idea that polysorbate 80 is not as harmless as is generally believed. The research suggests that the chemical changes the composition of the bacterial population in the intestine, promoting the growth of pro-inflammatory bacteria. These bacteria may cause mild gut inflammation even in people who don't have Crohn's disease. The inflammation may then increase the risk of a person developing metabolic syndrome. This syndrome involves a number of unhealthy conditions, including obesity and insulin resistance. Insulin resistance increases the blood sugar level and is often a precursor to type 2 diabetes.

Source-https://youmemindbody.com/digestion/Polysorbate-80-Food-Additive-Inflammation-and-Health-Problems

L-Reuteri has immense benefits, a few include:

• L. Reuteri Improves Sex Drive

• L. Reuteri Stops Balding And Improves Hair Quality

• L. Reuteri Promotes Thyroid Health

• L. Reuteri can make weight loss effortless

• L. Reuteri Promotes A Cavity-Free Mouth

• L. Reuteri boosts dermal collagen, reducing wrinkle depth

• L. Reuteri can fight h-pylori infection in the stomach

L-Reuteri was first isolated in 1962 and has been widely studied since. I could go on about the benefits of this magical microbe but suffice to say it’s darn good for you. In people that suffer from SIBO, L-Reuteri has antibiotic properties that can help reset proper gut bacteria balance.

Several beneficial effects of L. reuteri have been noted. First, L. reuteri can produce antimicrobial molecules, such as organic acids, ethanol, and reuterin. Due to its antimicrobial activity, L. reuteri is able to inhibit the colonization of pathogenic microbes and remodel the commensal microbiota composition in the host. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5917019/

L-Reuteri can help fight off many types of inflammation which are in many cases caused by the gut bacteria being out of balance, IE having SIBO.

SIBO stands for small intestine bacterial overgrowth. This is a very common condition that is responsible for many of the ailments we suffer with, everything from inflammatory diseases such as Crohns, to arthritis, to food intolerances.

SIBO is a common condition, affecting millions of people around the world, but is still a relatively unknown condition and often goes undiagnosed for years, if not decades. Studies have shown it is the most common cause of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). A study published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology in 2003 showed that 84% of IBS patients had SIBO. Leading SIBO researcher and gastroenterologist, Dr Mark Pimentel from Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles says ‘most of IBS is actually SIBO’.

SIBO is bad stuff! I was diagnosed with SIBO in 2021, January after I took a SICO breath test. I was put on Lauricidin a coconut-derived product that can help kill off bad bacteria. Now I am treating myself with Candibatin BR from Metagenics. I have seen benefits in less than 10 days already.

Making The yogurt is easy, just mix organic (UHT) high temp pasteurized 1/2-1/2, with 2 tbs potato starch per quart and 20 crushed probiotic pills. Then place it into your Instantpot on the yogurt setting for 36 hours.

Resources For This Episode:

Bio Gai Lactobassilus Reuteri

https://gundrymd.com/lactobacillus-reuteri-health-benefits/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5917019/

https://www.amazon.com/Super-Gut-Four-Week-Reprogram-Microbiome-ebook/dp/B096RTDMXV

https://thehealthygut.com/start-here-small-intestine-bacterial-overgrowth/

Visit Keith Snow.com for the show notes and recipe.

In today’s episode, I share another recipe for bread that is very soft, slightly luscious, and amazing. This is a simple bread that I originally made using boiled potatoes but found that to take a long time and be a pain in the rump.

Using potato flakes is much easier and the results are the same.

This bread also freezes very well, so I made two loaves and froze one of them. I also used the bread both toasted and not toasted to make sandwiches, they are delicious. This makes perfect egg salad sandwiches and also a great Italian w ham, salami, mortadella, provolone, shredduce, and roasted peppers.

I hope you give this a try. Be sure to tag @harvesteating on Instagram with the photo of your bread.

Show notes here-www.keithsnow.com/episodes/gluten-free-banana-pancakes

I’ve eaten a bunch of gluten-free pancakes, many that I created, some store-bought. When you decide to avoid or eliminate gluten you likely will long for the foods you once ate, including pancakes, bread, pasta, etc.

Pancakes though have a special meaning for me, because I often make them for my children on the weekends, those big breakfasts and times spent together are memories I cherish.

Lately, I watch my kids eat those gluten-filled pancakes with a jealous eye and often much frustration. I often think of making them better and imagine me actually enjoying them….without gluten. But until recently, those attempts were never truly satisfying.

The trouble with most store-bought recipes is many have too much coconut flour and taste more like the tropics instead of the mountains of Vermont….where pancakes and syrup are very popular I imagine.

So I went back to the drawing board and created a gluten-free mix that is pretty darn enjoyable. You would NEVER miss the gluten or even ask if they were gluten-free because there is no chalky aftertaste or crumbly texture all-too-common with store-bought gluten-free pancake mixes.

Many today are aimed at Keto eaters and these are particularly “coconutty” and usually fall apart too easily, plus the overwhelming taste of fake sweeteners is not to my liking.

I will be testing this recipe without the banana mashed up in the batter and will evaluate the taste and texture minus the banana, because believe it or not, some people don’t like bananas, my son included.

Here is my recipe, you’ll see that the ingredients are easy to find and it could not be simpler to execute.

Show notes at https://keithsnow.com

As I write this there are many signs that America and the constitution that is supposed to protect our freedoms are in serious jeopardy. No matter what institution you observe you’ll find behavior and policies that until a few years ago, did not seem feasible. In this episode, I intend to point out which of these institutions are crumbling and discuss how it affects us as citizens.

I really feel for our veterans, who signed up to defend this country, and in many cases, are the most patriotic citizens we have. They must really be sad seeing what has happened to this country. I am patriotic too, but over the last few years, I have experienced a great awakening in my mind and have witnessed many others experience the same thing.

Let me outline just a few of the reasons I am coming to this conclusion and why I think we need to talk about it if we are possibly going to survive what is coming.

Corrupt Federal Reserve-Painted Itself Into A Corner

The Federal Reserve is corrupt and out of tools to help this economy. Did you know that a few months back Jerome Powell, the Chairman of the Fed had been exposed for making illegal and unethical securities trades.

After revelations of several scandals involving potential insider trading within the Federal Reserve have emerged over the past weeks, the agency has banned its officials from trading individual stocks as it scrambles to mitigate a legitimacy crisis and distrust of the public.

The central banksters who supposedly manage our economy are caught making illegal “insider trades” right before policy announcements or decisions that would affect these trades.

Last week, The American Prospect revealed that Fed Chair Jerome Powell sold between $1 million and $5 million from an index fund — a mutual fund that mirrors the performance of the market — just before a large market crash in October of last year.

Jerome Powell was not the only one, several other Fed officials were involved as well, making this a pretty big scandal. These people understand full well how their decisions affect markets and securities, so they should never be allowed to trade.

The Fed has also been embroiled in several other scandals. Last month, two regional Fed presidents were found to have traded significant amounts of stocks in 2020 as the markets were roiled by the pandemic. Dallas Fed President Robert S. Kaplan had made nearly two dozen stock trades worth $1 million or more. Boston Fed President Eric S. Rosengren bought and sold real-estate-related securities, which are related to Fed policy. Both officials have since resigned.

Then, earlier this month, reports showed that the Fed’s vice chair, Richard Clarida, had moved between $1 million and $5 million in stocks in February of 2020, the day before Powell announced potential policy overhauls for the pandemic. Clarida is still in his position.

Most Americans are not familiar with the “repo markets” and what happened in the fall of 2019 which was a liquidity crisis or as I call it, a banking collapse. No liquidity equals no money equals collapse. I have asked many high net worth individuals about the repo crisis and they have zero clue of what I am speaking about. How did we get here? The Fed promised to “normalize” rates and liquidate the assets it’s been purchasing regularly since the 2008 fiasco. They finally started to taper and raise rates in December 2018 if my memory serves, then going into 2019 they raised .25 basis points for three quarters.

Then in September 2019, the bottom fell out of the repo market which is to say the interbank overnight lending rates at the NY Fed discount window which usually sees rates under 2% for short-term inter-bank loans went ballistic.

Banks were wanting over 10% on these short span loans which can be hours or a day or two usually. So the banks did not trust other banks to be able to repay because there was no liquidity in the system.

At that point, the Fed stepped in and injected huge sums of cash to avert this credit crunch that would have caused massive damage to the public’s trust in our banks. They pumped cash from 17, September 2019 until July 2020

In the last quarter of 2019 – before there was any news of COVID-19 in the U.S., and months before the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic – the Fed pumped $4.5 trillion in cumulative repo loans to unnamed trading houses on Wall Street – its so-called “primary dealers.”

The collateral that the Fed accepted for the cumulative $4.5 trillion in loans consisted of $3.497 trillion in U.S. Treasury securities; $988.3 billion in agency Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS); and $15.839 billion in agency debt.

The Fed’s emergency repo loan operations began on September 17, 2019. From September 17, 2019, through the last acknowledged operation on July 2, 2020, the Fed’s repo loans cumulatively totaled $11.23 trillion, made up of the following pledged collateral: $7.137 trillion in U.S. Treasury securities; $4 trillion in agency Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS) and $91.525 billion in agency debt.

And yet, the Fed only funneled a total of $3.144 trillion in repo loans to its primary dealers from January 2 through December 30, 2008. So this 11.23 trillion pumped into our banking system in 6 months should be eye-opening to anyone reading this and also why we needed a plandemic or war with Russia to divert attention from this collapse.

Stolen Election

Some of you might not agree the election was stolen but I’ve seen and read enough indisputable evidence to know the real coup was not 1/6 rather 11/3/2020 when the fake president and his minions stole the election. I could go on forever here but just consider just this, Mark Zuckerberg funneled over $400,000,000 through front groups to pay for and place illegal drop boxes in swing state blue cities. They also paid the ballot harvesters for each ballot they stuffed into these boxes, video evidence documents this without dispute.

These drop boxes collected hundreds of thousands of ballots with zero chain of custody. These illegal votes were counted in the 2020 election, that is blatant fraud. Secretary's of state in these swing states arbitrarily changed election laws without going through the legislature which is illegal enabling them to count votes days after the election was over, to change information on ballots which is illegal, and to accept ballots without chain of custody which is illegal. In Wisconsin many locales, again in blue cities, recorded 100% turn out which is mathematically impossible. Nursing homes abused elderly residents by making them sign votes or forged their votes even if they were deemed not fit to vote due to dementia, etc.

So, the election was stolen and the administration you are being governed by is illegal, illegitimate, pretty much like a 3rd-world, banana republic.

Government Agencies And Corrupt Bureaucrats

Agencies like FDA, CDC, DOJ, FBI, etc. have all committed egregious crimes since the puppet was installed. the FDA knowingly approved a deadly injection, purposely hid evidence, and tried to release clinical studies rife with fraud and deadly results in 70 years as opposed to now. They went to court to fight the release of these drug trial data, does that not tell you what’s going on? That data is now coming out and it’s mind-blowing how dishonest, criminal and demonic these people are for allowing these shots to be forced upon our citizens, military and even children.

The CDC has hidden evidence through this pandemic and recently the head of the agency said “we relied on too little caution and too much optimism”. CDC has changed the definition of a vaccine, CDC changed the tables that inform parents how toddlers should be progressing with language skills due to the absolute flood of kids needing speech therapy because masking those around them causes developmental delays.

DOJ and its petty little dictator Merrick Garland, who was almost on the supreme court, is using his agency to threaten and scare concerned parents who show up at school board meetings. His daughter is married to a prominent company owner that provides “educational materials” filled with critical race theory to schools. Might this be a conflict of interest? He’s labeled these parents domestic terrorists and then lied under oath when asked about it.

FBI was involved with January 6th and they had many agents in the crowd urging people to rush the capital, that is incitement of violence, but they get away with it yet citizens who have been charged with trespassing are still locked up with no attorneys, no bail, nothing.

Our government is filled with corrupt liars that have gotten us into wars, overthrown democratically elected governments, fomented color revolutions, etc. Watch this demon Victoria Nuland.

Supreme Court

Recently these pack of activist judges decided that the injection mandate was unconstitutional for workers of companies larger than 100 employees but decided that health care workers have to remain masked. The same workers who worked through this scam with no masks but all of a sudden Biden labeled them and forced them to be masked, and the court went along with it. During oral arguments, they even talked about the number of cases as a reason to make their judgment. Sotomayer who Obama appointed was using CNN’s case stats as her argument for keeping this mandate, never mind the constitution which is why these jackasses are even there. So, the court is corrupt, and cannot be trusted to make decisions based on the constitution.

Congress

Let's just say we need term limits, most of them are corrupt pieces of garbage and if I discuss these slime bags I will get sick to my stomach, just mentioning the word Congress gives me anxiety.

Media/Social Media

It just came out the Biden regime paid over $1 billion to media and social media outlets to promote the deadly jab and to silence critics. They censor you off social media platforms, payment platforms, fundraising platforms, etc. if you go against their fake news and medical tyranny.

I’m sure there is more….but suffice to say I envision a world where we all live out in the country, on vast properties, growing our own real food, canning tomatoes, and beans and milking cows and making butter, and loving our families in a healthy, old-schooled way, putting God first then family than neighbors.

Resources for this episode:

https://2000mules.com/

https://www.wealthmanagement.com/alternative-investments/real-reason-why-fed-can-t-and-won-t-raise-rates

https://vaccineimpact.com/2022/censored-4-5-trillion-bank-bailout-4th-quarter-2019-months-before-covid-exceeded-2008-bailouts/

https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/failure-mmt-now-evident

I tried to write a witty and humorous title but this situation is anything but, it’s a very serious issue that is life and death for the people involved, both in Ukraine and in Russia.

It’s also difficult to understand what's really going on, especially with the complicated history of these two countries and that every media outlet, the talking heads at the Whitehouse and all the rhino republicans and crazy liberals that are waving their American flags and chanting Orange man bad, Putin bad, start a war…oh, and get vaxxed, wear a mask and trust the science-its all bs.

What I want to illustrate is that taking George Constanza’s strategy here might be the best approach. You see the beloved character in Seinfeld George Constanza, had always failed in most aspects of life; with women, employment, his parents, and just about everything else. He then decided to do the opposite of the usual and things start turning around for him. Listen to this short video titled The Opposite to get a feel for my analogy.

So in trying to understand this Russia Vs. Ukraine situation, it might make sense to just think the opposite of what you’re always being told, especially when it's the same people we know are full of garbage.

I wanted to list a few of those here:

• Joe Biden

• Kamlala harris

• Hillary Clinton

• Cnn, Fox news, Msnbc

• Lindsay Grahm

• Sean Hannity

• Morning Joe & Miki

• Emanuel Macron

• Justin Trudeau

• Angela Merkel and Olaf the new guy

• The clowns at the UN

So all the same people who were in favor of lockdowns, injections, mandates, and other social activist ideas like transgenderism, open borders, inclusivity, letting unvetted refugees flood into countries…oh let’s not forget about weapons of mass destruction and the Arab spring….!

Just look at Germany, Sweden, France…they can’t allow their daughters to walk to school in a skirt because it invites rape by military-aged Muslim men….” just wear pants, we don’t want to offend or arouse anyone”

I won’t go too deep into Biden’s family corruption with Ukrain but I want you to hear this video…it takes place at the Council on Foreign Relations, a globalist think tank. Blowhard Joe is bragging to other guys about how he used 1 billion dollar aid package as a carrot to get the prosecutor in Ukraine who was investigating corruption of Burisma, an oil & gas company where Joe’s crack addict son Hunter Biden had a position on the board of directors for $50k per month, he knows nothing about oil and gas but was the vice president’s son at that time, now he’s the president’s son. the fact that Joe admits this on video and has not been charged with a crime tells you something about the state of affairs in our country….listen to this short video.

So while Putin is ex KGB, worth over 40 billion, a strong man & dictator who wants to run the world I don’t think you can listen to the folks I named here as reliable sources of info.

I know people who live in St. Petersburg Russia, Canadian citizens that have operated large businesses there and think Putin is a much better president than who we have. Putin was never going to stand by letting the comedian president who constantly berates Russia in favor of “western policies” and wants to join NATO, have all those countries aligned against him and right on his border, no functional president acting in his, or his people's own self-interest would allow that.

Putin does things for his own country’s interests….like investing in 2,300 tons of gold, securing vast oil and gas reserves, building pipelines, and his military…without woke policies…all while protecting his borders. I don’t want war…I want peace and stability…but our meddling across the world has not brought peace, in fact just the opposite.

I know this is a controversial topic because Fox news and Hillary Clinton say he is a bad guy that is responsible for every problem the world has…just consider the source and maybe think the opposite to find the real truth or a balance of truth. Maybe Constanza was right, I think so. There is always more to the story.

I invite your comments here and appreciate your thoughts too!

Resources for This Episode:

https://nypost.com/2022/02/24/who-is-ukraines-president-volodymyr-zelensky/

https://borgenproject.org/10-facts-about-corruption-in-ukraine/

Show note at keith snow.com

Unless you’re living under a rock you've been exposed to the non-stop drumbeat of the fake meat town criers. Fake meat is being touted in every single media outlet on earth; social media, online newspapers, magazines, podcasts like this one, websites, trade shows-heck I’m sure they are flying banners on the fourth of July somewhere pimping Impossible burgers, probably around LA or Long Island!

Industry sales of fake meats have zoomed past 1 billion in 2020 and they are growing fast. They are expected to reach over $10 billion in annual sales in the not-to-distant future. Who is buying this stuff? It’s not all vegans, I’m sure some unsuspecting meat eaters have picked up some of the “trust-the-science” burgers in the meat section of the supermarket.

In my opinion, the taste is rather insipid and I remember spitting out a sample of one while doing a tasting in a restaurant I was running recently. Yuk, they tasted disgusting. These fake meat pimps have sausage, chicken nuggets, chicken patty, burgers, “soysage” crumble, fake shrimp, tuna, etc. Popular brands include:

• Beyond Meat

• Beyond Meat & Sausage

• Impossible Burger

• Tofurky

• Field Roast

• Quorn-nuggets

• Gardein fishless filet

• and on and on……

Investors in the space include Bill Gates-backed Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Temasek, Horizons Ventures, CPP Investment Board, Louis Dreyfus Co., Bunge Ventures, Kellogg, ADM Capital, Danone, Kraft Heinz, Mars, Tyson, SOSV, Viking Global, Thiel Capital, Generation Investment Management, Mayfield Fund, and Techstars.

One of the major sectors of the growing fake meat gold rush are companies specializing in fermentation. Fermentation companies focused on alternative proteins have raised more than $837 million in venture capital funding, starting with the first GFI-tracked investment in 2013. Eighty-five percent of this funding was raised in 2019 and in the first seven months of 2020 alone. The $274 million raised in 2019 is nearly five times the capital raised in 2018. Source-Good Food Institute

These fake meat Barrons want to eliminate animal agriculture in all its forms from industrial feedlots (good riddance!) to backyard chickens to hogs and even all types of fishing. The global elite is not satisfied to reach a few billion in sales and buy a yacht and retire on a private island, no, they want to decimate all forms of protein that interfere with their fake meat revolution. In short, they cannot be trusted. Remember, competition is a sin!

These “marketers” use all kinds of “data” to promote their healthy alternatives to meat, they are rife with statistics about how amazing these products are for the environment, how much they taste like real meat and other unsubstantiated claims that sound really nice.

In my opinion, any product that has so much “science” and so many ultra-processed ingredients cannot be called food. The following quote came from the founder of Whole Foods Market-John Mackey, “If you look at the ingredients, they are super highly processed foods,” Mackey told CNBC, “I don’t think eating highly processed foods is healthy. I think people thrive on eating whole foods.”

The debate over the health of fake meats is raging and anyone who speaks out is quickly demonized by the creators of such food. Just shut up and do not learn how this stuff is produced. The components to make fake meat; soy, corn, peas, etc. are planted into degraded soils that are heavily sprayed with herbicides like glyphosate and others so this crap is NOT good for humans.

Studies show 0.1 ppb (parts per billion) of glyphosate can kill precious gut bacteria in humans leading to all sorts of auto-immune diseases and conditions such as SIBO (small intestinal bacteria overgrowth) and SIFO (small intestinal fungal overgrowth) which are present in the vast majority of us Americans, hmmm I wonder why?

“that the Impossible Burger tested positive for glyphosate. The levels of glyphosate detected in the Impossible Burger by Health Research Institute Laboratories were 11 X higher than the Beyond Meat Burger. The total result (glyphosate and it’s break down AMPA) was 11.3 ppb. Moms Across America also tested the Beyond Meat Burger and the results were 1 ppb.

“We are shocked to find that the Impossible Burger can have up to 11X higher levels of glyphosate residues than the Beyond Meat Burger according to these samples tested. This new product is being marketed as a solution for “healthy” eating, when in fact 11 ppb of glyphosate herbicide consumption can be highly dangerous. Only 0.1 ppb of glyphosate has been shown to destroy gut bacteria, which is where the stronghold of the immune system lies. I am gravely concerned that consumers are being misled to believe the Impossible Burger is healthy.” credit-Indian Health Journal

The Problem with Monocropping

The legumes and grains that make up both conventional livestock feed and most meat alternatives are farmed in industrial monocultures, large areas of just one species that are simple to maintain and harvest. While monocultures take less labor than biodiverse farms, they are environmentally intensive to maintain, with a heavy reliance on chemical fertilizers and pesticides. 

In recent decades, food scientists have developed more sophisticated, lab-based ways of changing the textures and flavors of foods. Unlike earlier plant-based foods, the latest generation of meat alternatives are ultra-processed, meaning that they are made almost entirely from isolated ingredients like protein concentrates, purified oils and extracted flavorings containing no whole-food ingredients. When these ingredients are put through high-tech, proprietary processing, food companies can produce imitations that come much closer to the tastes and textures of animal meat. foodprint.org

Of course, they never mention that these “foods” are made with mono-cropped industrial agriculture products like soy, corn, peas, etc. Comparing a chemical agriculture system to a CAFO’s (confined animal farm operations) may sound positive but it’s really not much better. If you have traveled along I-80 through Nebraska you will pass a few enormous CAFO’s where cows are trapped in dirt lots that are destined for burgers. These feedlots are abysmal and the smell is nothing short of disgusting. Animals wade through rivers of manure and are crammed together in highly stressful situations that lead to sickness. Neve fear, the antibiotics are just fed to them daily to keep them from getting too sick before slaughter.

So why do vegans not want to eat meat?

There are many reasons people turn to plant-based foods and stop eating meat. Some do it for ethical reasons that are motivated by animal abuse, the widespread use of antibiotic-laced feeds, frightening slaughterhouse practices, removing calves from their mothers within days of birth, and so on.

Environmental reasons also top the list of why people stop eating meat. I believe the answer to this is Regenerative Agriculture as I opined in another episode. Animal agriculture is a destructive practice for the environment in all its forms. Confinement operations cause air pollution, water pollution, and require so much acreage to grow food that is turned into silage.

Many doctors believe eating animal protein causes sickness and disease and therefore they advocate for plant-based options. This is very controversial and I do not believe this for one minute, especially as more and more research come to light showing that strictly plant-based diets are not for everyone.

Why do people turn to over-processed fake meat? What is a better solution?

When people go plant-based they usually try to replace foods they once loved like burgers, cheese, milk, etc. This often leads to people becoming junk-food vegans. Stores are filled with alternatives to meat, dairy, fish, etc. Most are not healthy. Instead, the approach I recommend is to fashion a diet from whole foods like potatoes, vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds, fruit which is much healthier than junk food vegan products.

However, I still firmly believe that most people will do better without excessive grains or sugar-laden vegetables or fruits. I could (likely will) do a whole sho just on this topic.

Resources For This Episode:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/chipotle-is-ignoring-beyond-and-impossible-s-fake-meat-in-favor-of-creating-its-own-and-experts-say-it-s-a-brilliant-move/ar-AASvqP5

https://foodprint.org/reports/the-foodprint-of-fake-meat/#section_4

https://navdanyainternational.org/fake-food-fake-meat-big-foods-desperate-attempt-to-further-the-industrialisation-of-food/

https://gfi.org/press/1-5-billion-invested-in-alternative-proteins-in-2020-including-a-record-435-million-in-the-next-pillar-fermentation/

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Show notes at Keith Snow.com

Recently I have been avoiding gluten-containing foods as it causes me difficulties such as skin lesions and even stiff joints. I have purchased some gluten-free cookies over the holidays to accommodate my English father-in-law who has cookies (biscuits) with his daily morning tea. He too is avoiding gluten so we both tried these cookies and found them edible but not really enjoyable.

So my quest to make some gluten-free cookies that are chewy, tasty and satisfying began. After a few rounds of making cookies using different ingredients, I settle on using almonds. Almonds can be purchased ground or even ground using a food processor, but it can be tricky as they go from almond flour to almond butter quickly so, in my opinion, it’s easier to buy already ground.

I've found Costco to be the most reasonably priced option for buying almond flour, 3 pounds is under $11. I paid $12 for 1 pound at a grocery store, and that store was the most reasonably priced store in town.

The resulting cookies are made with few ingredients and are extremely easy to put together. I use only 7 simple ingredients, almond flour, sugar, almond extract, vanilla extract, lemon zest, and powdered sugar.

They can be in the oven in less than 15 minutes and you don’t need a stand mixer, just a bowl, rubber spatula, Microplane, sheet tray, and parchment paper. Give them a try, I think you'll love them.

Recipe at Keith Snow.com

Show notes at Keith Snow.com

Nothing runs Like A Deere…….Having been a John Deere tractor owner I understand that these machines can be immensely useful for all types of farmers; from small hobby farmers like I was, to large-scale growers who manage 10’s of thousands of acres of beans or corn or wheat, etc.

Sadly as John Deere has grown, they have incorporated many new technologies that are not favorable to farmers such as the excessive use of sensors and software. Basically modern Deere tractors are nothing more than rolling data collectors that incorporate more technology than you could possibly imagine.

All this technology renders these units almost unrepairable unless John Deere is part of the equation because as we know, technology can break often! Currently, John Deere employs more software engineers than mechanical engineers which says a lot. Gone are the days when farmers fix their own equipment as they have done forever. 

Just like the practice of farmers saving seeds which has been erased by greedy and corrupt seed company agreements, repairing your OWN damn equipment is becoming nearly impossible.

John Deere makes farmers sign a software agreement (AKA Monsanto’s Marketing Agreement) at the time of purchase that forbids the farmers from suing John Deere for crop loss, lost profits, loss of goodwill, damage to land or machines, loss of use of the machines, etc. when the machine breaks and there is a delay in repair.

“John Deere employs more software engineers than mechanical engineers now, which completely surprised me. But the entire business of farming is moving toward something called precision agriculture, which means farmers are closely tracking where seeds are planted, how well they’re growing, what those plants need, and how much they yield.”

If you put any new part on a deere machine, the ECU (engine control unit) will not allow the machine to run again unless it’s unlocked by a technician, who of course charges the farmer to do this software restart. This also forbids farmers from using any part or modification that is “ third party”. All or most parts have to come from Deere. So do you really own the machine?

2015 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which makes it legal for farmers to hack their tractors for repairs but still has not helped all that much. Using third-party software from China or Russia can be very sketchy…and might likely void warranties on the equipment.

For deal dealers, parts and sales are 3-6% more profitable than selling the equipment. Dealers have a monopoly as no one else can work on the tractors, making reliability a key for farmers as having the dealer come out is not always convenient. Especially during critical planting and harvesting, where 1 day can mean disaster. And in many cases Deere requests the farmer bring the machine back to them for repair, imagine having to take a huge combine back to a dealer, this would require hiring a tractor truck and flatbed as these machines can be wide loads.

“The other signal I’d ask you about is that prices of pre-computer tractors are skyrocketing. Maybe you see that a different way, but I’m looking at some coverage that says old tractors, pre-1990 tractors, are selling for double what they were a year or two ago. There are incredible price hikes on these old tractors. And that the demand is there because people don’t want computers in their tractors. Is that a market signal to you, that you should change the way your products work? Or are you saying, “Well, eventually those tractors will die and you won’t have a choice except to buy one of the new products”?

I think the benefits that accrue from technology are significant enough for consumers. We see this happening with the consumer vote by dollar, by what they purchase. Consumers are continuing to purchase higher levels of technology as we go on. So while yes, the demand for older tractors has gone up, in part it’s because the demand for tractors has gone up completely. Our own technology solutions, we’ve seen upticks in take rates year over year over year over year. So if people were averse to technology, I don’t think you’d see that. At some point we have to recognize that the benefits that technology brings outweigh the downsides of the technology. I think that’s just this part of the technology adoption curve that we’re all on.

Returning to a Deere dealership can also cause significant delays for planting or harvesting, which farmers who operate on razor-thin margins can ill afford. As of January 2022, John Deere is in the midst of a class-action antitrust lawsuit accusing them of creating a repair monopoly.

Resources For This Episode:

https://www.theverge.com/22533735/john-deere-cto-hindman-decoder-interview-right-to-repair-tractors

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8JCh0owT4w&t=9s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGH6pxNouCY&t=737s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLM5ONE7dBE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSGIHpc9ThU

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Show Notes at Keith Snow.com

As with most things these days, pet food is in short supply and many retailers have large gaps in their offerings.  Pet food is yet one more way we have outsourced everything only to lose control and become vulnerable to these shortages. I found this in a simple search:

Many supermarkets, unable to find substitutes, are leaving pet-food shelves empty. Pet-food manufacturers, struggling to secure ingredients and expand production, have signaled that shortages could persist. J.M. Smucker Co. notified retailers in November that it would limit shipments of some pet-food products through January 2023, citing transportation challenges with the supply of wet food — which typically uses imported ingredients.

I know I can make food that my dog loves, but is it nutritious? I am not a pet nutrition expert but I feel pretty confident I can easily get my dog the nutrition he needs with some simple additives or supplements.

This is not meant to be an exhaustive research exercise on feeding pets so I will tell you what I do, some supplements you may want to try.

Let's stick to dogs in this conversation, my dog HATES even the most expensive kibble, $40-65 dollar bags and he wants nothing to do with them. Will he eat it before starving? Yes!

Would he also gladly eat a whole raw chicken? Yes! Which do you think is more nutritious; extruded kibble or a raw chicken with bones, skin flesh etc?

 I bet you said the raw chicken and that makes sense given the fact that dogs are carnivores, or are they omnivores? Hmmm

 The term "opportunivore" may best describe the dog's natural desire to eat whatever is available — plants as well as animals. Strict or true carnivores, such as cats, have a higher nutritional requirement for taurine (an amino acid), arachidonic acid (a fatty acid), and certain vitamins (niacin, pyridoxine, vitamin A), which are readily available in animal protein and fat sources. Omnivores, such as dogs and people, don't have higher requirements for taurine and certain vitamins and can create their own arachidonic acid from vegetable oils.

Omnivore Traits

• Dogs have teeth (molars) with relatively flat surfaces designed to grind up bones as well as fibrous plant material.

• Dogs can digest almost 100% of the carbohydrates they consume.2

• Dogs have a small intestine that occupies about 23 percent of the total gastrointestinal volume, which is consistent with other omnivores; the small intestine of cats occupies only 15 percent.3,4

• Dogs can create vitamin A from betacarotene found in plant

Most dog food kibble is basically cheap corn, soy and other grains or legumes, coated in fat and sprayed with protein “meal” ground chicken, turkey, pork, salmon, beef. Etc.

But is still is a rather low-quality food that oftentimes shortens the lifespan of dogs and cats, can make them sick, cause allergies, cancer, and much more.

What dog food is killing dogs? See This:

In January, Hill’s Pet Nutrition announced that it was recalling several kinds of Prescription Diet and Science Diet canned dog food. Allegedly, these foods contained too much vitamin D, which was causing some dogs to become sick. In severe cases, some customers said their dogs died from eating the affected food. Unfortunately, the problem has not abated. CBS News reports that Hill’s Pet Nutrition has expanded the recall to 85 total lots of 33 different kinds of canned dog food.

As you can see the so-called pet food experts have been sued repeatedly for killing or sickening many different pets.

So my point is can we make our own pet food? Cats..I'm not sure, but I know my dog loves his homemade dog food.

With real meat, clean carbs, fresh vegetables, and healthy fats I am pretty sure I can keep him alive and well.

Worst case scenario I could buy some supplements to add to the food to make sure there are no deficiencies which would help me sleep better at night.

Bottom line, we love our pets, and just as our own food security, we are responsible for theirs too, so why not learn to be free of the system.

$50 for 30 lbs of grains sprayed with crap meat is a rip-off, no question.

Resources for this episode:

https://dinovite.com/dinovite-for-large-dogs/

https://www.hillspet.com/dog-care/behavior-appearance/are-dogs-carnivores-or-omnivores

https://www.actionnews5.com/2022/01/15/pet-food-short-supply-across-us/

https://www.wspa.com/news/local-news/pet-stores-and-owners-feeling-impact-of-pet-food-shortage/

https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/pet-food-shortage-pet-stores-feeling-effects-of-supply-chain-problem-increased-pet-ownership/2840372/

https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-dog-eat-dog-economy-pet-food-shortage-hits-united-states

https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/consumer-products/pet/what-dog-food-is-killing-dogs/

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