Trust your gut. Especially now that mainstream medicine has embraced the importance of hosting a wide-range of microorganisms in our digestive tracts. Fermented carrots. Prosciutto. Yogurt. These foods diversify the microbiome inside…
While on a zoom with Joel Salatin in November of 2023, he pulled down a post-it note from the wall and read aloud a Constitutional amendment drafted by Thomas Massie:
“The right of the people to grow food and to purchase food from the source of their choice shall not be infringed, and Congress shall make no law regulating the production and distribution of food products which do not move across state lines.”
My gut told me to drive down to Polyface Farm and film with Joel and his post-it note. Ten months later, the stars aligned. While setting up the microphones, mentioned we are doing a film called The Right to Food. Immediately Joel suggested heading out to Kentucky to film with his friend John Moody. Instead of making the promise to connect us and then letting it slip his mind- he did it right there on the spot, taking a minute to blurt out an email while we stood there. Since witnessing that, when something comes to mind connecting people, I just act on it.
So following my gut again, extended the late summer/early fall road trip by a day and scheduled a shoot with John. Was in the area already with Wayne Riley and the Moody homestead was a few hours West.
The driveway was long and it took a while before was 100% sure it was the right place. Said hi to a couple curious kids holding a cat, and eventually met John. Inside the kitchen we had a snack of crackers, cheese, sauerkraut and a glass of raw milk. Talked about the challenges of heating with woodstoves and the different climates of Kentucky and Vermont and about the joys of homeschooling. Basically, we hit it off straightaway. Any friend of Joel is a friend of mine (we both thought).
Before long, got the camera out. The Moody homestead is full of innovations. For instance, they put their uncured firewood in a plastic hoopbarn which acts as a makeshift kiln to speed along drying. One of his daughters joined as the chores were done~ watering plants, feeding chickens, hanging laundry, weeding. After a while, we flipped over a couple five gallon buckets and filmed an interview. John’s a very laid back, charismatic and super funny guy. Someone you want to spend just a few more minutes in conversation with, ask just one more question.
He shared the story of how he started the Whole Life Buying Club~ a group of hundreds of Kentuckians who pooled together to make the purchase of local foods logistically easier, and to provide a community of like-minded eaters to celebrate and commiserate life with. After significant growth in the first five years, the state of Kentucky intervened to shut down the business. Never mind that hundreds of people had been supporting local food, eating healthy and putting money in farmers pockets via the local multiplier effect. Nevermind no one had gotten sick. This food was unregulated and illegal and the government wasn’t making any money off of these transactions. This had to stop. John was given a cease and desist order and told to quarantine the food. He refused. His customers refused.
And then something miraculous happened. The state backed off. Apparently arresting consenting adults for eating cheese, milk, pastured chicken and sourdough bread produced by their neighbors was considered overreach. Thank God.
Clear victory.
The short film above is a sample from our upcoming documentary The Right to Food.
There’s much more to come with John and with Joel and about how they started the Rogue Food Conference.
Thanks so much for being a part of our growing community. If you value this kind of media, become a paying subscriber. This means two additional short films each month and the satisfaction of knowing you’ll be helping us to film more stories like this one. If you don’t want to subscribe but would like to make a one-time gift, do that here.
Thanks so much to John for opening up his home, to Joel for making the introduction and to Jasmin for doing a great job with the edit. And as always, a huge shout out to all of our paying subscribers. You make this possible.
best thoughts,
graham
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