"Some people believe the best way to help livestock animals is to stop eating them altogether. Yet despite the deeply felt and admirable sentiments behind these calls to vegetarianism, "I've always wondered whether the act of becoming vegetarian or vegan has any positive impact on the lives of animals. Instead, I believe that remaining "at the table," if you will, is more effective than walking away, and as it turns out, the numbers have proved me right."
"Carnivores speak most loudly not through their words, but by how they spend their food dollars. People who remain at the table and support sustainable, responsible, and humane agriculture by purchasing meat from these farmers are sending a positive message to keep doing what your doing."
"Sustainable farming returns to an idea that worked for thousands of year: kicking the animals out of the barn and putting them out into pasture. Making them actually walk around, harvesting the grass and clover and dandelions, letting them spread their own manure. Letting them roll in the mud or root in the ground. Giving them the bedding materials and food and space that best fit their lives."
"Although sustainable farms may look very different from one another, they all follow these basic principles:
- Use animal manure and cop rotation to fertilize the soil instead of using chemicals.
- Manage weeds and insects using minimal insecticides or herbicides.
- Put ruminants (cud-chewing animals, such as cattle, sheep, and goats) out on pasture, using rotational grazing to most efficiently harvest the grass.
- Don't use hormones to encourage growth.
- Don't use antibiotics unless necessary. if a farmer treats an animal with antibiotics, she will not sell the meat to customers as antibiotic-free meat. At the same time, she will not withhold life-saving drugs just to keep the animals free of antibiotics.
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