The "Meat Ordeal"

This picture was entitled "Cows in the Mist". Isn't that a hoot. I like the white one. It looks like she's got shaggy hair on her poll.

But seriously. I picked up a couple of books at the library about agricultural farming and animal welfare. Now, I already knew about the horrors and maladies associated with containment animal production facilities (aka Concentrated Animal Feedlot Operations - CAFO for short), but I wanted more info.

Both of these books are well written, and the authors are activists and animal advocates in their own rights. They're also both vegetarians. In these books, I believe they are not only trying to open the readers' eyes to what goes on in feedlots all across the country, but in a way, I think they're trying to turn people into vegetarians.

I have nothing against vegetarians. As a matter of fact, my wife and I were vegetarians for awhile before we had kids. Thinnest I've ever been in my life - hmmm, maybe I should try that again (NOT!). But I believe there are different reasons for doing a thing. In this instance, I feel that the authors are vegetarians because they believe that raising of animals to be used as food is morally wrong. I, however, do not. Of course there are the health concerns. Do you KNOW where the meat in that burger you ate came from? Best not to think about it. I do most of the shopping for our family. I know the ills inherent with most of meat I buy. Even Tyson chicken, though labelled as antibiotic free, still contains traces of the stuff. But it's not enough to turn me vegetarian.

See, I realize that animals have personalities, express emotion, have intelligence to their respective degrees, can express affection or disdain. However, I feel that to give an animal the same protective status that we would give a human (less and less these days), is wrong. Why? Because humans are the only creatures God breathed life into and gave a soul to. That makes us special, unique, different.

Now believe me, I think the kind of life 90% the meat animals in this country live is awful. CAFO's are a bane to health, environment, and economy. I believe that if you have animals you're raising for food, you are obligated by the Biblical mandate to have dominion over the Earth, to not abuse what you've been entrusted with. Meaning, you should do all you can to ensure that your animals live healthy lives with as much access to sunshine, fresh pasture, clean and safe housing, and plenty of room to move around, as is within your ability to provide it. So that when the time comes to "Say goodnight, Ruthie" and put the chickens in the freezer, not only will they be healthier to eat because of the life they lived, but they will not be full of stress hormones to taint their meat. Further, you can do your butchering knowing that you aren't just taking life from the birds, but that you also gave them a good life in the process.

So what does this mean to me? Well, my wife still isn't a big fan of red meat. My daughter has also periodically shown some distaste for it as well. So really, I should probably look at ways of cutting it out of my diet a little more. I do have sources for grass-fed beef and pastured chicken. Both, however, tend to be a bit on the expensive side. I suppose if I cut the meat intake down to only a couple of times a week max, then it would be more economically viable. These are some of the reasons I want a place in the country. To raise my own food.

To cut the meat intake down will take some planning and forethought. Beans, rice, veggie stir fry, quiches, pastas - these can be done fairly easily without meat. And really, ground beef is about the only red meat we eat. Once in a while I'll buy a roast or stew meat. But I don't think my kids have ever had a steak. Maybe this is doable after all. Especially if I can and freeze more veggies this year. I'll let you know how it goes. Your thoughts?

Makes me so sick....!

I'm a red-blooded American. But more and more I feel like I'm living in the Socialist States of Amerika. Here's just one reason.

Our government, for several years now, has been toying with the idea of a national registry of every livestock animal in the country. They say it's for disease control and tracking. Right. And I was born on Pluto. It's really not as cold as you think.

Here's the deal. The USDA has come up with a plan whereby every farm or homestead would be given an identification number. Then, every animal on the farm would be given a tag or chip to identify that particular animal. Every time an animal was born, died, was sent to the butcher, got out of their pen and wandered down the road, was sold off, or moved from one place to another for any reason, a form has to be filled out and sent to the USDA. There, the form is processed so Big Brother knows exactly what you're doing. Problem. Not only do you have to waste time filling out the paperwork, you also pay a fee for processing. EVERY TIME.

Now, if this was truly about disease control, that'd be one thing. I still would be against it, but it'd at least make a little more sense. What's really behind this is government helping big agribusiness. Ever hear of Tyson? That's one. See, big CAFO (that's feedlot to you and me - where 99.9% of the meat at the grocery comes from) companies have a bunch of animals all born on the same day, kept in the same lot, moved together until butchering day. Those companies would get ONE tag for the whole lot of 500 animals (for example), pay one processing fee for all of them and fill out one form. THAT's what this is about. There are just a handful of agribusinesses that provide the lion's share of meat to the nation - like five or six, maybe less now. They stand to gain a lot from this. How?

Well, besides the fact that they will move many animals under one tag for one fee and that alone will be a cost savings, the plan will drive many small farmers (the relatively few left in our country) and many homesteaders out of business. For the person with a small backyard flock of chickens, a couple of milk goats or a cow, some summer feeder pigs, this plan would be too time consuming, and way too costly. Once you pay for the tags, then pay the fees for processing all the paperwork, it'd be just too expensive. So then what's a consumer left with but to be forced to buy the CAFO produced food. Even if they buy it now, the point is, they eventually won't have the choice later on. Further, some other countries, Japan for instance, quit buying American beef because they didn't want meat raised in CAFO situations like we have here with the high chance of disease. So the big businesses want a regulated Government stamp on their meat saying it's A-OK, in order to help other countries feel at ease about buying our beef. More money for them.

Disease control and tracking my foot! Get off my farm! Oh sure there'd be all sorts of people who would just initially refuse to register. But veterenarians and feed stores would be required to report non-compliant farms. Already, some feed stores take your name, address, and phone number every time you buy a bag of chicken feed. What do you think they do with it? Some are already sending the information to their state NAIS offices and registering farms, without the owner realizing it. Kinda underhand if you ask me.

Now, at this point, the Federal Government is trying to lay the responsibility on each state to get this set up and going... too costly for them to do it. But that's like trying to herd cats. Further, the program isn't a law - yet. I understand that our esteemed President was pro-NAIS when he was governor of Illinois. I get that info from a homesteader over there. A lot of states currently have an 'opt out' program for the farm id. But as I understand, you have to ask for it, and check annually that you weren't registered without your knowing it.

There are a lot of organizations that are working to oppose this program. A lot of supply companies, like hatcheries, oppose it as well. They get a huge percentage of their business from the people that this plan would directly and negatively effect.

I tell you, I get antsy, frustrated, and discouraged sometimes. I feel less and less like I live in the Land of the Free. Now, this post is by no means intended to be THE source of information about the NAIS and I don't guarantee the 100% accuracy of everything I've said. Only 99%. Go read for yourself. Sure, go look at the USDA site. But be warned, that's like the fox telling the farmer he's carrying the bag to put wild greens in, as he's on his way to the chicken house.

www.nonais.org

Milk and other thoughts

Well, it's raining like crazy here today, and, as usual, our yard is turning into a lake. Usually once a year in the late winter, we'll get a heafty few days of rain and our yard will fill with water. Fortunately we have good drainage and it's gone the next day. But it's gloomy in the meantime.

I was chatting with a new friend the other day, a man from my church that I just recently discovered owns a grass-fed dairy operation. They live about 40 minutes from here, but they sell homemade cheeses, grass-fed meat and pork... But in Indiana, it's illegal to sell 'raw' milk(also called 'real' depending on who you are and what side of the debate you take).

What is real milk? Not that white water they sell at the store, that's for sure. Real milk is milk that comes from the cow, is filtered for cleanliness, then cooled and sold as is, without being pasteurized. The FDA says it's not healthy to drink this kind of milk and Indiana has made it illegal to sell milk or mild products that are unpasteurized, except for cheese. Now, there are ways to get around this and still be legal. For instance, my friend has a pet food label/line. Basically, he takes the milk or butter he makes and puts the pet food label on it. The label clearly reads "NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION". But what you do with it when you get it home is up to you. The other way around it is to buy a share of a cow. You and several other folks go together to pay a farmer for the 'room and board' of a cow and you get some of the return from the cow. The legality is that you aren't buying the milk and butter, but the cow. THIS is legal in Indiana, but the outright sale of it isn't. Man, I can't stand this. Our government is deffinitely too big for its britches.

If you're reading this and wondering why anyone would drink unpasteurized milk in the first place, consider this.... When Louie Pasteur first developed the process of pasteruization (originally used for wine making), refrigeration was not a common practice in homes around the world. Food would spoil but people would go ahead and use it... they'd get sick. But most of the bacteria found in milk only becomes a problem in warm temperatures. Most everyone has a refrigerator today. So the milk is kept cool and the bacteria don't become problematic. Wellllllll.... ok, let me make a clarification. I'll say, milk from a grass-fed cow won't likely become problematic. Feed lot cows? Oh deffinitely, please, pasteurize that stuff... twice if you have to. You see, when a cow is able to feed on pasture and get most of her nutrition from her forage, she's able to ingest bacterium that help her in digestion of her food, in keeping her healthy, and producing safe milk. Her own immunity to disease is stronger, her health is better, and therefore, her milk is safer. They're given medications only when they truly are sick... which isn't often.

Then there are the factory cows. I call any animal (be it chicken, cow, pig... or whatever) raised in close confinement and fed grains and silage (or heaven knows what else in the case of some animals) factory animals. These cows do nothing but stand around on a concrete pad all day, waiting for the next delivery of grain or silage to be dumped in the trough. She eats, then moves into the milk parlor to be milked. Stringent records are kept about her productivity and if she doesn't produce more than, say, 30 pounds or more milk per day, she's outa there. She and her sisters get very little exercise, and probably the only grass they've ever seen is on the other side of the feed lot fence, growing in a narrow strip next to the farm office. These animals are cramped together, staning in their urine and feces all day, being given daily doses of antibiotics in their feed, as well as hormones to promote milk production. You better believe some of those antibiotics and hormones are passed on to you in the milk you drink. Yeah, if I have to drink that stuff, I want it pasteurized.

You see, real milk really is good for you. When milk is pasteurized, some of the natural enzymes are distroyed that help transfer calcium, and vitimins A and D. It's a whole food, not processed. One more thing. If drinking unpasteurized milk was so bad for you, why didn't pioneers and folk who had family cows in years gone by complain of sickness more often than is recorded? Sure a few must have gotten sick... but by and large, people were healthier then than we are now.

Check out www.westonaprice.org for more information on eating more whole foods and real milk.