A few weeks ago, I decided to grind up some chicken bones for my dog. I planned to use the bone meal in homemade buscuits. Searching for how to use bone meal correctly, or what it really is, I found Dr. Pitcarin's Complete Guide to Natural Food for Dogs & Cats.
In Chapter 2, Dr. Pitcarin addresses what's really in [commercial] pet food. Cynical disclaimer: this vet is trying to sell books, so it's in his interest to create controversy. Historically, scare tactics are profitable. Yet, frightening information holds a morbid attraction - I just have to know. On the other hand, as a vet, he may put himself out of business by keeping our pets healthier.
Dr. Pitcarin asserts, "the way [pet food] labeling is used does not really help us understand the quality of the food" (p. 10). He discusses how cooking temperatures sterilize many of the ingredients in food, destroying valuable nutrients. I've heard this argument favoring raw milk to pasturized milk, and it doesn't surprise me. Every page expounds the conspiracy. Pet owners spend $41 billion dollars a year in the United States alone. I am also not surprised to hear these accusations leveled at big business.
At this point, I am convinced they are not concerned with my health or vitality. (In fact, if I get sick, they likely have a sibling company that can provide medicine.) Sorry, I'm trying to stay objective. I am outraged by the idea that food not suitable for human consumption goes into pet food (p. 17). Feathers and hair can be added to pet food and labeled as "poultry by-products" or "dried animal digest" (p.12). Disgusting! I admit that my dog is able to digest much more terrible things than I would ever try to consume, however, I do not want her eating waste. Some by-products should just be burned.
I increasingly subscribe to the slow-food movement and pursue knowing exactly what I'm eating. I feel better physically and emotionally eating a balanced diet. Although I shutter to think how much energy Tanner would have if she was on a raw food diet, a seed of doubt about her kibble is planted in my mind. I am not ready to take the leap into cooking for her, but I am no longer comfortable with labels. With the continuing melamine recalls of China's products and insufficient consumer protection, it's difficult to keep my reaction pendulum from swinging in the opposite direction.
Who can I trust with my pet's health? My health? My life?
Thoughts from Rachel and Bryce Schober
Friday, March 26, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Professional Giving (WIL, 11)
The March 2010 Special Feature article in Habitat for Humanity's magazine, Habitat World, addresses correlations between stable, low-cost housing and children's educational scores. Student mobility is named as one of the "most detrimental characteristics of housing problems" (p. 21), by the author, Rebekah Daniel.
Sid Ong, an elementary school principal near Portland, OR, says: "[Habitat's model is] a great model for kids to see how a group of people can come together and make something positive happen and not have a vested interests...they get to see their parents really building something that is the underpinning bedrock of the family itself. They look at that and say, 'I can accomplish anything. I can give back.' They want to go to college and become a professional in such a way they want to give back" (Habitat World, p. 23).
Hold the phone...you have to become a professional to give back?? This is news to me. I thought volunteering your time, watching out for neighbor's kids, and cooking meals for new parents qualified as 'giving back.' I thought giving involved gifting resources, not being paid to do the work. What does that phrase mean, anyway? Giving: offering yourself and resources. Back: the past, a body part, ability for labor, to support, as with authority, influence, help, or money. Giving Back: giving of myself or resources (or physical strength) to...what's behind? No, I don't think that's what he meant.
What I interpret Giving Back to mean is a repayment of opportunities received that were made possible by something beyond the recipient's sole power or influence. Repayment is an obligation, not part of Giving, which is supposed to be Free. Giving is about Sharing Hope. However, we lose a lot if we think of giving as fulfilling an obligation or repaying a loan. Giving is about the Giver as much as the Recipient. Pursuing a career in service to others - medicine, education, engineering and building - is important. But, I fear that pursuing a field just to Give results in quick burn-out and fatigue. The admirable student's passion to 'Do Good' can fade under the Crush of the Needs at hand, robbing the skilled professional of reserves necessary to Give Joyfully, out of a full cup. Thus, 'Giving' careers easily become just careers.
Let me just say: It's great that these children see a tangible example of a community building itself. If only we all had the privilege of witnessing, being a part of building the place we will live, establishing a new space along with other neighboring partners from the ground up. I think it's right that they should be motivated by their parents' hard work, building a home for the family, and work harder at schoolwork. I agree that children should have the opportunities to pursue a higher level of education than their parents.
Mr. Ong uses a catchphrase that could be interpreted several different ways. Even though he is a child professional, he projects their thoughts and reactions as they watch the Habitat process; the reader is forced to accept his guess at a child's response. There is no child interview. His assertion that children's desire to learn increases with homeownership is plausible, but his correlation that being a profession is the way to be a productive part of society is flawed.
Yet, perhaps the phrase: Give Back is about Gratitude, wanting to Give in Return for something you've been given. Perhaps having a career allows them to Give Back because then they will have resources to give from. Noble goals. I hope children all over the world who directly benefit from Habitat's work are inspired to those goals. But, we need to be more specific in our language, saying what we mean, avoiding cliches.
And, remembering that everyone is a part of society, an agent of change, encourage each other in all the ways it is possible to give back, not just with a career. We are all responsible for our neighborhoods, communities, cities, nations, world.
What I rail against is the idea that only professionals have something to offer a community. I think this idea is fostered by a society that has become self-centered, but I think it is also dishonest. It does not take into account that some naturally give and others do not, that communities used to be based more on helping each other. I think it's a stark contrast these days because no one asks for or offers help to another person. Helpers are seen as suspicious. Only salesmen knock on my door these days.
Everyone has something to give, regardless of income, education, or time available. Everyone has experience that I can learn from. Everyone's opinion matters. We are each unique and we relate to the world in a unique way. Certainly resources and education impact these things. But let's not overlook that people are valuable to each other just because we are people. Let's stop looking for what we can get and start looking at who they are.
Sid Ong, an elementary school principal near Portland, OR, says: "[Habitat's model is] a great model for kids to see how a group of people can come together and make something positive happen and not have a vested interests...they get to see their parents really building something that is the underpinning bedrock of the family itself. They look at that and say, 'I can accomplish anything. I can give back.' They want to go to college and become a professional in such a way they want to give back" (Habitat World, p. 23).
Hold the phone...you have to become a professional to give back?? This is news to me. I thought volunteering your time, watching out for neighbor's kids, and cooking meals for new parents qualified as 'giving back.' I thought giving involved gifting resources, not being paid to do the work. What does that phrase mean, anyway? Giving: offering yourself and resources. Back: the past, a body part, ability for labor, to support, as with authority, influence, help, or money. Giving Back: giving of myself or resources (or physical strength) to...what's behind? No, I don't think that's what he meant.
What I interpret Giving Back to mean is a repayment of opportunities received that were made possible by something beyond the recipient's sole power or influence. Repayment is an obligation, not part of Giving, which is supposed to be Free. Giving is about Sharing Hope. However, we lose a lot if we think of giving as fulfilling an obligation or repaying a loan. Giving is about the Giver as much as the Recipient. Pursuing a career in service to others - medicine, education, engineering and building - is important. But, I fear that pursuing a field just to Give results in quick burn-out and fatigue. The admirable student's passion to 'Do Good' can fade under the Crush of the Needs at hand, robbing the skilled professional of reserves necessary to Give Joyfully, out of a full cup. Thus, 'Giving' careers easily become just careers.
Let me just say: It's great that these children see a tangible example of a community building itself. If only we all had the privilege of witnessing, being a part of building the place we will live, establishing a new space along with other neighboring partners from the ground up. I think it's right that they should be motivated by their parents' hard work, building a home for the family, and work harder at schoolwork. I agree that children should have the opportunities to pursue a higher level of education than their parents.
Mr. Ong uses a catchphrase that could be interpreted several different ways. Even though he is a child professional, he projects their thoughts and reactions as they watch the Habitat process; the reader is forced to accept his guess at a child's response. There is no child interview. His assertion that children's desire to learn increases with homeownership is plausible, but his correlation that being a profession is the way to be a productive part of society is flawed.
Yet, perhaps the phrase: Give Back is about Gratitude, wanting to Give in Return for something you've been given. Perhaps having a career allows them to Give Back because then they will have resources to give from. Noble goals. I hope children all over the world who directly benefit from Habitat's work are inspired to those goals. But, we need to be more specific in our language, saying what we mean, avoiding cliches.
And, remembering that everyone is a part of society, an agent of change, encourage each other in all the ways it is possible to give back, not just with a career. We are all responsible for our neighborhoods, communities, cities, nations, world.
What I rail against is the idea that only professionals have something to offer a community. I think this idea is fostered by a society that has become self-centered, but I think it is also dishonest. It does not take into account that some naturally give and others do not, that communities used to be based more on helping each other. I think it's a stark contrast these days because no one asks for or offers help to another person. Helpers are seen as suspicious. Only salesmen knock on my door these days.
Everyone has something to give, regardless of income, education, or time available. Everyone has experience that I can learn from. Everyone's opinion matters. We are each unique and we relate to the world in a unique way. Certainly resources and education impact these things. But let's not overlook that people are valuable to each other just because we are people. Let's stop looking for what we can get and start looking at who they are.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Let's talk politics
One of the familiar subjects my mind spins on late in the morning when I can't sleep is politics. Today, I'm wondering: Why is the subject of politics taboo in polite conversation? Should it be?
I assert that it shouldn't be. Perhaps one reason why our current public politics have degraded to such hysterical name-calling, eviscerating witch-hunting, and fear-mongering is the fact that we don't seek out polite conversations about politics in private. It seems to me that our current politics are both extremely important and horribly broken. We'll never fix it if reasonable people in the real world that have real problems avoid talking politics with people if there is any chance of disagreement. Its clear that if we leave the dialog to the talking heads, the majority of what we'll get from both sides is a steaming heap of fecal matter. (Although I suppose that heap would be valuable in practice.)
What we need is to insist on seeking out different perspectives and having polite, reasoned discussions on important issues. It might take a billion little miracles, but it could actually change the tenor of public discourse.
I assert that it shouldn't be. Perhaps one reason why our current public politics have degraded to such hysterical name-calling, eviscerating witch-hunting, and fear-mongering is the fact that we don't seek out polite conversations about politics in private. It seems to me that our current politics are both extremely important and horribly broken. We'll never fix it if reasonable people in the real world that have real problems avoid talking politics with people if there is any chance of disagreement. Its clear that if we leave the dialog to the talking heads, the majority of what we'll get from both sides is a steaming heap of fecal matter. (Although I suppose that heap would be valuable in practice.)
What we need is to insist on seeking out different perspectives and having polite, reasoned discussions on important issues. It might take a billion little miracles, but it could actually change the tenor of public discourse.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Eating Alone
I don't like to eat alone. I never have. Growing up I found the I enjoyed being in the kitchen, especially baking. When I moved out for college, I found that it was too hard to cook for myself. I chose ready-to-heat-then-eat items, returning to the pantry two or three times before I completed a meal. I was depressed and lonely. But that's only part of it.
I do cook for breakfasts, usually oatmeal; once in awhile I will treat myself to a German-fried egg (some of you may know it as 'Toast with an Egg in the middle'). It is one of the few things from my Grandfather's legacy that I care to remember and imitate. I improved the tradition, however, by serving it with ketchup. Breakfast of champions!
For lunch, however, I piecemeal things together. A piece of banana-nut bread (no butter), three tablespoons of yogurt, some fruit. Dairy, fruit, and carbohydrates are staples for my finicky stomach. It never complains about them. On warmer days, I snack on carrots with peanut butter or hummus. On cold days, though it's hard to put things together. Leftovers are not always appealing (for no good reason) and I don't want to cook for every meal...what's a girl to do? And I love cooking, trying new recipes, new foods - but not by myself. Ironic.
Although I love my time alone, eating highlights relationships. Sharing a meal with others is always a wonderful experience and it's just not the same by myself. Mealtimes remind me that I am designed to live in community. I harbor competing characteristics: I deeply value my solitude and I love to cook for my loved ones. I marvel at how complex and unique we humans are.
Give me a call if you want to do lunch.
I do cook for breakfasts, usually oatmeal; once in awhile I will treat myself to a German-fried egg (some of you may know it as 'Toast with an Egg in the middle'). It is one of the few things from my Grandfather's legacy that I care to remember and imitate. I improved the tradition, however, by serving it with ketchup. Breakfast of champions!
For lunch, however, I piecemeal things together. A piece of banana-nut bread (no butter), three tablespoons of yogurt, some fruit. Dairy, fruit, and carbohydrates are staples for my finicky stomach. It never complains about them. On warmer days, I snack on carrots with peanut butter or hummus. On cold days, though it's hard to put things together. Leftovers are not always appealing (for no good reason) and I don't want to cook for every meal...what's a girl to do? And I love cooking, trying new recipes, new foods - but not by myself. Ironic.
Although I love my time alone, eating highlights relationships. Sharing a meal with others is always a wonderful experience and it's just not the same by myself. Mealtimes remind me that I am designed to live in community. I harbor competing characteristics: I deeply value my solitude and I love to cook for my loved ones. I marvel at how complex and unique we humans are.
Give me a call if you want to do lunch.
Saturday, March 06, 2010
Never Alone
I like watching my dog sleep. Once in awhile, she does my favorite thing: clicking her tongue. I assume she's reliving a tender moment with her mom as a pup. I smile, call her Baby Tanner. Then, I remember how scared she looked with we first saw her. And rightly so.
We drove north to a house on the Reservation. Two houses, actually. One main house and an apartment above the garage, only noticeable when pointed out by the confused house tenant. The woman on the phone didn't mention which dwelling to inquire at. To complicate matters, we had to shout to the house tenant our needs, several yards away from the lighted porch. Three very large, growling Rottweilers paced the property and held us at bay - I've never been to a house where the owners didn't call their dogs off. A very disturbing, other-worldly experience. For the first time in my life, I feared dogs who really might attack me.
Finally, the man pointed us to the apartment and the dogs let us go. We knocked, taking in the strange air, the pen enclosed by flimsy chicken wire with a big communal bowl of food, one for water, one lean-to shelter. No noise. A woman came down and called the pups out. She looked hardened by life. Several pups sleepily crawl out of the lean-to. No, not that one, no...She goes in to coax the black one out. An expert saleswoman, she asked me to hold 'him' because the gate won't shut. Eight weeks old. One of the reasons I broke my promise to leave empty-handed was this scary place where guard dogs could easily intimidate pups through flimsy enclosures.
Her dreams of babyhood are delightful, as well as sad. I suspect she was separated from Mom too early. Separation and loneliness are big issues.
Last night when Baby Tanner was clucking, I personified her, watching her confused face as she was taken away, with her siblings. One by one, they left. She was the last of her litter to be adopted.
It breaks my heart to think of those who are truly alone, abandoned, sold into slavery, abused, treated as objects, used and discarded. I could not handle it. I would not be me anymore. Being alone - really alone, abandoned - does awful things. Being unwanted - that is the hardest part of humanity's fallenness - rejecting relationship.
Praise God that He is not that way. He goes to the ends of the Earth and back again, as far as He possibly can. He does everything to adopt us. "I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Mt. 28:20).
God, be so very close to the 143 million orphans in this broken world. May they know that You love them, want them. You hold each of them in Your hand, so tenderly.
He is Present,
He is Near,
He gave His own Beloved,
to bring us into the family.
We drove north to a house on the Reservation. Two houses, actually. One main house and an apartment above the garage, only noticeable when pointed out by the confused house tenant. The woman on the phone didn't mention which dwelling to inquire at. To complicate matters, we had to shout to the house tenant our needs, several yards away from the lighted porch. Three very large, growling Rottweilers paced the property and held us at bay - I've never been to a house where the owners didn't call their dogs off. A very disturbing, other-worldly experience. For the first time in my life, I feared dogs who really might attack me.
Finally, the man pointed us to the apartment and the dogs let us go. We knocked, taking in the strange air, the pen enclosed by flimsy chicken wire with a big communal bowl of food, one for water, one lean-to shelter. No noise. A woman came down and called the pups out. She looked hardened by life. Several pups sleepily crawl out of the lean-to. No, not that one, no...She goes in to coax the black one out. An expert saleswoman, she asked me to hold 'him' because the gate won't shut. Eight weeks old. One of the reasons I broke my promise to leave empty-handed was this scary place where guard dogs could easily intimidate pups through flimsy enclosures.
Her dreams of babyhood are delightful, as well as sad. I suspect she was separated from Mom too early. Separation and loneliness are big issues.
Last night when Baby Tanner was clucking, I personified her, watching her confused face as she was taken away, with her siblings. One by one, they left. She was the last of her litter to be adopted.
It breaks my heart to think of those who are truly alone, abandoned, sold into slavery, abused, treated as objects, used and discarded. I could not handle it. I would not be me anymore. Being alone - really alone, abandoned - does awful things. Being unwanted - that is the hardest part of humanity's fallenness - rejecting relationship.
Praise God that He is not that way. He goes to the ends of the Earth and back again, as far as He possibly can. He does everything to adopt us. "I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Mt. 28:20).
God, be so very close to the 143 million orphans in this broken world. May they know that You love them, want them. You hold each of them in Your hand, so tenderly.
He is Present,
He is Near,
He gave His own Beloved,
to bring us into the family.
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