Why We’re Obsessed With Independence Day at 1984Farms (And You Should Be Too!)

When Steven and I met, our first conversation was a short 6 hours about how we wanted to live our lives. We found commonality while discussing independence, raising our own foods, and developing practical skills. It was kind of amazing. 

After we were married, we would purchase meat in bulk from the grocery store and one time the packaging on the ground beef was really bloated. When we opened it the meat smelled horrible and was green and slimy. We had to throw it away. This was the last straw for us (we had had other negative experiences with store-bought meat over the years) and we decided we wanted to know where our meat came from and how it was being processed. 

In 2017 we started raising our own beef/pork and then in 2021 we started 1984Farms and began offering our grass-raised and finished meats to others. 

The name of our farm, 1984Farms, is inspired by George Orwelle’s 1984 and Animal Farm.

In 1984 there are no morals except whatever the current theme is. There is no foundation, the people’s lives are lucid, reactive, and apathetic. They’ve been controlled to the point that there’s nihilism and defeatism – no one wants to be accountable. They only care about the things they are told to care about. 

If you’ve read those books, you know the themes of their compelling stories.  We decided to use those titles as a sort of tongue-in-cheek statement, and those who are familiar with these stories of tyranny, overreaching government, socialism, and collectivism will see that our values and principles are the exact opposite. 

We’re currently seeing frighteningly similar themes in real-time… shifting morals and wishy-washy attitudes about right and wrong. “Big Brother”/“The Man”/European Fascism is waging war against freedoms, independent thought, rugged individualism, and anyone who would dare strike out and “conquer the West”. As a society, we wait for “experts”, government, peers, or any kind of “authority” to tell us what’s appropriate to absolve us of responsibility and “consequence”. 

The Americans we believe in hold values around independence and true freedom, and we believe that’s you. 

You and I know we are held to a higher standard than the fleeting trends and policies of Government. We personally believe that this higher standard is God’s standard, and we will be accountable to Him. In 1984 and Animal Farm, God doesn’t exist. 

In December, right after the Winter Solstice, we celebrate Christmas, which  represents when Christ came into the world. We remember and honor the “Light of the World” after just having experienced the darkest day of the year.  

Relatedly, the 4th of July is right around the Summer Solstice, the longest, lightest day of the year. 

On Independence Day, we also celebrate light. We also celebrate truth, independent thought, questioning, reasoning, following your heart, doing what is in your gut, and being passionate about life without fear. 

On the 4th of July, Independence Day, we celebrate the end of tyranny. It represents everything that overcomes darkness. 

America is supposed to be a light to the world. We still feel that.

Yes, the name of our farm is ironic. When you get to know us you will see that we, like many farmers, are seasonal in our approach to life. We rest when we need to. We are accountable and responsible. We are even-kill, level-headed. We are reasonable in our approach to life. 

We are also a little “unreasonable” when it is time or necessary to do things that are important to us. We will work like lunatics to make something happen, push to support our community when we see a need, we give of ourselves, and sacrifice our goods and belongings for our fellow men. 

The foundational principles that America was originally built on are also the bedrock foundation of 1984Farms. 

So, we hope you really celebrate the 4th of July this year and remember the tyranny we have already overcome, and by returning to our traditional American values we can, and will, overcome it again.