To a Healthy Future, Rooted in Good Food

Thank you for being here! Having recently published Radical Farm: Animals, Food and Our Future, I’m excited to create a space to continue sharing the wisdom of farming. You can expect recipes, farming tips and stories, links to interviews I’ve done, resource lists and recommendations, as well as articles on why well-sourced animal foods are good for the environment, our health and animal welfare.

I began writing Radical Farm almost three years ago. For a while, I didn’t even tell people what I was doing. It felt silly to say that I was writing a book. I am so grateful I stuck with it and believed in myself enough to keep writing because this book has become more than I could have ever imagined.

I originally began writing Radical Farm to document all that I am learning from Mike and Marjorie Lane, here at Ruckle Heritage Farm. So much of their direction seemed like common knowledge to them but it is not so common anymore. Recognizing that the wisdom of farming is being lost, I wanted to preserve the knowledge, stories, and tips that I was learning on this nearly 200 acre farm in British Columbia, Canada.

The book evolved into a deep exploration of why well-sourced animal foods are good for the environment, our health and for animal welfare. As a former vegetarian turned rancher, I have cultivated a deep understanding of the need for animals in our food system and the conviction that we can do more for animal welfare in our lifetime by supporting good farming than we can rejecting all animal agriculture.

They say that the best way to learn something is to teach it. Putting things down on paper motivated me to dig deeper and challenge myself to look critically at this topic from numerous angles. I have learned so much and believe now more than ever that well-managed animals provide us with the most sustainable foods on the planet. Rather than turn away from animal agriculture, we should be compelled to support good farming.

What I have continued to circle back to is our need for local, seasonal food to build a resilient food system. Rather than wait for disaster to strike, we can support local producers now so that when there are hard times, the food security is already there, woven into the fabric of our food choices. One of my main motivations is to inspire more people to get involved with food production and cooking from scratch. Eating a real food diet high in animal fats and protein has freed me from years of disordered eating and I am passionate about sharing my experience with others so that they too can repair their relationship with food.

Radical Farm sets the record straight that well-raised animals are beneficial for our climate, our health and that you can love animals and choose to eat meat!

This book helps people make an informed decision on the food system they want to support, either through their buying habits or by getting involved in producing food, whether on a small or large scale.

Most people are incredibly disconnected from where their food comes from and it is a radical act to care about the quality of what we eat and how it is produced, and be optimistic about the future of food. My hope is that this book and this Substack publication offers you hope and courage to be part of the solution and take back control of your own health.

Thank you for being here!

Here’s to a healthy future, rooted in good food.

Abey