Every time I have a conversation with someone about nutrition, the Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF) is sure to come out of my mouth. I am not sure if anyone has every answered, “Yes,” when I ask if they have ever heard of the WAPF. Why does this so frequently come out of my mouth? Evidently, it’s been an invaluable resource I’ve grown to rely on when it comes to feeding myself and my family well. It’s past time I provide you with a Weston A. Price Foundation Overview. Shall we?
How Did I Learn About the Foundation?
Living in Northern California for five years following the final weeks of my pregnancy with my firstborn provided me with a slew of resources. It is only natural that the Weston A. Price Foundation practically fell into my lap, too. There was a local chapter that met monthly to potluck with real, homemade foods. In addition, they also sought out to learn about a relevant topic that changed each month.
I chose the above image here because it very perfectly portrays the feeling I would get when I would attend these meetings. I was back in time. An era where knowledge is shared openly and wisdom is passed down from older and wiser generations. Knowledge that was once passed down, and started slipping through the cracks at some point in the last few decades.
So, What is the Weston A. Price Foundation?
While the foundation covers a vast amount of topics, I think they describe their overall intentions best by how they explain their logo (pictured below). I can’t give you an adequate Weston A. Price Foundation Overview without this vital information, the heart of everything they share.
The Weston A. Price logo (a registered trademark of the Weston A. Price Foundation) superimposes three faces over the map of the world.
Reading from left to right, the first face is the broad face of someone who was nurtured with a nutrient-dense traditional diet, as were the traditional peoples of Alaska, Australia and the Pacific region, over which the face is positioned.
The left-hand face is the past. The middle face is the narrow face of someone brought up on industrialized food. It represents the present. The face is positioned over North America where these foods originated. The deleterious effects of these industrialized foods were first described by Dr. Weston Price whose name indicates to us that this legacy is truly the “price of the west,” the price cultures pay for western modernization.
The face on the right is the goal, the future–once again broad faces that come from nourishing diets. The face is superimposed on Europe and Africa, the ancestral homelands of many Americans. We must re-embrace traditional foods in order to restore nutrient-dense foods to our tables.
–Weston A. Price Foundation Website
We don’t pass down the knowledge of nourishing foods anymore to our children and grandchildren. Raise your hand if you were raised on cereal, pasteurized milk, top ramen, and fish sticks. ✋🏼
(Obviously I ate more than that, too, like: boxed mac n cheese, “I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter!” …the list goes on.)
I spend a lot of time investing in my calling within marriage and motherhood, reading and teaching myself new skills in the kitchen. Skills that I simply wasn’t raised on. You can, too.
Who Was Weston. A Price?
Dr. Weston A. Price was a dentist who lived from 1870-1948.
In his search for the causes of dental decay and physical degeneration that he observed in his dental practice, he turned from test tubes and microscopes to unstudied evidence among human beings. Dr. Price sought the factors responsible for fine teeth among the people who had them- the isolated “primitives.”
–Weston A. Price Foundation
Price’s studies include various different primitive cultures. These studies lead to the conclusion that the vast majority of physical issues find their roots in nutritional deficiencies.
When Dr. Price analyzed the foods used by isolated indigenous peoples he found that they provided at least four times the calcium and other minerals, and at least TEN times the fat-soluble vitamins from animal foods such as butter, fish eggs, shellfish and organ meats.
–Weston A. Price Foundation
You can find more details in this biography about Dr. Weston A. Price here.
What Can I Do to Start Feeding my Family an Ancestral Diet?
Thankfully, we’ve been provided with great resources because of modern technology and foundations like the WAPF and The Price-Pottenger Foundation. Homegrown Education is a sweet online friend of mine who participates in her local chapter in Ohio. Liz has created a phenomenal upper elementary curriculum-middle school nutrition curriculum that is perfect to supplement any learning environment. She is working on a lower elementary curriculum that I cannot wait for!
In addition to resources like I’ve mentioned above, I always recommend the books that the founder of the WAPF has provided. This wouldn’t be a Weston A. Price Foundation Overview if I didn’t mention these vital resources:
“This well-researched, thought-provoking guide to traditional foods contains a startling message: Animal fats and cholesterol are not villains but vital factors in the diet, necessary for normal growth, proper function of the brain and nervous system, protection from disease and optimum energy levels. Sally Fallon dispels the myths of the current low-fat fad in this practical, entertaining guide to a can-do diet that is both nutritious and delicious.”
I resource this book regularly to this day. Some of the best meals I’ve ever made have come from the inspirations in the recipes provided. This is a must-have book whether you are just beginning this journey or have been on this path for a while.
The Nourishing Traditions Book of Baby & Child Care
“The Nourishing Traditions Book of Baby & Child Care makes the principles of traditional nutrition available to modern parents. The book provides holistic advice for pregnancy and newborn interventions, vaccinations, breastfeeding and child development, as well as a compendium of natural treatments for childhood illnesses, from autism to whooping cough. The work of Rudulf Steiner supports the book’s emphasis on the child’s spiritual requirement for imaginative play.”
Equipped with the only formula option I would ever be comfortable making, this is another invaluable resource that every family should read through. If you ever plan to or already have children, add this to your bookshelf.
The above books are the two I have, but you can find those along with many more incredible books by visiting my Amazon Storefront here.
This post contains some affiliate links, meaning when you click on some of the links and make a purchase, I receive a commission which supports my efforts to share with you in this space the products and resources I used and love most.
Getting Passed the Overwhelmed
Look, I understand that there is a lot pining for your attention, including on the WAPF website itself. From raw milk, cod liver oil, and soy to dentistry, women’s health, and vaccinations it can be a lot to take in. I hope this overview provides you a more simplistic view of starting somewhere and growing at your own pace.
Start with something affordable and relatively simple like Making Chicken Bone Broth at Home using my free, printable recipe. Instructions on how to freeze it with little space included!
This is a huge reason I am working very hard to finish my Restore Your Home Checklist. I want you to restore your home to health and wellness. I want you to know how to combat modern conveniences that may be interfering with that goal. Newsletter subscribers will get the resource first when it’s available. Get on the list right here if you’re not already and share this with a friend who might be interested too!
Please feel free to reach out to me or comment below anytime if there are any specific questions you have about this Weston A. Price Foundation Overview!
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