The Little Red Hen

Dear Friends,

This year promises to be a very interesting one, full of challenges and change. Are you ready? Do you look at the future with optimism, hope, faith?

Today I would like to talk about one of my favorite stories, the story of the Little Red Hen. This Chinese New Year is called the red fire rooster, but I found one website that said it was actually the year of the red hen. Have you ever had the chance to visit a farm fair with hens, roosters and baby chicks? Perhaps you have some of your own and enjoy the gift of fresh eggs. They are absolutely beautiful, and the little baby chicks, under a heat lamp to keep them warm, are simply adorable.

Now chickens are very industrious as we know. Perhaps you already know the story of the little red hen. She lived on a farm with other animals. One day she decided to take on the project of making bread. Now this was a very challenging undertaking for a little chicken. Seeds first had to be planted, the wheat grown, ripened and harvested, ground into flour and finally made into bread. At each step of the way, she asked the others for help:

Who will help plant the seeds?

Who will help harvest the wheat and grind it into flour?

Who will help bake the bread?

None of the other animals were interested in helping, and she did the work all by herself. When the bread was ready, of course the other animals were more than happy to partake, but the little red hen decided she should enjoy the fruits of her labours all by herself. Of course, the story does not mention if she had little chicks to feed, but I wouldn’t be surprised. Perhaps one of the questions could be:

Who will feed my children?

This question is one that can be taken literally and figuratively. On the world stage, I truly believe that we need to be helping our less fortunate neighbours, oh, and by the way, with no feeling that a debt has been incurred and needs to be repaid. That is false economics. Neither is it fair for more industrialized countries to progress at the expense of, and downright cheating, of poorer countries. We know now that whatever happens in one place, has far reaching effects around the world – we do not live in a vacuum. We also must accept that each country, or “empire” has its day, and then recedes as another rises. It is the natural way of history. In other words, cycles of time. We have the technology that can help people be self-sufficient. Biodynamics is making a huge change in areas with poor soil, such as India. We cannot imagine trying to feed a billion people, certainly not without devastating the landscape, flora and fauna.

This year, let’s remember the story of the Little Red Hen. As you sow, so also shall you reap.

Wishing everyone a bountiful harvest!

Sparky