Kim Wiley of Larga Vista Ranch & Dairy (www.largavistaranch.com) recently read my blog and had this to say about “Give Peas a Chance”. There is much wisdom in her words:

Unfortunately, the UN data on meat eating is based on stats from confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) aka feedlots and confinement barns. Have you ever seen photos on PETA’s site of confinement hog and chicken operations? They are abhorrent!!!! There is a whole other world of grass-based animal husbandry that is actually good for the environment. Have you read “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” by Michael Pollan? It is an excellent eye-opening account of food production in this country and the difference between CAFO meat and grass-fed/finished meat. Pollan profiles farmer-advocate Joel Salatin (Google Polyface Farm) who explains just how amazing grass-based farming is in terms of large amount of food raised on a small amount of land (careful rotational grazing of many species,) how it builds soil, and is the best carbon sink there is! Also, Allan Savory and Holistic Management International are recovering thousands and thousands of acres (improving vegetative cover/carbon sink and effective rainfall) in dessicated areas of Africa with CATTLE properly grazed in a rotational pattern. They have great photos on this site.
Soy is now being grown on slashed and burned land in the Amazon. National Geographic put out an article on this about two years ago. Additionally, if non-organic soy is being consumed, it is most likely genetically modified soy grown in huge monoculture. This is not good for the land for many reasons. Furthermore, soy is packed full of anti-digestive nutrients (phytates) that block mineral absorption in the colon (see www.westonaprice.org). Fermented soy (tempeh, miso, natto) does not pose this problem.
As a grass farmer, I become frustrated that there isn’t often a differentiation made between feedlot meat animals and meat animals that come from a farm like ours that eat grass their entire lives. The UN stats are so prevalent in the dialogue of the green movement. I feel as though we who know about the vast difference between the feedlot and the grass farm, should try to do what we can to further understanding of a different way with other people who care about the environment. There are more choices than being a vegetarian and downing all of that soy or consuming CAFO meat. That subtle difference is what, I think, is the cutting edge of the conservation/environmental movement.

I do obtain my family’s meat from a farmer – Angela Wisnoski – who raises grassfed cows and pasture-raised pigs. As well, her eggs are from truly free-range hens (I recall one memorable day when she couldn’t deliver me any eggs because her hens had all flown the coop, so to speak, and were nesting in nearby trees). Animals that are raised on their natural feed are also more nutrient rich for us and more easily digested by us. However, for many people just getting their feet wet in the “green” waters, the distinctions can be confusing. However, it’s worth noting that there are alternatives to becoming a vegetarian for those carnivores loath to give up their burgers…even one day a week.

When the UN released stats in 2006 that indicated meat-eating shared a larger share of the blame for global greenhouse gas emissions than all forms of transport combined, there was undoubtedly a cheer from the Hummer-driving vegetarians in the world (hmmm — wonder if there actually are any). Now the UN has gone even further by actively encouraging us to eat less meat. UN Climate Chief Rajenda Pachauri has asked people to go meatless one day a week – for starters. It’s surprisingly easy…and tasty. Not to mention a good idea to give your old heart (and colon) a bit of a break. Just remember, though that eating tofurkey doesn’t give you licence to take a joyride in your Escalade…

Opponents to genetically modified food — food which has had its DNA altered — have long dismissed arguments that the planet needs GM crops to help solve the problem of international hunger. In spite of the UN itself noting that world hunger is a problem of food distribution, not food production, companies that produce GM seed (such as Monsanto) keep trotting out this hunger argument in order to position themselves as the corporate version of Mother Teresa. However, a study out of University of Kansas takes this argument down yet another step (or two) by revealing that GM crops yield less per acre than conventional and seem to be unable to take up certain nutrients from the soil.
Sadly, most of the soy and corn grown is already genetically modified, unbeknownst to most consumers. And a quick read of most food labels reveals that soy and corn is in almost EVERYTHING. Indeed, food writer Michael Pollan (”The Omnivore’s Dilemma”) calls us “processed corn walking.” Funny but true. Because companies aren’t required to let consumers know, most of us eat it without understanding the implications or being able to make an informed choice. You’ll see it on labels as soy protein, soy flour, soy protein isolate, lecithin, isoflavones, corn-flour, syrup, starch, masa and gluten, among other ingredients such as aspartame, dextrose, fructose, monosodium glutamate, and xantham gum.
To find out more about genetically modified food, visit www.organicconsumers.org/gelink.cfm
And to read the full article on the recent University of Kansas study, visit http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/04/13/8405/

I was in the U.S. last weekend when news hit about the massive recall of beef, stretching back to 2002. The reported problem was that slaughterhouse workers had tormented “downer” cows to get them to walk to slaughter. If they can’t walk to slaughter, it’s generally considered that they’re too diseased to be fit for human consumption, though they can still find their way into pet foods. If you have the stomach for it, the humane society has hidden-video footage of the torment (check it out here — but be warned. It’s not for the weak of stomach:

I confess it makes me sick.
I get the whole “top-of-the-food-chain” argument and I do eat meat. However, based on my own determination NOT to be complicit in the unnecessary suffering of any living creature, I buy my meat from a farmer whose animals are pasture-raised, grass-fed and as humanely slaughtered as possible. They travel 20 minutes down the road to an abattoir that a friend who works in the food industry reports is clean and sterile.
I try hard not to sound strident, since I think PETA sometimes does itself more harm than good with its approach. But the way we treat our animals says a lot about the value we place on all life. And of course, the way we treat our animals also impacts our own health and the health of our planet. If we can’t get past the disconnect we seem to have – that what happens over there simply doesn’t affect me here – I fear we’ll never get ourselves out of the mess we’re in. Unfortunately, trying to “recall” all our bad choices is as futile as trying to recall meat that was distributed a full five years ago.

I was an odd child, as my brother so frequently pointed out to me. I didn’t like ketchup (still don’t) and wouldn’t eat peanut butter and jam sandwiches (still won’t). He was aghast, noting that PB&J was the “official food of childhood.”
For those who do embrace childhood and it’s official food, you’re in good company. According to the PB&J Web site (of course you knew there had to be one…it’s here at www.pbjcampaign.org), choosing a sandwich over a beef burger saves the equivalent of 2.5 pounds of CO2 emissions and 280 gallons of water. While I still prefer to eat a bean-and-cheese burrito over choking down a peanut butter sandwich, those of you who love the “official food of childhood” can now consider themselves “officially green.”

It is with some hesitation that I disclose the name of my organic farmer. If she gets too busy, I imagine, she’ll no longer have time for our chats, in which I drink in her common-sense wisdom and wealth of knowledge. If she gets too popular, her prices might go up. If she gets too big, she might lose touch with her organic roots and offer up food that is organic by definition but not necessarily by principle.
But I’m compelled to let the world know, largely because the world deserves to know. Needs to know.
So, as I sit here awaiting her weekly delivery of organic meat (I’ve ordered strip loin steaks, pork tenderloin and Canadian bacon this week) and organic produce (sweet potatoes, broccoli, red onions and whatever else she’s harvested), I’m prepared to offer up my supplier.
Angela Wisnoski is her name and she lives not far from me in the rich agricultural belt of Southwestern Ontario. She’s been farming for years and was organic long before it was the trendy thing to be. She simply understood that food should be grown and eaten within the rhythm of the seasons. That animals should be free of hormones and antibiotics. And should be pasture-raised, grass-fed and humanely slaughtered (yes, I’m aware that “humane slaughter” is something of an oxymoron. Let’s just say relatively speaking….).
The result is meat that tastes unbelievably good. My kids notice the difference. My formerly-sceptical husband notices the difference. And I, a former vegetarian, notice the difference.
What’s more, she delivers. And estimates note that for every delivery vehicle, five cars are taken off the road, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
I’m frequently asked whether she’s expensive. And she’s certainly more expensive than what you’d pay at a conventional grocery store. However, because we eat far less meat (and enjoy what we eat far more), the actual amount we’re spending on meat has stayed pretty much the same. We’re eating considerably more produce – and organic is more expensive, but not prohibitively so.
So…I give it up to you. Use it wisely.
Angela Wisnoski, 519-232-9150.