Jennifer's Experience at the Wise Traditions Conference

My best friend from college, Jennifer Shelby, is today's guest writer.  She joined me at the Weston A. Price Annual conference in Indianapolis last weekend.  --Julie

It was so motivating to be a part of the 15^th Annual Wise Traditions 2014 Conference, titled Focus on Food last weekend in Indianapolis.  And, I was in good company!  I reunited with longtime friend, Julie, author of the Real Food in Little Rock blog, and her friend Jami of Freckle Face Farm.  We joined more than 1,000 real food enthusiasts, including many names I recognized from the world of traditional food blogs.  Everyone I met was friendly and seemed so happy to be at this conference, surrounded by like-minded foodie folks. Being in this group affirmed that my family’s food and lifestyle choices are indeed worth it!

I enjoyed hearing numerous, very detailed presentations on topics I was familiar with such as the GAPS diet, history of the Weston A. Price Foundation, benefits of and techniques for preparing fermented foods, and more.  Some presentations were quite technical and stretched my brain, necessitating more research at home on topics such as cell wall deficient forms bacteria and their connection to chronic illness.  As a chronic Lyme disease sufferer, I was captivated by the many stories of health recovery told by conferences presenters and attendees.    

This conference literally feeds your body and brain.  We were served delicious, nutrient dense food throughout the conference.  I noticed there was no need for mid-afternoon, sugar-laden snack breaks when lunch consisted of rich cheeses, pastured meats, veggies, ferments, and plentifully buttered bread!  At most conferences I’ve attended, participants are slumped in their seats after lunch waiting for a coffee break and cookie.  Not so here.  You could feel the difference from being nourished with real foods that don’t wreck your blood sugar levels. 

The exhibitor area was amazing.  Throughout the day we had opportunities to meet and chat with vendors passionate about producing and promoting products such as garden kraut, fermented beet kvass, cinnamon tingle fermented cod liver oil, smoked sockeye salmon, fresh cream of coconut, and so much more.  It was great fun sampling all the products and deciding which ones to purchase and take home to my family. 

Overall this was a great experience and I hope to have the opportunity to attend another conference in the future. 

--Jennifer Shelby

Midway, Kentucky