Avoiding Factory Farm Foods: An Eater's Guide

[Bravo Zulu]

Most people share at least the following traits: they want to be healthy; they like animals; and they value clean air and water. Yet relatively few Americans connect those concerns with their food. As more people start making the link (especially if they've seen graphic video footage of industrial animal operations), many decide it's time to stop eating foods from factory farms. This is a guide for doing just that.

read more!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nicolette-hahn-niman/avoiding-factory-farm-foo_b_353525.html

[sharp_stick]

1. Thank you for that

I grew up on a real farm and try very hard to avoid the stuff these fake farms produce. I've been trying to convince people that these places aren't "farms" at all but should be regulated as industrial sites. They like to use the "farm" label because it leaves a nice impression on people but more importantly it allows them to skirt environmental and animal welfare laws.

Not only is buying local better for the environment, it's better for real farmers.

[MineralMan]

2. A great idea, if you have the money and the time to follow those

guidelines. If not, you're sorta stuck, eh? Feeding the mass of humanity is always going to involve factory-style operations.

But, if you have the leisure and funds, you can certainly avoid it.

[handmade34]

5. it is do-able

'stuck' is a mindset. Lack of time and money are excuses when people don't think outside the box.


"‘Eating the planet?’, published today (Wednesday 11 November 2009), reveals that we can still enjoy meat several times a week whilst feeding the world using planet-friendly and humane farming methods"

http://www.ciwf.org.uk/news/factory_farming/we_dont_need_factory_farming_to_feed_the_world.aspx

[MineralMan]

6. Tell that to the folks living in the inner cities of the world.

If you think feeding those folks is possible using your methods, go for it. I'm telling you that it's going to turn out to be impossible.

However, those who have the time and money can eat very well, indeed. Such has always been true. Even the web site listed in the OP admits that eating this way costs more and requires more time.

I'd love it to be possible. I would. It's a pipe dream, though, with 6 billion people on the planet, all with the need to eat. Feed the third world first with organic food. Then I'll listen to you. Until then, I consider this locavore, naturalvore stuff as a whimsy of those with the money and time to indulge in it.

Instead of telling those who can afford to buy books how to eat better, how about telling them how they can feed the hungry world now. Tell them about alternatives to starvation.

I have time. I have the money. I shop at the farmer's market and catch my own fish. I eat very little meat. It's not that hard for me to do, since I have the leisure and funds to do it. I can't personally feed children in Uganda. All I can do is donate to those who are trying to find a way to feed them.

Trying to convert a relatively affluent country from factory farming is like pushing noodles up a hill. Feed the hungry. Do that, then teach people here how to eat.

For pete's sake.

[handmade34]

7. I agree with what you say

in a practical world; only not impossible and not done overnight. ...and eating well does not always cost more, but it does take creative thinking.

""We don't live our lives on the inside flaps of philosophy textbooks. We live in the world. And in the world, everyone is a hypocrite. In the world, change is not a switch but a process. Being serious about changing requires a certain amount of forgiveness. I'm not suggesting that we shouldn't draw lines in the sand, or that we should be quick to accept all of our own apologies. But if animal welfare matters to us, if the air and water matter, if swine flu and E. Coli matter, if global warming matters, if biodiversity matters, if rural communities matter, if our ability to tell honest stories to ourselves and our children matters... then we shouldn't be distracted, intimidated or misled by someone else's idea of purity. We should begin at the beginning, and begin now""

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/11/11-11



"for pete's sake" you must be a mid-westerner... from Michigan & I used 'jeez-o-petes' My kids grew up in Vermont and always use 'jeezum crow'

[spiritual_gunfighter]

3. Great post

and yet another reason to go vegan/vegetarian.

[ret5hd]

4. thnx

[jtrockville]

8. Grow your own!

The article doesn't mention anything about having your own vegetable garden.