Know your food, know your farmer

The new rallying cry of the local food movement is, "know where your food comes from". Mothers are persistently trying to educate their children that hamburger does not grow in the back room of Wal-Mart. This is so important as with each generation we become further and further removed from the farm. Most of us can recall first hand farm-life accounts from a grandparent or other "Greatest Generation" member. According to the US Census, in 1910 72% of Americans lived in a rural setting, 100 years later that number has dropped to just 16%. Our society is expeditiously loosing touch with agriculture, the sustainer of life. Believe it or not, life would go on without your iPhone, but not without our farms. Having said that, when my iPhone is misplaced the day comes to a screeching halt until it is found since I have two toddlers vying for its destruction.

Be aware the USDA has NO standards for "fresh" or "natural" like they do for "organic", so those words on a package mean nothing, just another adjective. A commercial label reading "all natural" might as well read "raised on Mars", it bears the same weight. However, we found an organization that ensures a meat product is truly "all natural" and "humanly raised".  That was one of the reasons we sought out auditing by Animal Welfare Approved. AWA is the only third party recognized by the USDA that certifies livestock as being humanely raised and fed an all natural diet. This service is free to farmers, so the AWA has "no dog in that race", or "pig" in our case, ensuring audits are unbiased and unbought.

The only meat in my freezer was raised right here on our farm. I wouldn't have it any other way and realize how fortunate I am to have that luxury. Every night when I prepare dinner for my family, I know without a doubt that the meat is healthy, safe to eat and was humanely raised. An interesting fact, only FOUR mega-corporations process 80% of US beef. Every pack of discount beef, pork or chicken found in a big box store was commercially raised on a confinement farm. The farming status quo raises thousands of animals in minimal space, to save money. Economical, yes. Morally acceptable, no. Safe, probably not. Here's a scary fact, 80% of antibiotics used in the US are found in livestock feed. The meat safety issue is a whole other story. I'll save that for later. But for now, here is a link to Physicians for Social Responsibility http://www.psr.org/chapters/oregon/safe-food/industrial-meat-system.html. It is a simple article that is very informative, written by doctors who should know.

Taylor comforting an injured piglet.

Do a quick You Tube search of "commercial hog farm abuse", replace "hog" with "turkey", then "chicken",  then "beef", the results are horrifying. Not all large scale producers mistreat their animals and not all small farmers treat their livestock like family pets. Just be aware that livestock abuse is a problem and it does help to know your farmer. You can visit our farm and see the animals happily grazing on pasture or taking a mud bath. Try that at a commercial hog house or feed lot. If you could stand the stench, that reaches for miles, I'm certain you would not like what you saw.  I know the meat I feed my children, I know that animal was well cared for its entire life, it was never given any chemicals and was processed by a AWA approved slaughter house to ensure once the animal left my hands it was treated humanly till its last breath.

Our sons, Jack and Micheal.

We work very hard to ensure the well being of our animals. I firmly believe that a high quality of life results in a higher quality of meat. Ethically, it's a no brainer. Everyone is on the made in America kick, which is great. It's nice to know your clothing, tool and house ware purchases support American companies. The "Made In America" trend in a global market place is comparable to the "Buy Local Food" movement on a national level. I see moms in the grocery store go over the ingredient label on a box of cereal with a magnifying glass. One isle over she tosses a commercially produced pack of pork chops in the cart without a second thought. That's just my observation. Knowing where your meats and veggies come from and how they were raised is just as important as the unpronounceable list of ingredients on a box of Fruit Loops. That's just my opinion.

The Wright men.

Speaking of ingredients, after searching the entire east coast, we finally found a real German butcher who specializing in artisanal, fully cooked meats. This search was sparked by my husbands love of bologna. Have you looked at that ingredients list? Uggghhh! And, just so you know, bologna shouldn't be pink, that's a dye. Anyway, The Weeping Radish in Grandy, NC turns our pork into one pound packs of deliciousness! They use no artificial dyes or chemical preservatives. This small, family run business has the same dedication to their trade as we do to ours. The same is true of the small slaughter facility we use, no mega-corporations needed. I know my abattoir, I know my butcher and I certainly know my farmer. Each of us has a passion for what we do, it's more than just a job to us.

Our son, Jack, a farmer in training.

The daily chores required by this farm are not tedious, they are a rewarding part of daily life. Much like raising children, it has its ups and downs, good days and bad.  I wouldn't trade my worst day on this farm for the best day behind a desk. When one loves their work, they are usually better at it. In the back of my nostalgia clouded mind, I realize that this farm is still a business and must be made profitable. We have invested so much into the infrastructure of this farm that I doubt Allen and I will ever net a true profit in our lifetime. It is my hope and dream that at least one of our children will want to continue what we have started. I pray that one day, my grandchildren will be practicing sustainable agriculture on this land as well. That was the whole reason we started out on this farming adventure, to put "family" back in the family farm.