Family Farms and animal products

[Guest guest]

I visited a small family farm this week and wanted to ask your opinions on what

I saw and

how you feel about farm-related items.

 

I became a vegetarian because I don't like to cook meat, then it became a health

thing,

now it's a little bit of everything. I limit dairy products because I have

seasonal allergies

and dairy affects them adversely.

 

I made the switch to organic milk, because I don't trust hormones and

anti-biotics. I also

don't trust meat products that come from any of the corporate butchers or farms.

Like

many of you, I have also read Fast Food Nation.

 

For those of you who use dairy, do any of you know any of the risks and

advantages for

raw milk? My mother-in-law, raised on a family farm where they pasteurized all

milk

before use, says you can get heartworm from raw milk.

 

Also: at the risk of being harpooned for mentioning this: would any of you

purchase and

eat meat if you knew the farmer, knew the farm, and knew the butcher was a

small-town

kind of guy where (hopefully) issues like those raised in Fast Food Nation don't

exist?

Meaning-- if you knew the cows had a good life, a humane end and safe butchering

practices would you occassionally indulge? regularly?

 

I'm not a big meat eater. So I'm mostly asking because I am interested in your

thoughts.

 

Just as an FYI. This farmer used to be a big dairy farmer for Parmalat. He broke

his leg a

couple years ago and had to sell off most of his herd because he couldn't keep

up with his

work. He and his wife and son now have a small herd, and have started a new

business

with a small business loan, to save the family farm by making cheeses from their

own milk

(cheddar, colby and mozzerella and special cheese spreads), selling raw milk,

and their

own meat and eggs. If this endeavor fails, the land gets sold to developpers.

[Guest guest]

In my case, i do on occasion consume dairy. I am bothered about alot of the

issues surrounding dairy so I limit my consumption to organic milk in glass

bottles from a small local farm (yes-pastuerized, though I don't know if I'd

care if it wasn't). I still don't feel good about it and we really limit (1

litre every 2 weeks) consumption. In fact, I only use it in my one cup of

tea per day. I am working on becoming vegan. However, I hate all types of

soy milk-too thick, creamy, sweet and though I use rice milk for other

purposes it just doesn't do it for tea. My 5 year old only drinks rice or

soy or other.

 

As for meat, I would never eat it myself. Just me. I gave it up at 15

because the thought of it just made me sick and still does. I'm lucky not to

be one of those people who 'misses' meat. I never did or will. However, I

have tried on several occasions to have my parents switch to organic meat

which would at least be healthier and safer (and hopefully more humane but

dead is still dead).

 

These are just my thoughts and I'm glad you shared yours. Hopefully no one

feels like they will be 'harpooned' for asking questions or sharing

thoughts. That's what this is all about imo.

 

:)Madeline