Let's face it, most people don't know (and don't want to know) where their meat and other food has come from. When someone says the word "farm," pastoral images of beautiful black and white cows grazing on bright green grass come to mind. Others will think of the proverbial "Farmer Brown" in his denim coveralls going out back to feed the chickens and scoop up a few fresh eggs for breakfast. The unfortunate truth is that most of the meat, eggs and dairy produced in this country come from gigantic factory farms. These farms are hugely subsidized by the government and are veritable animal factories, churning out millions of deformed, abused and sick animals each year.
I don't want to go in to too much detail or head off in a tirade against factory farms, but I strongly urge you to check out the Mercy for Animals website and watch at least one of their videos. It will be a disturbing and eye-opening experience, and perhaps, might make you think twice about buying factory farmed meat, eggs and dairy. http://www.mercyforanimals.org/.
At the other end of the spectrum, family farms are smaller operations that, without the government subsidies are finding it harder and harder to succeed. I was at the Montgomery Farm Women's Cooperative Market (http://www.farmwomensmarket.com/) today and spoke with the owners of a small farm in nearby Virginia. This farm has about 50 head of cattle, a few goats and a few sheep. They partner with other nearby small farms to form a co-op and help each other out with producing delicious, humane meat, eggs and dairy to sell at market and through special order. It are these small farms and co-ops that are losing out to behemoth factory farming operations. These people aren't farming because it makes them rich, they aren't farming because it makes them famous; they are farming because they love the land, the animals and the community. The way these farmers speak about their farm and their animals is with pride and love.
These are the farmers I urge you to support. If you are going to eat meat and dairy, please buy from local, small farmers. Every community in the country has access to great local food. If I can go to a fantastic farm market right outside of DC, I am confident you will be able to do so as well. Check out this website to find local farm markets in your area: http://www.localharvest.org/.
(that's me and a rescued pig at Best Friends in Kanab, UT)
Here are a few other websites you should check out if you are interested in learning more about factory farming...
- Farm Sanctuary: http://www.farmsanctuary.org/ (We visited here in the fall and it is a wonderful place to see if you have the opportunity)
- The Humane Society: http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/campaigns/factory_farming/
- Farm Forward: http://www.farmforward.com/
- Animal Welfare Institute: http://www.animalwelfareapproved.org/
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