"You Are What What You Eat Eats"

A line made famous by Michael Pollan is explained by Jo Robinson, a New York Times bestselling writer, researcher on pastured livestock, and contributer to EatWild.com.

In my investigation into pasture-based farming, I've stumbled upon an alarming state of affairs: few animal scientists see any link between animal feed and human food. "Feed animals anything you want," say the experts, "and it makes no difference to their meat, milk, or eggs." Because of this mindset, our animals are being fed just about anything that enhances the bottom line, including chicken feathers, sawdust, chicken manure, stale pizza dough, potato chips, and candy bars.

Here's a glaring example. A 1996 study explored the desirability of feeding stale chewing gum to cattle.(1) Amazingly, the gum was still in its aluminum foil wrappers. Wonder of wonders, the experts concluded that bubblegum diet was a net benefit---at least for the producers. I quote: "Results of both experiments suggest that [gum and packaging material] may be fed to safely replace up to 30% of corn-alfalfa hay diets for growing steers with advantages in improving dry matter intake and digestibility." In other words, feed a steer a diet that is 30 percent bubblegum and aluminum foil wrappers, and it will be a more efficient eater. With a nod to public safety, the researchers did check to see how much aluminum was deposited in the various organs of the cattle. Not to worry. The aluminum content was "within normal expected ranges." As always, there was no mention of the nutritional content of the resulting meat. Read more.

Start Thinking About Your Spring Garden Now

The newest farm blog by Anne Barganier

Christmas is over and the new year has begun. In Alabama, we’re still a couple of months from planting anything outside, but now is the time to start preparing for those first warm, sunny days. If you spend a little time now, you can be ready to get a jump on that spring and summer garden.

You don't need much space to create a productive garden in your backyard. If you haven’t planted a backyard garden before, take heart! It’s extremely easy to do, and you can eat the fruits of your labor (no pun intended). Even a few tomatoes planted throughout your flower beds will cut down on your grocery bill, give you a close source for fresh food, and can be a fun activity for to share with someone, or just enjoy yourself! Read more.

Wendell Berry: The Pleasures of Eating

"The Pleasures of Eating" originally appeared in What Are People For? by Wendell Berry. Copyright © 1990 by Wendell Berry.

Many times, after I have finished a lecture on the decline of American farming and rural life, someone in the audience has asked, "What can city people do?"

"Eat responsibly," I have usually answered. Of course, I have tried to explain what I meant by that, but afterwards I have invariably felt that there was more to be said than I had been able to say. Now I would like to attempt a better explanation.

I begin with the proposition that eating is an agricultural act. Eating ends the annual drama of the food economy that begins with planting and birth. Most eaters, however, are no longer aware that this is true. They think of food as an agricultural product, perhaps, but they do not think of themselves as participants in agriculture. They think of themselves as "consumers." If they think beyond that, they recognize that they are passive consumers. They buy what they want—or what they have been persuaded to want—within the limits of what they can get. They pay, mostly without protest, what they are charged. And they mostly ignore certain critical questions about the quality and the cost of what they are sold: How fresh is it? How pure or clean is it, how free of dangerous chemicals? How far was it transported, and what did transportation add to the cost? How much did manufacturing or packaging or advertising add to the cost? When the food product has been manufactured or "processed" or "precooked," how has that affected its quality or price or nutritional value? Read more.

More Alabama Foods - Wright Dairy, Alexandria, AL

Wright Dairy milk is produced on Canebrake Farm, a 200-acre pastureland farm named after nearby Cane Creek. Located in Calhoun County near Anniston, they are the only dairy producer-bottler-retailer in the state of Alabama. That means that they milk the cows here, they pasteurize and bottle the milk here, and they sell it fresh to you right on the farm. Stop by the farm or find them at natural groceries in Birmingham and Tuscaloosa for cheese, milk, buttermilk, yogurt, and ICE CREAM! Learn more about Wright Dairy.