The people who shop at Pantry Paratus and the people who interact with us through Facebook and email are often very different from one another. There are self-described hippies and conservatives (and even people like me who get accused of both quite often). There are Christians, Atheists, Pagans and other faith representations. We have vegans, traditional foodists (bring on the bone broth!), paleo, and conventional-food lovers who are exploring what it might mean to make a change. There is the pro-wheat crowd and the gluten-free one. There are city-dwellers, homesteaders, farmers, and busy suburban moms just trying to abate food allergies or illness….the differences abound.
We at Pantry Paratus do not make pretentions to be all things. People who follow our blog know our love affair with wheat (home-milled only, of course), traditional foods, and even where we stand on modern food issues like GMO, raw milk, and the FDA’s onerous policies that demonize natural foods consumed for millennia even while declaring twinkies safe.
Okay, so a store isn’t supposed to get political.
“You’ll lose customers,” they say.
Maybe. But if someone is potentially purchasing a grain mill, a meat grinder, or cheese making tools—then they probably have one thing in common with every other shopper at Pantry Paratus and with me, too….they want to make conscientious decisions about food and they want to have an active part in bringing real food to the table.
I had never been a political person. I have always been a passionate one. And for the entirety of my childhood and young adult years, I was a sick one. Getting better is what fueled my passion to help others find the solution to their own sicknesses, to enable their own quest for simplicity, and to lead others towards preparedness for hard times. What Wilson & I have discovered along the way, though, is that you cannot be passionate about traditional skills or about real food without being pushed down the plank of politics. Clear lines have been drawn and vocalizing my encouragement to you is seen along those lines by many.
This isn’t politics for its own sake. This is conviction. Conviction tends to alienate those who do not wear them externally. People who choose “what hill to die on” (so to speak) and choose it to not be that of raw milk or farmers’ rights or about GMO…they may never understand why we have chosen that hill.
In no way do we want to alienate anyone, and yet I am certain that some see our food ethics in that regard. We apologize. Our real goal?
- We want to inform you of food realities.
- We want to inspire you to make better choices.
- We want to educate you on how to make changes.
- We want to equip you to live out your convictions in the kitchen.
Thank you for shopping with Pantry Paratus. Oh, and if you decide to walk that plank, too, we’ll be there beside you.
Check out Pantry Paratus’ most controversial blog posts:
How our (Raw Milk Drinking) Founding Fathers Talked Me Into Going to a Legislative Hearing
6 Ways to Read-or Not to Read- a Blog
Sustainability or Flourishing?
Something Fishy in the Tuna Aisle
GRAS: How the FDA Approves Food Additives