Know any good recipes for bushes?

Sept. 25, 2015

My lovely niece visited us while she was following a strict diet of raw fruits and vegetables. She astonished us when she ate an entire bunch of bananas for breakfast, followed by a whole watermelon for lunch. We took her for a picnic at a local winery and she brought an enormous papaya for herself. Admittedly, she looked great. She had clear skin, her chronic headaches had disappeared and she was slender. Maybe too slender since she had sharp points on her shoulders. By her own admission, she refused to eat “anything that had a face or muscles, or could grow up to have a face or muscles. Or anything that was taken away from an animal and its baby was sad about it.” She said if we would all become vegetarians we could feed the world because most farmland was growing grain to feed the poor animals we were eating. I had heard of "grain fed beef" which I assumed meant that was the animal's diet, so her claim seemed to make sense.

Recently I came across a booklet, published six years ago. It addressed misconceptions about agriculture and one of them was why vegetarianism could not save the planet. Evidently, this was not as new a concept as my niece seemed to be convinced it was. I was intrigued. According to the publication, which was quoting World Bank  information, about 11% of the land on our dear globe is farm-able. Eleven percent of the world is all we have to grow all the grain, fruit and vegetables to be consumed every day by over 7.2 billion souls. Fortunately, for us who intend to continue to live here, animals are able to graze another 38% and digest grasses and shrubs, turning them into meat we can use for food. I suddenly realized the importance of those grazing lands to human survival. Since I can't eat grass or most other plants on that range land, it's important for me to know I have a food source that can. Those animals typically put on most of their weight nursing from their mothers who are roaming around foraging. When they are weaned, many continue to graze the range and pasture land that isn't fit for growing crops. Just before they are brought to market, they are given grain and other vegetable matter grown on that precious arable land. Contrary to what I thought grain fed beef was, they are not fed corn their entire lives.

In addition, it becomes starkly apparent how crucial it is to human life that the agricultural land that does exist for raising crops be as productive as possible. We need to use all the knowledge we have to maximize the food it produces while preserving its capacity to continue to feed us indefinitely. It's a daunting task and we need to support the farmers and scientists who are devoting their energies to feeding the world. Grazing is a great way to turn wild forbs and grasses into food fit for people. And I DO enjoy the end product on my barbecue!