Used by permission of W. J. Lewis. The article can be viewed in its entirety here.

The Perfect Meal
May, 2005
by True Warner

It's a typical day. You're hungry so you drive to a fast-food place and spend $7.00 on a Mad Cow artery clogger, some potato-filled grease sticks, and a high fructose carbonated beverage. Where's the sense in that? We are eating expensive, unhealthy food and we need to change what we have for dinner.

How many of you have taken any type of cooking class in high school? Schools formerly offered cooking courses. Perhaps.....it is a conspiracy by the fast food corporations to make us depend on their food. By patronizing fast food, we are like a little baby drinking milk from the teats of Philip Morris and Tricon Global Restaurants incorporated. It's despicable.

Today I want to show you the serious problems that the fast food industry is causing. And stay tuned because later on I will explain my solution.

In our country, working at minimum wage salary for an entire hour will buy you a greasy, fattening meal at a fast food megacorporation. Not only is eating at fast food chains exceedingly unhealthy it's expensive. It is causing health problems such as heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and cancer. A report by National Public Radio indicated that American consumers owe $1.7 trillion in credit card and other debt. That means that the average person owes $56,000. And if that person buys all meals at "fast food" establishments, it could cost at least $7,000 per year. That‘s a lot of money to spend on low quality food.

Direct and indirect problems caused by eating fast food are significant. With medical rates higher than ever, is this a wise way to spend money? As I pointed out, many health problems can be at least indirectly attributed by eating at fast food megacorporations that have been plaguing our country. These corporations continue to need deeper pockets for the populous that often can least afford either their meals, or the ensuing health problems.

So why do we eat at fast food? There are a number of reasons. We are programmed to like the taste of fat and sugar, but we actually need very little of it; enough of it can be found in the basic food groups. The advertising industry tempts us into eating fast food by bombarding us with commercials of good-looking people patronizing their establishments. And lest we let them get off the hook easily, should the restaurant industry also be blamed for selling unhealthy food?

As a solution, we might consider cooking for ourselves! Many healthy foods are cheap, easy to cook, and are a complete source of vitamins. One of the few things left of the Native American diet are the common bean varieties that too few of us now eat today.

May I propose that beans are a delectable choice for protein, and they have such a wide range of nutrients that you could live off them alone. Also, vegetables provide a substantial source of vitamins. My personal favorite is swiss chard because it is easy to grow. More reasons that I like swiss chard are because it is loaded with nutrients, is easy to grow at home, and it produces high yields.

Since the 1500s, the potato has been crucial to western civilizations in times of war and famine. They are easy to cook, good for you, and taste great. Beans, vegetables, and potatoes are easy to find in a store (much cheaper than boxed and prepared alternatives) and not that difficult to cook.

Beans can be bought at market—a 25-pound sack for just $10.00. Potatoes are among some of the vegetables grown on our small farm but a 10 pound sack of them at a market can be had for as little as a dollar. How many bags of frozen french-fries can be bought for that...or for that matter, how many boxes of dehydrated mashed potatoes?

These foods are among the simplest to prepare. Do a search on the internet and you will have directions in no time. By choosing to prepare beans, vegetables, and potatoes instead of buying expensive, unhealthy fast food, financial and health benefits would be substantial. A home-grown meal, for example could cost as little as 15 cents—much less than what a meal costs at any restaurant! Beans, vegetables and potatoes are far superior to fast food in almost every way. Eating beans, vegetables, and potatoes every day will produce immediate health benefits and you will feel better physically and mentally. You will likely end up losing a few pounds which might even improve your social image. Growing fresh produce is cheap and rewarding.

It's not easy to quit eating foods loaded with sugars and fats; some have compared the addiction to nicotine. It doesn't help that we can’t watch television for ten minutes without a commercial popping up that triggers these cravings. The people that make those commercials study the human psyche and find ways to exploit it that would impress Adolph Hitler himself.

It's time to "just say no" to the fast-food megacorps which are causing so many problems in our society. Plant some swiss chard in your backyard and walk down to your nearest grocery store, then go purchase a big sack each of beans and potatoes.

References
A Nation in Debt
www.npr.org/programs/atc/features/2003/jan/debt/

History of the Potato
www.westernpotatoes.com.au/schools/history/cfm

Stevko, Phillip J. Everything You Need To Know About Beans
http://waltonfeed.com/self/beans2.html

Warner, John. Degree in Horticulture. Personal interview. 2 May, 2005.

Let's Raise Gasoline Taxes Now
April, 2005
by True Warner

Look at the problems excessive use of automobiles are causing. Petroleum-based transportation is the largest cause of respiratory ailments such as asthma, and other health problems.

I'm sure you've all heard about global warming, which is already causing irreparable damage to our planet and is caused mainly by petroleum based transportation. Petroleum is what our society has been built around and immediate action needs to be taken to reduce our dependency on this finite resource.

Air pollution from petroleum based transportation is making millions of us sick as well as the planet on which we live. We should ask legislators to raise the gasoline tax because it would clean up air pollution and could change our society to one that depends less on petroleum than it currently does.

Later on I will explain my solution, but for now let's look at the problems.

The stuff that is emitted from motor vehicles is comprised of a substantial list of harmful chemicals such as carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter, just to name a few. When those chemicals are breathed in, health problems such as bronchitis, asthma, lung disease, emphysema, and even cancer can result. Those who live in valley areas, say of southern California suffer the most.

Another factor caused from the emissions is global warming — already causing noticeable changes to our earth. These changes include melting of the polar ice caps, rising ocean levels and air temperatures, and climatic changes that devastate ecosystems.

Industrialized nations a high dependency on fossil fuels. Lately, respected scientists and economic scholars are saying that the world gasoline supply will not be able to meet demand. It is fine to remain optimistic; perhaps we will find new sources of energy. But nobody really knows how difficult conditions will become. What is certain is that life without oil won’t be an easy transition and immediate action needs to be taken to reduce our dependency on it and develop new sources of energy.

Now for my solution which I promised earlier — higher taxes on gasoline. In Europe and Japan the tax on gasoline averages $2.00 per gallon. As a result, they ride bicycles, carpool, use public transportation, and drive fuel efficient cars. They have cleaner skies and depend less on petroleum. Recently an article appeared in the Fresno Bee with the interviewee explaining how higher gas taxes could help our huge federal debt.

In the United States, federal and state taxes average only 40 cents per gallon. U.S. onsumers are some of the most gas-conumptive people in the world. Fifty percent of the vehicles produced by U.S. auto makers are trucks and SUVs. I would encourage everyone to write your legislators. Find out how to reach them by doing a search on the internet, then encourage them to raise our gasoline tax.

With the goal of spending less on gasoline, consumers would take action. People might trade in their gas-guzzling monsters for smaller cars with better gas mileage. They would learn to use carpool, bicycles, motorcycles, public transportation, and reduce their driving overall.

Businesses would take action. Automakers would further produce and develop "hybrids", improving technology and causing them to be cheaper for us to buy. Automakers and other businesses would invest in alternative sources of energy, such as solar, wind, fuel cell, and geothermal power. This would not only further develop alternate sources of energy, but would greatly reduce emissions, saving the health of our people and our planet.

Visualize what would things be like in 2015 if we raised the gasoline tax today: People riding bicycles, motorcycles, carpooling, and possibly using newly invented vehicles. Harmful chemicals that the burning of fossil fuels cause are reduced, and as a result, aid millions of people with health problems. It would be a step toward slowing, perhaps ending, global warming. And it will help build a sturdy bridge to a society that no longer depends on the dwindling fossil fuels.

References:
Becker, Gary S. “Want to Cut Gasoline Use? Raise Taxes”
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/02_21/b3784039.htm

“Cars and Trucks and Air Pollution” Union of Concerned Scientists
http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_vehicles/archive/page.cfm?pageID=207

“Global Warming” Union of Concerned
Scientistshttp://www.ucsusa.org/global_environment/global_warming/index.cfm

“Warns of Energy Crisis.” NewsGateway
http://www.newsgateway.ca/toronto_star_oil_crisis.htm

Group of Artists Paints Scenes from Madera Flower Garden
Friday, September 16, 2005
By Ramona Frances
Used by permission of the Madera Tribune.
The actual article is no longer available online, but photos can be viewed in our Gallery section.

Valley artists met at a Madera family's commercial flower garden to paint Thursday.

Preferring to paint outdoors in a less than manicured environment, they surrounded themselves with layers of sunflowers, dahlias, salvias and celosias. Transferring color to paper, their paintings took on the appearance of the locale.

The group does not refer to themselves as a class, but rather, people who share a creative interest in what is referred to as "plein air," which is Fresnan for painting outdoors.

The artists will have their work on display at Fresno City Hall until September 26.

Artist Nancy Kemmer has received the Kay Boron memorial award two years in a row. Three of the participants, Jo Ann Scarbrough, Kemmer and Kay Sermon, will be showing their work at the upcoming Madera Circle Gallery's "Celebrate Agriculture with the Arts" event.

"The difference between our group and others is that I conduct a critique at the end of each week," Sermon said. "I have seen great leaps in improvement and in my own as well. We meet weekly all year round." Sermon is the designated organizer of the group. She paints and sells her work at the Vineyard Farmer's Market on Shaw and Blackstone avenues in Fresno.

"Kay has been painting as long as I can remember around the Vineyard Farmer's Market," said J.C. Warner, flower vendor at the Vineyard Farmer's Market. "She does market scenes. She painted that big billboard on Highway 41 and Shaw. You can only see it when you are heading west on Shaw. Richard Erganian, the founder of the Vineyard Farmer's Market, arranged for her to do that."

Warner, of Whole Systems Agriculture in Madera County, along with his family, grows and sells flowers and plants used for arrangements. "I told her and the group to come out and paint the flower garden," he said. "This was their first time here."

"We paint on location," Sermon said. "We have done lots of orchards and ranches, old homes, the Moen ranch on the river, barns and city scapes in Madera."

Two of the artists in the group are formerly from Madera. Scarbrough and Maryann Ryan Nyberg are both from long cattle families here.

The "Celebrating Agriculture" exhibition will be held Sept. 22, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Circle Gallery, 511 West Yosemite Ave., in Madera.

Bread Making by Glory: Simple by design
Wednesday, September 01, 2004
By Ramona Frances
Used by permission of the Madera Tribune. The actual article with photos can be viewed here.

Thirteen-year old Glory Warner makes bread for her family, four loaves at a time, twice a week. Her dad, John Warner, was recently profiled in an article, "An Innovative Family Approach To Growing And Selling." The article described Warner's methodical approach to growing flowers and vegetables.

Warner also applies a step-by-step approach to making bread, a method that his daughter, Glory, has adopted. "The bread only takes 15 minutes (add an hour and 45 minutes for standby time) from getting the idea to sticking it in the bag," said Glory. During the mixing, rising and baking she does other work. "I use two long pans (3 1/2 by 14 inches) and after fashioning four small loaves, I insert a separator (the end of a tin can) in the middle of each pan for two 7-inch loaves per pan," she explained while demonstrated her technique. Smaller loaves means fresher bread, although with six household members, and hearty men's and teen's appetites, there is little chance for bread to get stale.

The flour formula is premixed and stored in a large plastic container, 1/3 whole wheat, 2/3 white flour. Six cups of premixed flour are used for each batch, then 13 oz. of water is added. Glory demonstrated by putting a small amount of salt in the palm of her hand and added it to the mixture. "The only things we use," says Glory, "are flour, yeast, salt and water." She poured ingredients into the bread machine's liner pan and gave it a shake. "Then press dough setting," she said.

"We only use the first 30 minutes of the mixing cycle in the bread machine," said Glory. It is removed and allowed to finish rising in a warm oven. "We found the rising temperature in the bread machine is too high," says John Warner. "The result was that bread got too soft, and produced a loaf dense on the bottom. We now make very uniform bread," he said. The whole procedure is very quick. It takes 1/2 hour to rise in warm weather and 40 minutes to rise in cooler weather. "Cold water slows it down too," said Glory. Bread is baked at 400 degrees, and timer is set for 1/2 hour.

John Warner has made bread for over thirty years. "I figured out a way to make it easier—the simplest way, the fewest ingredients, the cheapest, and without cleanup." Now Glory makes it for the entire household, which is a total of six people. The way the bread is cooled affects the bread's texture too, since dry crumbly bread is usually undesirable. A method used to keep bread from crumbling is allowing it to cool in a pot that the family refers to as a humidor. A rack is placed at the bottom of the large, lidded pot so the bread does not sit in the moisture as it cools. The humidor method keeps the bread moist for consistent slicing. Once cooled, the loaves are bagged into plastic and kept refrigerated.

Warner, whose first wife was of German descent explained that the sign of a good frau (German word for housewife) was being able to cut bread well. "The fact is, it’s easier to cut straight slices from a narrow loaf than a thick one" said Warner. "That’s why we use pans only 3-1/2 inches wide."

When the bread is completely cool, it’s bagged and kept in the refrigerator. When Glory was asked what inspired her to make bread, she said with a wide-eyed grin, "Dad made me."

Simple Bread Ingredients:
6 cups pre-mixed four (1/3 whole wheat, 2/3 white flour)
1/2 heaping tablespoon yeast
13 oz water
salt to flavor

An innovative family approach to growing and selling
Wednesday, August 11, 2004
By Ramona Frances
Used by permission of the Madera Tribune. The actual article with photos can be viewed here.

Madera residents John Warner, Senior, and his son John (J.C.) Warner, along with the help of an extended family, appear to have what it takes for creating and growing a niche business called Madera Whole Systems Agriculture.

Formerly called Flowergarden of Madera, the 2-acre farm is located in the Bonadelle Ranchos just west of Highway 41 between Avenues 14 and 15 in Madera County.

The Warners have been growing vegetables and flowers in Madera since 1996. They see their work as an exercise in innovation and creativity.

Striking features of the garden include the 20 raised beds that are 150 feet long, with sloping shoulders and alleys between the beds wide enough to accommodate their riding lawn mower and electric utility vehicle.

They practice a no-tillage, permanent-mulch system inspired by Ruth Stout, a popular garden writer of the 1960s and 70s best known for her book, Gardening Without Work. Other influences include Masanobu Fukuoka and Emilia Hazelip’s Synergistic Agriculture.

While Stout purchased her mulch in bales, the Warners grow a portion of theirs in the alleys during the cool of the year when water requirements are minimal compared to the hot days of the summer.

When 68-year-old John Warner was asked why he doesn't till the soil he said, "As soon as you open the soil and let air in, carbon and humus is burned up."

Humus, a desirable by-product of compost, is organic matter in a highly decayed state, rich in plant nutrient ions, and when added to soil, increases the soil's ability to hold water. The senior Warner regards tillage as an undesirable practice because it destroys soil structure and organic matter and contributes to topsoil erosion.

A retired Agriculture teacher who taught in Orange County in the 1960s, Warner has been influenced by the work of John Jeavons and his spin-off organization, Ecology Action. Jeavons is credited with having introduced French Intensive Gardening to the U.S., a model of growing vegetables that encourages the use of organic materials and using less space to grow more.

Jeavons made intensive-bed planting famous when he published his book How to Grow More Vegetables.

Warner encourages permanent mulching. Mulching is the process of using organic or inorganic material to cover soil. Layers of material are used to cover soil and block the sunlight. Depending to some degree on the materials used, it is an effective method of preventing germination and growth of annual weeds. Since most seeds require sunlight to germinate, mulch is significant as a weed control method.

"You wouldn’t want your mother to go without clothes, and the earth is your mother," Warner said with a grin.

The minerals and organic matter gradually released from decaying mulch feeds deficient soils, replacing nutrients taken up by roots as plants grow. If the mulch used is not broken down sufficiently - such as green hay - fertilizers may be added to provide nutrients that were consumed as organic materials decompose.

When it's time to plant, that is most mornings of the week, Warner and his 16 year old son Ray are out planting a fresh, 25-foot section of bed. They work sequentially through the garden. In the course of a year, the whole garden is planted twice. They start most of their plants in flats per individual cell and set them out a foot apart within the bed.

Holes are drilled through a fresh layer of grass clippings with a cordless drill fitted with an auger.

The young plants are dropped into the holes, squeezed in by hand and watered with a fan spray. New plantings need hand watering for a week, said Warner, until their roots get out into the surrounding soil where drip irrigation is incorporated.

The beds are then dried out, cleaned out, remulched and replanted with very little soil disturbance.

A well-thought-out system or plan is followed. The time and amount of energy spent on each task is calculated and used to influence the choices they make regarding the type of gardening or small farming they do. The amount of walking Warner does, for example, is a consideration since efficiency is highly valued and decisions are influenced based on it.

"I did a motion study. I discovered that the thing I do most of is walk." said Warner.

During a home tour, Warner demonstrated by counting the number of steps it took him to move seedlings at one station, to a second and third station and so forth, including from the greenhouse to the soil. A golf cart is used to transport people and plants to cover an even larger area as efficiently as possible.

"Make all garden tasks repetitive, cyclic, mimic the flow of days and nights, season to season," says Warner.

When Warner was asked how whole-systems agriculture differs from conventional, organic and other forms of alternative agriculture, he indicated that the most obvious way is in its use of conventional science, technology, tractors, sprayers, fertilizers. It also included the way agriculture is viewed as a whole.

"I first described Whole Systems Agriculture on the Whole Earth Magazine website in the year 2000 or so," he said. "It is based on General Systems Theory as it was presented to the scientific community in the 1940s by Bertalanffy and popularized, by physicist-philosopher Fritjof Capra in his book, The Turning Point. Dr. Capra is also author of a biography of Dr. Bertalanffy, The Tao of Physics, and a work on systems ecology, The Web of Life.

"Dr. Capra introduced me to systems thinking through his books," Warner once told the board of directors of the Vineyard Farmers Market, one of the locations where his children sell plants and less common produce to the public.

"In Whole Systems Agriculture, the model for a garden or farm is a complex living organism, compared to a human being or a human social community. The assembly line factory, as an example, serves as a model for more traditional scientific agriculture. It would follow then, that the Whole Systems garden or farm might enjoy advantages similar to the advantages human beings enjoy over machines.

"These advantages include the ability to self-organize and grow rather than just be constructed and then wear down as an automobile does. It includes the advantages of being able to respond quickly to changes in supply and the availability of inputs, such as those derived from petroleum, and changes in price and demand of farm products." he said.

A master's level program called Whole Systems has been developed through Antioch University in Washington State and is already being applied in backyard operations.

It might be said that a known operation can be born from big ideas, and big ideas can be born out of small operations.