That was the opening line Dad Cadman used to invite people to come and check out our Freezer Wagon at the Texarkana Farmer’s Market last Saturday. It was our first farmer’s market experience selling meat, and it was interesting to see people’s responses to Bailey’s comment. Most of them thought he was joking, and we would have, too, a few years ago. But once your eyes are opened to the truth, you begin to see things that you wouldn’t have been able to believe.
For example, we’ve been searching for processing supplies and various pieces of operational equipment as we add ventures to our farming operation. We have been sent catalogs marketing the Tumbler equipment used for the removal of candy bar wrappers in processing feed for cattle! No joke. It is common practice to feed candy bars to cattle. In fact, Matt has a friend that used to work with a Tumbler, and the candy bar truck would come periodically to drop off a load of stale candies for the cows. Dairy cows also commonly get fed old donuts by the truckload... even chewing gum--wrapper and all.
And the drugs? FDA is just beginning to cut down on allowable antibiotic use in cattle (both meat and dairy), but most conventional animals still start their lives on medicated feed and continue to receive meds throughout their careers as food-producers. Of course there are instances where antibiotics are needed, but using them ROUTINELY, even if the animals aren’t sick, is the problem. That’s why your doctor insists that you take your entire penicillin prescription. It’s because you chance the development of an antibiotic-resistant illness. The theory is that you give just enough antibiotic to kill off the weak bacteria, but the few that survive end up developing resistance to the drugs. So when we’re constantly dumping meds into our cows, pigs, and chickens, the same risk exists, and you get major outbreaks of pathogenic E. Coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter, etc.
That same problem is compounded when you’re feeding cattle tons and tons of corn during the last 3-6 months of their lives. Normally the pH of their rumen is acidic, but not extremely. Feeding cows very large quantities of carbohydrates for long periods of time creates major acidity. Subsequently, E. Coli bacteria, which are normally carried by cows and humans, develop acid resistance, meaning that your stomach acid is no longer strong enough to kill them off. If they happen to get into your small intestine, they make you sick. In fact, the acidosis problem is so prevalent, and basically expected, that a butcher once told us that we are not ALLOWED to sell the livers from cows that are older than 30 months old. Why? Because a conventionally raised cow has so diseased a liver by the end of its life that it is covered with ulcers and is unfit for food. Not our cows!
No hormones? They don’t really give cows hormones, do they? Well, as it turns out, the cattle raised at many of the large scale feed lots receive an estrogen implant in their ear when they arrive. It costs about $1.50, and gives the grower about $25 in weight gain per cow.
So when we say stuff like, “No candy bars, no junk,” we mean our cows get grass as cows are meant to, and our pigs aren’t inundated with medications, and our chickens aren’t slipped arsenic in their water or feed to force them to eat more. (Google Roxarsone to read about it). These things are standard practice nowadays, and we, along with many others, are trying to teach people the truth about their food. It's been said that you are what you eat. Think about cows fed candy bars and doughnuts. Or think about cows like ours, nourished on sunshine and grass and fresh air.
Come and see us again at the Texarkana Farmer’s Market next Saturday, or take a drive out to our farm to meet our animals and purchase some of the most delicious meats you’ve ever tasted. We’ve got steaks, pork chops, ground beef, breakfast sausage, ribs, ham steaks, beef roasts, and lots more. All pastured, non-GMO, and delectable.
The Texarkana Farmer's Market is located in Texarkana, TX, and is open on Saturday mornings from 7:00 AM until about 12:00 noon.
Contributed by Jerica
My MIL just called me and said she had met you at a nutrition class, she live in Elysian Fields, Texas. I am going to go read all of your blog, very excited. I am on the Arkansas Farmers Market Assoc. board and started my own market in our little town. Would love to meet you one day. I blog also, topic varies (depends on my mood.
ReplyDeleteStephanie
aka The Park Wife