Living-Deliberately.com

Here is the second and final part of my interview with Richard Morris of breadandmoney.com, author of the book A Life Unburdened. See part one of the interview here.
You could have just changed the way you ate as a family and quietly gone on with your life. What made you take the pursuit of fulfilled living another step, to growing a garden, spending time on a farm, and sharing it all with the world?

The garden and the internship, working on a farm, were all part of a natural progression—a logical and inevitable domino effect, that resulted from taking responsibility for my own life. I’ve lost family and friends unnecessarily to our crippled health care system and our genocidal profit-based approach to nutrition. The American Diabetes Association, for example, encourages diabetics to consume sugar. A recent medical study, funded by a member of the grain producer industry, recommends that Black diabetic women load up on grains as a diabetes management strategy. A certain maker of fast food sandwiches parades around a guy who lost weight eating their food and the take-away message we get is that we should rely on a fast-food purveyor for our nutritional advice. In the face of this industrial assault on our health and our lives, I felt as though I had no choice but to go public with my story.

I read that you garden and that you did an internship on a farm on your website. What kind of things do you grow and do you have plans to raise animals?

We grow heirloom tomatoes mostly, but also some greens, beans and herbs. It’s a work in progress and we have yet to realize the garden’s full potential. The health of the soil is paramount and we’ve been working toward amending the soil with compost we’ve been building. We don’t currently have any animals, but yes, one of the chief reasons I did the farm internship was to sample the farming life. I especially wanted to see what it was like to keep a cow. We live in the “burbs” and would likely have a hard time getting a cow waiver for our half acre lot. Actually you’d need about three acres to keep one jersey fat and happy on grass and clover. We’re definitely in the market for more land, beyond the burbs, but whether or not we buy a cow remains to be seen. One thing I definitely want to do next year is to buy a live chicken and go through the whole process from the back yard to the kitchen table. I think it would be very educational for all of us.

Ah… (visions of Richard becoming a city chicken farmer swirling around in my brain ). One of my pet-passions, because I think it’s more realistic than everyone moving out of the city , is urban and suburban homesteading. I’m finding that there is a mixture of attitudes…I love what you said about kitchens getting bigger and more professional and yet few people cook. There is a lot of that conflict going on. Anyone can tell from the size of gardening sections at Home Depot that people like to garden and plant…and yet we grow little of our own food. Laws are inconsistent and nebulous about keeping city poultry. I get a bit of criticism from people who think we “can’t go backward” and yet with food scares, I don’t see how we can get away from the need to grow at least a portion of our own food. Do you have any ideas about this?

I don’t see producing our own food as going backwards. That’s the problem with how we perceive food today. It’s taken decades and hundreds of billions of dollars, but various industries has been very successful in convincing us that producing our own food is somehow wrong. Owning a family cow used to be a sign of moderate wealth in this country. Growing your own food used to be regarded as a sign of independence and intelligence. No more. We’ve become a nation of infants, utterly dependent on deriving our meager sustenance from the corporate teat—or more correctly, the industrial trough. We went backwards at the turn of the last century when we abandoned our agricultural roots for the promise of convenience and more free time. We’ll we got convenience, but I don’t know anyone who believes they have free time. In addition, as a bonus, we also have diabetes, cancer, obesity and heart disease at levels that surpass what we had in 1900. It’s not an either/or option. Either we go back to pulling a plow or we go forward to eating food chips made from recycled human waste. No, there is a middle ground. We can still have many of the modern conveniences we enjoy, but we can also have healthful fermented foods, backyard and community gardens, pasture-based meat co-ops and while we’re at it, localized, solar energy-based economies. That’s what urban/suburban homesteading is about—the diffusion of the old with the new. This we can do.

You know better than most how hard it is to break a destructive cycle and change your life…what kinds of things do you say to others who want to but feel overwhelmed by the thought?

People have to be inspired before they can motivate themselves to make real change, so I try to inspire. My story seems to have that effect on some people and for that I’m glad. The bottom line though is that there is no fast and easy way to fix your health, nutrition and life problems. What I do, then, is show people for instance, how they can give themselves a raise so that they can afford to buy better quality food. I stress the importance of self-directed education about your body and nutrition. I talk about time management and how most of us really do have the time to cook. The key thing I talk about is that we are not powerless. We can change our lives for the better.

I’ve been pondering this aspect of “living deliberately” for a long time. When I’ve made choices, like to cloth diaper or learn how to make something, I feel empowered by it. Ultimately, it was realizing how much personal power I had over my own life that enabled us to break out of the monotonous and damaging lifestyle we had in Florida. This has got to be one factor, I think, of why it can be so important to have community gardens in the inner cities, and relationships with farmers too, as they realize there is a demand for what they have. What would you say to someone who wants to eat better but finds the cost and effort to be daunting?

Much of the focus on healthy eating concerns what we eat. That’s fine, but some people can realize dramatically positive change by focusing on what not to eat. Get soda, soy, unhealthy vegetable oils, ready-to-eat cereals and most forms of sugar out of your diet and you’ll be amazed by how much better off you’ll be. Of course you’ve got to replace those “foods” with something else, like healthier whole foods, but they cost more right? There is a common myth that cheap food is, we’ll, cheap, but often that’s not the case. I have an exercise where I walk people through some common foods and I show that for Coke and Pepsi, we often spend $3.00 a gallon or more for them. That’s more than most of us pay for gas! Instant oatmeal is far more expensive than whole oats when you calculate the price per pound. No one would buy these foods if they were priced by the gallon/pound, but industry marketers know that we’ve been trained not to think this way (thank’s to the public school system) which allows them to profit from our ignorance. Mary and I decided that good food and good health was more important than cable TV, so we cut the cord, canceled the account and gave our big-screen TV away. A side advantage of this is that my youngest daughter stopped asking for McDonald’s once she was no longer being hammered by their ads everyday. We realized that spending hundreds of dollars per year on mobile phones was dumb, given that humans have thrived for eons without cell phones. We ditched our old phones and got simple pay-as-you-go accounts. In total, I’ve spent about $120.00 for the entire year for my cell phone and account. We buy food in bulk (half a cow, half a pig, etc) and save quite a bit in the long run—plus it’s good quality meat. Organic produce, bought in season and locally, is often the same or less expensive than conventional produce. Instead of buying new cars, we fix our old ones because when you do the math, the repairs never cost anywhere near as much as a new car. There are lots of ways to reduce your household expenses with the most important one being getting rid of your consumer debt. This frees you from indentured servitude to the consumerist culture. Finally, I tell people to not get overly hung up on labels. Sure pasture-based, omega-3 enhanced, cage free, organic blah, blah, blah… it all sounds great, but what if you can’t afford these foods or don’t have access to them? Do these four things:

1. Stop eating garbage (see above)
2. Buy conventional meat as unprocessed as you can find and afford, whole dairy (especially butter, yogurt and milk), whole eggs, fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains.
3. Cook
4. Read, think and learn, read, think and learn, read, think, and learn…

I can’t say this often enough. If we did that, most of us would be far better off than we currently are. You find that you also have more money in your pocket because cheap food is expensive, in part because we tend to eat more of it.You know, in my experience it is very unusual that I see a black face among the “farming foodies”. I think that might be at least part of why I find you to be a refreshing voice. Have you found a niche, a way to reach an audience that may not pay attention to health-nut fitness guys or aged hippies (both, who are typically white in my experience) sending a similar message?

It’s a challenge getting Black people, as a social class, to take personal responsibility for their health. Part of the problem stems from a dangerous proclivity toward reliance on the supposed omniscience of authority figures in medicine and government. One look at the tragic health statistics among Blacks shows that this blind trust is ill-placed. The problem has it’s roots in more than two centuries of forced dependence on a hostile social system for the necessities of life—a system that has not historically had their best interests at heart. In this regard, the legacy of slavery lives on in the arrested development of that natural inclination to think for oneself. Fortunately, that innate tendency has not evolved out of existence, but lies dormant… waiting. It can be reawakened. Poor nutrition and the dire health consequences that result from it, are everyone’s problem. It is neither a social or class issue since, these days, everyone eats the same food more or less. I believe in equal opportunity nutrition, so my message is for everyone. I go wherever I’m invited and speak to whatever audience shows up. I think it’s simply a matter of finding Malcolm Gladwell’s tipping point; that point at which an idea can no longer be resisted by the people. I believe we’re getting closer to that day. I’m optimistic at least… but then again, it might just be the food. (laughing)Well, okay. I think you’re awesome and these changes are obviously working for you. You have an energetic aura of freedom around you; it comes through in your site and in your words. Were you a positive-thinking kind of person before changing the way you ate and lived, or is that a beautiful bi-product of the revolution?

I would say that my positive perspective is largely due to the food I eat today. I know that may sound crazy to some people, but it’s true. When I was a vegetarian years ago, I lost about 50 pounds and certainly looked healthier, but I was cranky and even somewhat depressed in those days.

Doesn’t sound crazy to me at all . I should think that speaks loudly to anyone who knew you before and after.

I was actually pretty good at concealing how disconnected and unhappy I was. Most people who knew me would have described me as “serious.” These days, I can truly say I am happy. I really like the phrase, “living deliberately.” It suggests to me, the concept of living with purpose. Too often we go through the motions, drifting through one day after another, taking little notice of our own lives. To have a purpose, a reason for waking up in the morning and a plan for your future, that to me is living deliberately. We are social animals with a historical and evolutionary connection to the land, so gardening and establishing connections with farmers is that part of our behavioral heritage that we’ve lost. When I was on the farm, I felt as though I was part of something important. Every day had real meaning. That is how we should all live, with purpose, intent and honesty.

Someone asked me last week what I thought Living Deliberately really looked like and it was the same day you sent me this. “Man! Now that’s Living Deliberately!” Living with Purpose, intent, and honesty.

In my book, I have a section called, The Ten Steps for Success. The point of this section is to make the point that as great as good food is, it’s not just about food. Our lives are very complex. In order to realize positive, long-lasting change, we’ve got to change more than just what we eat. Everything from stress management to relationships to how and when you sleep contributes to your success. What makes food so important is that it provides the raw materials to fuel your life so that you can make the other changes you need to.

Okay, I’ll say it again, “I totally agree!” I get reminded of this when I want to eat out with the kids and what we get costs way more and fills us less than a good bowl of porridge or veggies. What do you do for food when you travel?

We travel like pioneers from the 1800s by always taking food with us. Things like dried fish, beef jerky and pemmican, cheese, nuts, raisins etc. Pemmican, for example, is made from dried, ground lean beef mixed with tallow (beef fat).
It’s what the plains Indians used to rely on hundreds of years ago. It’s very nutrient dense and the fat is very satiating—it acts like an appetite suppressant. I can literally live on pemmican for days when I’m traveling, although I usually stay with like-minded people when I travel so I get to eat well. We usually don’t go to restaurants. The last time I ate at one, I got sick. I’ve discovered that once I purged my body of processed foods, I lost my tolerance for them. Ironically, I don’t get sick anymore from viruses and germs, etc, so while I might get a bad case of acid-reflux from eating at a restaurant, I can sit on a crowded subway train where everyone is sneezing and coughing and never even get the sniffles.

What’s the next book about?

It’s a follow up to my first book. A lot of people have been asking for recipes, what my exercise routine was like, etc. I’ve learned that it’s not enough to say “just eat good food,” because some people don’t know what good food is. This second book will be a more detailed description of what I did, but it will not be a diet book. I hate diet books.

Amen! I appreciate this conversation so much! You came at a point when I’d been getting a bit discouraged and this has been one crazy week to be sure. I hope sharing you with anyone who reads this has the same effect on them!

I also know what it feels like to be discouraged. Sometimes you just can’t help but ask yourself if all the extra effort and money is worth it. Why not just do what everyone else does and pop a nameless package of something into the microwave and choke it down with a Coke. It’s then that I think of all the family and friends who are no longer around, because they died of the diseases of civilization (cancer, heart disease, stroke) and our broken health care system. I remind myself of how much richer my life is today… how I love my wife more today than the day we were married 20 years ago and how I see opportunity and hope where once there was only despair. When I think of these things, my answer to the question of whether it’s worth it is a resounding, YES.

Does it get any better than that?!?

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