“I’ve made choices.” This old song by George Jones has taken on a greater meaning this year. Some good like your partner in life. Some not so good, and we have all made a few of those.
Our diet, only a couple decades ago, we were told that we ate too much. Maybe a diet pop and a bag of chips for dinner would be better than a full meal? Then it was discovered that . . .
the sweetener in diet pop actually made you hungrier and fatter. Then it was discovered that most chips were fried in saturated fat and other things that lead to health problems.
For more than 50 years, real butter was deemed higher in fats than margarine and was bad for your health. Then it was discovered that the fat in butter could be broken down by your body while the fats in margarine are not so easily broken down. Real butter was better for you. Now butter consumption has increased, while margarine consumption has gone down. Then there’s the chemical residue in margarine and that is still being hashed out. With today’s subsidies and trading practices often you can eat fast food saturated with fats for less money than the cost of a healthy full course meal at home.
Often, inadequate labeling of foods makes it almost impossible to make informed choices when buying foods. Most sugars are only labeled as white or brown. The consumer is very seldom informed about what the sugar was made from. Honey is often labeled “pure honey” when it actually contains more liquid sugar sweetener than honey. Even popcorn can be labeled “buttery flavour” when there is not even a whiff of real butter in it.
When two per cent milk was introduced in the early 1960s, it was two per cent Jersey milk and the farmers who milked Jersey cows received a premium for their milk. Then the president of the milk board said, “Milk is milk.” All milk was picked up in the same truck, and the premium for Jersey milk evaporated! Just this past summer the milk boards realized that because of increased butter sales and a bad trade deal with the US, Canada now has a surplus of skim milk powder. Now there is some free milk quota being given to farmers who milk Jersey cows, because Jerseys produce higher fat and contribute less to the surplus skim milk mountain.
During the late 1950s and the early 1960s, the most popular milk in the Ottawa Valley was Guernsey gold sold in cartons with a lot of gold letters and paint on the package. Guernsey milk had a slightly yellower colour than Holstein milk. When it was noted that there was only one herd of Guernsey milk cows in the valley and that farmer had more Holsteins than Guernseys, the bottling plant was informed to stop using the Guernsey gold cartons.
Since March 2020, we have had to make some very big choices. Some had the choice to work from home or return to driving to work. Many people chose to believe the doctors and scientists about this COVID-19 virus. Some do not. Some are grateful for whatever compensation is distributed by various governments. Some people think that too much money is being sent out and we will never get the huge federal and provincial debt paid off.
Some people are reluctant to send their kids back to school, while others want to get the kids out of the house ASAP. Many people are very cautious and do as little outside travel as possible, while others feel safe flying to countries where very few precautions are observed.
While many wear masks every time they leave their house, some others get very agitated if they cannot enter a public place without a mask. As we watch the numbers of infected and dying people rise, many willingly comply with the imposed 8 p.m.- 5 a.m. curfew in an attempt to slow down the spread of the virus and don’t contest it, others think that our government has no right to control their life and end up paying some pretty heavy fines.
Our restaurants, bars, nightclubs, theatres, fairs and other businesses forced to shut down need our support now and in the future. Please make the choice to support them.
There are many, many people much more shut in than you, please call, check on their needs, and remember to support them.
During this very different and trying time, the mental stress will become unbearable for many. Please make the choice to listen to them and observe them. You might be their only help when needed.
We have a choice about what kind of a climate and world that we want our grandchildren to inherit. As with other world catastrophes, this too will pass quicker if we all try. We should choose to try to respect the choices of others even if they are not our choices. Try not to burn bridges and remember it will be more fun partying with friends than enemies.
Chris Judd is a farmer in Clarendon on land that has been in his family for generations.
gladcrest@gmail.com
