That's Sustainability

With all the talk in the media today about sustainability and green environmental practices, its difficult to decide what is real and what is hype.  Last week I read a water bottle label that announced that the company was using 20% less plastic to make the lid of their bottles.  As a result, they claimed that their product was "eco-friendly" and "green".  I don't know about anyone else but I feel like using those words in that context really creates a lot of confusion.  Just because we waste so much, does that make us "green" and "eco-friendly" when we don't waste as much? 

 Well all of that thinking caused me to sit up and take notice when I was talking to some other Cassels who happened to visit our winery yesterday for their father's 50th birthday.  They were a great group and we talked about our possible relationship.  After a long discussion we found that indeed we were related from 4 generations back.  My Great Grandpa Christian who started the farm was one of 16 children and their Great Grandpa was his brother.  So we are cousins 4 generations removed.  I have enclosed two article to prove my Great Grandpa was indeed the man I claim he was.  He was recognized as a sustainable farmer back before environmental consciousness was even heard of.  My father was just telling me the harvest figures for this years soybean harvest and the numbers were incredible.  Most of the farms in our area who do not practice sustainable practices really struggled in the heat and variable weather but our soybeans and grapes produced huge crops.  Looking back, I guess we have Great Grandpa Chris to thank for teaching us the right way to treat our land since 1900.  Now that's Sustainability.