Pasteurized milk is the epitome of the standard in the commercial model, the “sacred cow” (nice pun, eh?) if you will. It is basically an unquestioned norm that we should pasteurize. There’s bacteria present after all, right? People could get sick. Well, yes. There is bacteria. But there is also bacteria in our salads, in our fruit, in our meat, in nearly everything.

We’ve become trained to be germaphobic.

In general terms, this has led to better sanitation of our water and handwashing has done wonders to stop the spread of major communicable diseases. Public health has come a long way to prevent acute diseases, and many people would say that pasteurization of milk is one of those public health victories.  For the majority of people who have bought into all of our modern world of marvels and mass production, this is probably true. We have become a society of standards, huge factory models and centralization.

For instance, milk that is produced in Wisconsin could become mixed with milk from Idaho and get shipped to California, New York and everywhere in between. In order to manage this scale of things, these manufacturers have found that by essentially boiling it (pasteurizing), then homogenizing, then adding back vitamins and sometimes beneficial bacteria that were lost in the pasteurization/homogenization process that they could achieve two major goals. 1) They could prevent any major acute foodborne illnesses that may be the result of unclean practices at one dairy that contaminates all of the combined milk. 2) That homogenization and pasteurization could incease the shelf-life of milk from about one week to 2 months! Yes, this is a major reason for these practices. The longer something sits on the shelf, the better the chances that it will sell!What’s more is that homogenization has nothing to do with food safety. Non-homogenized milk is completely legal (cream top) but not a standard, mainly for this very reason of shelf-stability.

So even with all these standards, we still have the occasional food sickness outbreaks, we still have E. Coli and Salmonella. So should we take what we’ve learned from pasteurizing milk and pasteurize all of our food? Should we irradiate the salad bar? That is actually what the CDC is pushing! Just imagine, no bacteria in any of our food, ever!

Well, what people forget is that mankind has eaten living food for much longer than we’ve eaten sterilized foods. Without living, raw foods we wouldn’t have ever created cheese, or yogurt, or sour cream, or beer, or yeast-risen bread, or sauerkraut, or even pickles. In France, they leave cheese out on the counters instead of refrigerating it because, to them it is supposed to be alive!

People drank milk straight from the cow or goat or ate produce straight from the field without much processing for most of time. It’s only been in the last few decades that processed food have become a norm. And so we’ve traded acute illness for chronic illness in the form of obesity, heart disease and cancers in order to keep food on the shelves longer and make it more highly palatable and industrialized. We’ve created monster ”foods” that often are 20 steps away from the raw initial product.

At what point do we take it so far that in order to live in a factory model of standards we lose life itself? When we’ve pasteurized, sterilized, homogenized, sanitized and irradiated everything we eat? Just because pasteurization has become the norm, does that mean it is the only way? When everyone can only buy irradiated fruits, vegetables and meats will we look at people who pick a tomato off a plant and eat it as crazy? Will it be illegal? Don’t think it couldn’t happen, after all, don’t we look at people who drink raw milk that way?

So again I ask, should people be able to live without the system? Can they anymore? When 90% of society doesn’t live off the land anymore, it seems strange to do anything that the system does not approve of, even if they do it in their own backyard. And if we as a society will not allow people to drink raw milk, why do we allow them to eat raw, non-irradiated foods (that they want to call “electronic pasteurization” [seriously!] because pasteurization is so normalized)? Eventually we will not be able to get our food except from pre-authorized and approved vendors.

By eliminating (by making it illegal) the sale of raw milk or local eggs, or local produce from neighbor to neighbor the system is essentially saying that you are not allowed to even TRY to compete with the large model. It is not so much about the consumer as it is about the producer. The producer, manufacturer, dealer, MUST be big and follow all the standards (many of which the big guys created themselves to their own benefit like the shelf-stability). If you don’t, you aren’t allowed in the game. This eliminates any small competitor from trying to steal any of their market. However, people -the consumers- are starting to wake up. There is a growing underground movement and revolt in food to go slow and local (and closer to its raw state) instead of fast and mass manufactured.

This underground network of cow-shares, food coops and sharing, Craigslist sales and Farmers Markets is growing stronger every day. People are rejecting the idea that you must obey the big box standards in order to be worthwhile. People are pushing to become fruitful! It is, at the very least, a glimmer of hope in a (milk) box of standards.

Overall, certainly, I don’t think the factory-model should or would be able to sell raw milk because of all the limitations of centralization, but I do believe people should be able to seek out a local source of food that comes straight from the animal or ground. People should be able to have their own chickens for eggs, goats for milk and gardens for veggies. And if they don’t have enough land, they should be able to find a local farmer who can sell it to them.

If nothing else, this discussion makes me want to get some land, and a cow or goat and go live like Dugout Dick! But as yet it seems we cannot live without money in our modern world. The raw vs pasteurized milk debate is a great example of how easy it is to fall into the trap of assuming that just because that is the way it is that that is how it ought to be.

Assets
An asset is anything of value that your company owns — including cash. Assets get recorded on the balance sheet in terms of their dollar values. Even if you used credit to purchase an asset, you still own it. Its full dollar value gets recorded on one side of the balance sheet as an asset, and the amount you owe gets recorded on the other side of the balance sheet as a liability.

Liabilities
Anything a company owes to people or businesses other than its owners is considered a liability.

Break through the Chains

While these are useful starting places, they usually don’t do the average person looking for financial freedom any good. So, I’ve made a chart that is basically a continuum from liabilities to assets in our daily lives. I tried to think of most categories that people spend money and time in (food, housing, clothing, education, transportation, etc) but it could be for nearly anything.

Most people have some of each of these, but I would bet that the majority of folks don’t have very many items in the far right column (Fruitful Living and Innovation) and probably have way too many in the far left column (Subscriptions and Modern Conveniences -that actually aren’t too convenient). The two categories in the middle, what I call One Time Purchases or Neutral and Frugal Living or Saving, basically are net-zero type activities or purchases. They don’t really harm you and they don’t really change your life too much. Certainly, however, on a continuum, if you spend more time in the Neutral land and not much in Frugal Living, you will never move up to becoming Fruitful or Innovative. So that is why Frugal Living is an asset instead of liability.

Click this link for full chart: Liabilities and Assets revised

But it should be said that it is easy to get stagnant in Frugal Living. So many people who have managed to get out of the liability section remain stuck in Frugal Living. This is not necessarily a bad thing, and for some people, such as those who are retired and ready to put their creativity to rest, this is a comfortable, safe place to stay. However, for those who are ready to move forward and live a fruitful life, it will entail some risks, adventures and innovation. You must be careful to not turn ruthless in this last step. Basically, on the left side, you are a slave, on the right side you are the master. You must be careful to rule as “master” in a way that helps to set others free as well, rather than enslaving a whole new group.

When you move from just buying things after falling for slick marketing -especially unneccessary subscriptions-  you start to look at buying things just once instead of over and over again. This is when you move from the worst liabilities (Subscriptions and Modern Conveniences) to the minor liabilities (One Time, Neutral Purchases). Then you start to think about whether you even want to buy it in the first place! And you look for ways to save or not spend money. You might start clipping coupons, going to the library, gardening and canning and other ways of saving. This is exiliharting because you have found a way to live without giving up all of your money for what is sometimes the exact same thing for very little or nothing. You have moved from the One-time Purchases to Frugal Living. You are free in more than one way. But this is  not where you should stop!

That is the mistake so many of the tightwad, budget, frugal advice gurus. This is great that you got there, but you need to take it one step further if you really want to reap the benefits. You were in a casino, playing in their game of money. Turn it around! Open your own casino. As a master rather than slave, you control the world. Make it a better place. Help others get off the merry-go-round. Start cooperative projects. Not all ideas from the current ”masters” are bad. Use them to your benefit until enough people have reached that level that you can all work together.   You, together with others who use and apply this information, will change the world for the better. But it starts with you!

Figure out where you spend most of your time on this chart. The vast majority of people will spend a little bit in each section, and that’s ok. Work to gradually spend more of your time on the right side of the chart rather than the left. If you are just starting out, you might be spending a lot of your time getting set up, finding a place to live, furniture, a job maybe. As you get settled in, you will be able to move to becoming more free and fruitful. Try to spend as little time in the “subscriptions” section as possible, even if you are just starting out. You can become frugal at any age and that will give you the  platform of savings to jump into exciting opportunities to multiply your money.

Think of your money as “freedom fighters”, each time you spend one does it die right there? Or does it go out and recruit more freedom fighters for your cause (your freedom)? If you are ok with being a slave to the system, being in debt, worrying about money, then don’t change a thing and enjoy your “modern conveniences”, but if you want those freedom fighters to bring you freedom, put them to work in the places where they will grow and thrive, or at least stay safe (saved).

When purchasing a home, think about its future potential as a vehicle to free you from the rat race and make you more fruitful. The easiest way to do this is by running a home business inside and raising your food outside.

Land size is important in deciding where to live as well. You want to be able to have a large garden and raise a few helpful animals like chickens, bees, and maybe goats for goat cheese or milk. Enough room for a water catchment, a nearby river, water rights and a well would also be preferable for your primary home. Consider a south facing home for energy efficiency and possibly solar panels. Why consider these things, you may ask. I don’t want to become a farmer, you may think.

Your Backyard Can and Should be Productive and Fruitful!

Well, if you are to truly become free (or at least somewhat freer) from the rat race and don’t want to sell out, you will need to learn to be more self-sufficient and get off all those subscriptions. You don’t need to do all of these things right away, but plan ahead BEFORE buying the property. It is easier to expand into these things if you planned ahead of time than having to move.  (For a more intermediate or advanced look at this, you can check out The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It by John Seymour)

You may think this sounds like you must live in the country. That may be the case for you if you become completely off-grid, but for those hybrids among us who aren’t quite ready to live like Thoreau, living in the city can actually be beneficial. A half acre yard in the city can provide a family a lot, and many times because of the proximity to everything else, bicycle travel and connections to so many other people. It is wonderful that we have such an underground Craigslist classified ad market where you can sell your excess food and things you make at home. Another great online resource is Etsy.com for those artistic types who can make anything out of yarn, beads, or even pop tabs!

An inspiration who has truly utilized their home to its fullest potential is The Path to Freedom family. They live in the middle of Pasadena, but have made an urban oasis and business. Check it out: