“Pay the farmer or pay the doctor” means that one should eat healthy food (that costs a little more than processed food) and stay healthy, or one should pay the doctor after eating unhealthy food. “Pay the farm or pay the doctor” has been cited in print since at least 2006.
 
“Pay the farmer or pay the hospital” was popularized in September 2010 in a TEDxNextGeneration speech by 11-year-old Birke Baehr.
 
Related sayings include “Let’s pay the farmer, not the pharmacist,” “Pay the farmer now or pay pharma later” and “We pay the doctor to make us better. But we should pay the farmer to keep us healthy.”
   
   
Macaroni Grill
EAT WELL, FEEL WELL
Along the Italian Mediterranean, they have a saying, “Pay the farmer or pay the doctor,” meaning that if you eat well, you will feel well. It is a simple philosophy that’s brought to life in the fresh, delicious recipes for which the region is so famous. Since these authentic recipes contain just a few ingredients, each one must be of the highest quality.
 
15 November 2006, Columbus (GA) Ledger-Enquirer, “It’s great having a chef in the family come Thanksgiving,” pg. E1:
“The deal is, pay the farmer or pay the doctor,” Du Val said.
 
Active Low-Carber Forums
Voo36
Wed, Oct-24-07, 06:59
“fresh nutritious food” ... The cost is outrageous here for fresh fruit and veggies. My mom said it recently cost her $10 for enough apples for her and my dad to have one a day for 2 weeks.
 
I know health has to be paid for sooner or later, either pay the farmer or pay the doctor later, which isnt my point.
   
Mary Jane’s Farm Outpost
Tracey Tiret
Posted - Mar 28 2009 :  6:21:11 PM  
I’m the chapter leader of SW Portland Farmgirls, and I want to hear from my sisters about their urban homesteads. For those of us who like milking out our goat and then going to The Orchestra. We dig our dirt and then put on our flamenco skirts. Fill our cars with homemade fuel, while dreaming off-the-grid. I can hear my hens over the freeway and balance seems restored. My children think our nigerian dwarf wether like “the family dog.” Lets share insights, experiences, and tips of the trade.
 
“Either pay the farmer or pay the doctor.”
     
Sparkpeople: DGILBRIDE1949
Pay The Farmer Or Pay The Doctor
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Have you ever heard a phrase or a saying hundreds of times and never really heard it? Then one day you hear it again…and…wow!
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Pay the farmer or pay the doctor.
 
Hasn’t that what I have been saying all along; the very reason I will not go to a doctor…the foods we eat can heal us better than any drugs that are prescribed. The strongest medicine I take is White Willow Bark. It goes with everything. There are no side effects. I don’t know many doctors that will write a prescription for a head of lettuce, a bunch of carrots, or cucumbers, and I don’t think it will be happening any time soon.
     
Justmeans
Sep 27, 2010 1:14 AM EDT
Organic food, sustainable living with Birke Baehr
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In his talk he eloquently says that, “you can either pay the farmer or the hospital” - when I asked him about this, he said that GM food increases liver and kidney toxicity, other kidney problems as well cancer. He said, ” that seems like a $150,000 hospital dollar bill to me rather than fifty extra dollars on your grocery bill.” When I asked him why he thinks the government endorses a unhealthy food system, he replied that, “conglomerations involved with agriculture hire goodlooking men in suits that take our senators and congressmen out to very fancy dinners and practically bribe our politicians.”
   
Casper ter Kuile
Either You Pay The Farmer, Or You Pay The Hospital
September 29, 2010
This 11-year old kid opens a whole can of whoopass on this TEDx stage. Take five minutes and enjoy!
 
Lake County News (Lakeport, CA)
‘Healing Cancer from Inside Out’ is Second Sunday Cinema’s Free Film for Jan. 9
Friday, 31 December 2010 18:37 Shannon Tolson
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – “Healing Cancer from Inside Out” is a brave film that tackles what it calls “The Cancer Industry” – the medical establishment and Big Pharma, with the strong support of politicians and government, that make sure that they and only they are empowered to “cure” any condition.
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There’s a recent quote that says, “Pay the farmer or pay the doctor.” This film builds its case that it is far better to buy and eat healthy, organic food while avoiding meat, oil and dairy products – and avoid paying the doctor and Big Pharma later.
 
Mother Earth News
Pay the Farmer or Pay the Doctor
2/23/2011 10:51:16 AM
By Mary Lou Shaw
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How can any of us individually affect changes in our unhealthy food system? You know what I’m going to say; Buy and grow local food. As budgets get tighter, choose away from money and time spent for doctor visits and medication. Choose to pay local farmers and not the doctor.
 
milkwood
Pay the farmer, or pay the doctor. Your choice.
This entry was written by milkwoodkirsten, posted on September 8, 2011 at 6:00 am
Punchy little video piece about re-localisation of food, with soundtrack by Willie Nelson covering Coldplay.
 
As one of the comments on the post says “When I buy naturally raised meats I don’t think, “This costs so much!”, rather I know, “This is money that won’t be going toward chemo.” You will either pay the farmer or the doctor. It’s your choice.”