Sustainable Living
November 1, 2009
Written by: Justin MillerOne of the buzziest buzzwords that has really picked up steam in the last few years is the word “Sustainable”. I probably don't need to give too many examples to our readers of how we've heard more of this word in the last 3-5 years than most of us ever heard before. But what does it mean, really? While there are many definitions of the word and many usages, it seems obvious that the current implication is for a certain standard of living to continue at least through our lifetime, without diminishing that standard for future generations. I see that as an over-all working definition of this “sustainable” phenomenon.
Included within that definition would be other ideas like sustainable agriculture, something we are particularly interested in at Moody Meats. You may well know that some of the product in our stores comes from Adam's sustainable farm, Lone Pine Farms. What makes this farm sustainable? I'll just mention a couple of aspects. You might say that it is sustainable in that it is not directly subject to fluctuations in volatile agricultural markets, since most of the feed for the animals is grown right on the farm. And also it is sustainable, in that it is a family farm since all of Adam's children and grandchildren still live at the farm and work in the company.
But what else could be said about this phenomenon of sustainability. I was given the task of writing about it, and I really wanted to get into it. In our county we are blessed with a wonderful new Public Library in Crawfordsville. A few years ago an organization in Montgomery County donated a large collection of books and videos to the library that has become the “Sustainable Living Collection”. I decided, in my effort to understand and communicate about Sustainable Living, that I'd pay a visit to this section and see what it was all about.
I found a collection of books on these various topics: Communities, Energy, Farming, War, Environment, Handicrafts, Homesteading, Composting, Forest Craft, Building subjects, Gardening, “Going Green”. So what can this simple review of the subjects contained in the Sustainable Living collection reveal to us? What is the common thread uniting these subjects? What struck me, as I looked them over, is that they all look like a lot of work! Indeed it does seem that if we are going to live sustainably, it is going to take a lot of work, physical labor, perhaps more than we’re used to.
At Moody Meats, we are particularly interested in sustainable agriculture. We want to do business in a way that will ensure that we are able to do business tomorrow. And indeed it takes more physical labor from people, compared with other farm systems. But Moody Meats continues to hire more people and open new stores, in a time when other businesses in the state are cutting back and laying off. More to the point, we make every effort to do things God’s way. That is really the only way we can hope to sustain anything worthwhile.
In the next several issues of this newsletter I hope to share some of my thoughts on the aforementioned subjects. I will just be scratching the surface of a vast subject that has been heavily excavated by many others. Nevertheless, as many of our readers may be new to the sustainable paradigm, I can at least hope to introduce them to this important topic. Next time we will touch upon the subject of Communities.
This Month's Articles:
Sustainable Living