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"official" farm visit this morning
I'm with my food co-op's producer standards committee and this morning was my first farm visit. It went really well I think. I was happy to see the animals in a open pastured environment. The pigs were in a nice wooded area and were rooting and foraging, the cows had an open grassy field and access to a wooded area for shade. It was heartening to see these animals being and doing what they like to do. Especially after seeing such films as Food Inc. and Earthlings.
The disheartening part was listening to the farmer talk about all the red tape and regulation that make it hard or impossible for small farmers to stay in business. The entire system for slaughter and inspection is ridiculous. Also we talked about the feed he gives to supplement the pasture program. And of course, it is GM corn. He said he has looked into non GM feed, but it is cost prohibitive and he doesn't want to have to pass that cost on to the customer.
I think the worst part of the visit was learning that my favorite farmstand for summer corn uses GM corn (he gets vegetables from them for his pigs). And on top of that, they are an experimental site for various GM seeds. UGH!!! I'm starting to feel like eliminating GM from our diet is impossible. Now I have to research other local farms and ask about their seeds.
Anywho, thanks for letting me share. I was kind of excited for this visit since it was my first.
Re: "official" farm visit this morning
Glad to hear the animals were being treated well.
Boo on the GM feed...I bet it is hard for them to avoid. I will have to ask our pork & beef guy next time we go there about it but I'm going to guess that I'll get the same answers as you. That won't stop me from supporting him, though...and I would expect that they only have to supplement w/feed in the winter. Is your co-op still using the farm?
I'm glad to hear your farm visit went well. It is nice to see pigs getting to be pigs, and cows getting to be cows. Isn't it odd that you have to go out of your way to find that nowadays? It's so strange...
Ditto hollyfp, with all my work against GMOs I never thought to ask my grass-fed meat producers if they're feeding their animals GM feed in the winter. Even if they say yes, I won't stop supporting them. They can't help but feed the only thing the market offers. I'll check with my beef guy, I think he feeds alfalfa hay in the winter, but that could be GM too
I don't think their use of GM feed would make the co-op drop them. I think it's pretty unavoidable for them to use GM feed without buying the organic feed which is at least double the price. It's just sad that it IS unavoidable.
I hear ya on all the bureaucratic red tape for small farmers. And unfortunately its sold to the public as important for safety -- so not true! These regulations sound good, but really punish small producers and don't really do much to regulate the giants, who are the ones needing more regulation!
I think its hard to avoid GM livestock feeds, unless the animals are organic.
It is ridiculously hard to find non-GM grain. It can be done, but my eggs would cost the consumer $8/doz instead of the $4/doz price I currently offer. It's a hard decision: as a farmer, I want healthy food to be affordable to most people, not just the upper class.
Fortunately, grass-finished beef is never fed grain. That's one good way to avoid GM inputs.
BFP #2 EDD 5/19/13 Let's do this!