Page 91 - Spring2018

All Thumbs Book Reviews

or called “antibiotics” act like them when introduced into our bodies. by moving to real foods that are properly raised
Many things can alter our microbiome, which should lead us to eat and and grown and free from the pesticides and toxi-
live prudently, lest we damage our first line of defense against all sorts cants that now define the modern American diet.
of health problems and diseases. This is what happened to our family years ago,
GMOs are a constant theme throughout the book. There are stories and it is one of the reasons I became a member
of people who have experienced immense health improvements after they and then a chapter leader for the Weston A. Price
stopped consuming GMOs. Perro and Adams also discuss the history of Foundation (WAPF). In fact, the book ends by
Monsanto and other agrochemical companies, and the science that shows stating what Weston A. Price showed us—that
just how risky it is to flood not only our food supply but all flora and how we grow our food and how we grow our
fauna with these freakish chemicals. They rightly note that glyphosate, health are intimately interconnected.
the main chemical currently used in GM agriculture, first was patented My one quibble with the book is the final
as an antibiotic. From there, it has become the number-one chemical used chapter and its title, “A call to action: warrior
in food production in America. moms.” Until men in our culture and nation
The discussion of glyphosate is as depressing as one would expect. value the health of their families as much as
As I wrote this review, what popped up in my news feed? All five major moms do, the fight to restore our food system
brands of orange juice have tested positive for glyphosate. And glyphosate to some semblance of sanity is going to remain
isn’t just in our food. It is also all over our urban landscapes: our city parks, an extremely difficult uphill battle. It is no sur-
our green spaces, our sidewalks and our lawns. It is in our water, in our prise that studies and personal experience show
bodies and in our babies. While working through the glyphosate chap- that women already tend to care far more about
ter, I thought about how many studies show that male animals generally these issues than men do. Women do not need
have far worse responses to glyphosate than female animals. Could this to be stirred to action in this area, but the other
be why autism spectrum disorders are far more prevalent among males roughly 50 percent of the nation does. We need
than females? Studies already show that boys with autism and similar to learn how to appeal to and persuade both men
disorders are far more likely to have compromised digestive systems, and women. Only if both recognize the great
along with genetic vulnerabilities. Is glyphosate what pulls it all together? importance of these issues will we truly succeed
Although the book was a hard read for this dad of five, it is filled with in saving not just our food supply and farmers,
stories of hope. The book describes person after person and family after but our future. Two thumbs UP.
family who have escaped from the modern pharmaceutical mouse-wheel Review by John Moody

BOOK REVIEWS IN Wise Traditions

The Weston A. Price Foundation receives two or three books per week, all of course seeking a Thumbs Up review. What are
the criteria we use for choosing a book to review, and for giving a Thumbs Up?
• First and foremost, we are looking for books that add to the WAPF message. Dietary advice should incorporate the WAPF
guidelines while adding new insights, new discoveries and/or new therapies.
• We are especially interested in books on the fat-soluble vitamins, traditional food preparation methods and healing protocols
based on the WAPF dietary principles.
• We look for consistency. If you talk about toxins in vaccines in one part of your book, but say you are not against vaccines in
another part of your book, or praise fat in your text but include recipes featuring lean meat, we are unlikely to review it.
• We do not like to give Thumbs Down reviews. If we do not agree with the major tenets expounded in a book sent to us, we
will just not review it. However, we feel that we have an obligation to point out the problems in influential or bestselling books
that peddle misinformation, and for these we will give a negative review. We also will give a negative review to any book that
misrepresents the findings of Weston A. Price.
• If you want us to review your book, please do not send it as an email attachment. Have the courtesy to send us a hard copy
book or a printout of your ebook or manuscript in a coil binding.

SPRING 2018 Wise Traditions 89