To Live Right, Eat Right

To live right, ya gotta eat right. That's a tough concept for a sugar addict to swallow; I've fought it. And yet, I've gone from just trying to cut out refined food, to eliminating red meat, to being a vegetarian, then going back to fish, after that adding chicken, and then the occasional bison burger, and now being pretty much paleo.

Leading me along these misadventures has been my trusty husband Jeff, who changes diets more frequently than some people change socks.

He's been bent on finding an organic, humane farmer for us to buy meat and poultry from. He's found a great family in the Andersons near Durand, Wisconsin, and he placed an order. Yesterday, we packed up the Fearsome Threesome and headed to the farm for a tour and to pick up the order.

Little chick hatchlings cavort in a outbuilding with fresh wood chips and natural lighting. When they are bigger, they'll be moved outside, where they can continue to move freely in the grass and forage for bugs and worms.

The young cows are pastured, and feast on clover, grasses and dandelions. Whereas corn-finished beef are typically slaughtered at eight months, these will be about 20 months old. Still young, but they will live happy, healthy lives.

We also visited young pigs. The pigs are kept in rotating pasture, where they can root and burrow to their hearts content. They have fresh water, shelter, and plenty of room to run and play. Pigs are smarter than dogs and I still can't bring myself to eat them.

I'm still conflicted about eating animals, yet nature has evolved with a food chain, and humans are usually on top. Because we are human, we have the capacity to assess the affect our livestock raising choices have on those animals. We have the capacity to choose humane methods. Let's make that choice whenever we can.