Mamma Pigs Winter Paddock
We winter our mamma pigs in an area of very deep wood chips. At the time of this video, they are transitioning into the southern woodlands where they will have their babies in the summer and fall.
The Meaning of "ZOE"
Why our farm is called ZOE
Spring Chickens
Have a look inside our brooder barn where our chicks begin their life, then see the transformation of our pasture shelters. It's spring, and it's time for CHICKENS!
Our New Podcast: Test
This is one of the first test of ZOE Farm's new podcast. After a few more tests, I (Sierrah) have managed to get a grasp on what what we need moving forward. Meanwhile, while I've been working on the technical side, Mom and Dad have been brainstorming what the future of this podcast looks like.
Eggs for any meal
This is how we have been eating our eggs EVERY morning for the past week. This could literally be a dinner, it's so good!
Lies My Food Labels Tell Me
The organic, free-range, all-natural, grass-fed (insert marketing word HERE) movement has swept the nation. Every major grocery chain is on board for a simple reason ā IT SELLS. Now, more than ever it is easy to hit the supermarket to get the wholesome food we desire -- Or is it? We are a culture identified by our brands: the coffee we drink, the car we drive, the jeans we wear and even the stores where we shop. Our brands define something about us and our values. Donāt believe me? Join me at the Earth Fare parking lot as I step out of my dually turbo diesel truck donning a cup of gas-station coffee! The stares are priceless. We buy brands because we believe something about them. The same is true for food labels. When we walk out of our favorite grocery store with a cart full of organic chicken, free-range eggs and antibiotic-free pork, we feel like weāre doing the right thing for our family, the animals and the environment. The sad truth is: itās only a feeling. Yes, thatās right, weāre being duped. The words on the label are meant to convey an image about how we want our food to be, not how it really is. We willingly pay more because we want our decisions to have a positive impact, but in reality the only added value weāre getting is a good feeling. Letās have a closer look. Are you sitting down? This is legally defined as free rangeāFree Rangeā is now used in the egg industry and on meat chicken. The words convey an image of happily roaming birds, out in the open sunshine, free to forage and produce superior quality. The USDA law for using this word on packaging states: āProducers must demonstrate to the agency that the poultry has been allowed access to the outside.ā You would be right to assume that this is a loophole you can drive a freight train through. The industry is allowed to interpret this to mean cramming thousands of hens in a barn and leaving a door open. This is not the image the consuming public has in mind when buying āfree-rangeā eggs. Since pictures usually speak a thousand words, weāll simply let a picture of a āUSDA Certified Organicā broiler barn speak for itself. āOrganic Chickenā Production Facility An article in Ag Daily from May 2017 openly points out that organic meat chicken production is nearly identical to conventional āfactory farmsā. The person being interviewed has 14 barns that house 30,000 birds each. All fourteen barns will be āturned overā seven times. In other words, each barn will grow 210,000 birds per year. Multiply that times 14 barns and this one grower will raise 2.9 million "organic" chickens per year. I suspect the picture above is NOT what most of us have in our minds when weāre paying $8.50 a pound for certified organic chicken. I was shocked that the interviewee admits that most of the feed for the organic poultry industry comes from China. Does anyone remember the debacle with melamine added to infant formula? How about knowingly allowing lead-based paint to be used on toddler toys? Can we really believe that the agencies certifying this feed as āorganicā are telling us the truth? The truth is, there is virtually no difference between āconventionalā and āorganicā chicken except the price. Is your blood pressure rising just a bit? Iām sorry to be the bearer of the bad news, but here are a few more meaningless labels we see all the time: āNo Steroids, No Hormonesā ā These are words used primarily on the packaging of poultry and pork. The fact is, steroids/hormones have been banned for use with pigs and chickens since the 1950ās. Essentially, the label is just saying āWeāre following the law.ā āAll Naturalā - We see this on just about everything. The FDA qualifies high-fructose corn syrup worthy of using this label. Need I say more regarding its meaninglessness on packaging? āGrass-fedā ā This is primarily seen on beef products. The truth is, there is ZERO government oversight for the use of the label āgrass-fed.ā Producers and food companies are able to interpret the label in a myriad of ways. The most common interpretation goes something like this: āAll cattle eat grass at some point in their lives.ā Itās quite literally the wild west when it comes to the word āgrass-fed.ā Thatās right folks, weāre being ripped off. All this makes me angry because it is intentionally deceptive. We are duped into paying more for products that are essentially the same thing as āconventional productsā. What drives me over the edge are the big, fancy, national stores with an entire business model based on these deceptive advertising practices. As a culture, we like to think we make informed buying decisions. We read reviews online before we decide to spend a hundred bucks on a coffee maker. We ask for opinions on weather the curtains weāre buying match our carpet and sofa. When it comes to our food, however, we forget to realize one, simple truth: What I eat becomes me. My phone may have a nine-gazzillion pixel camera that makes my social media posts get more ālikesā, but it does not become part of my body like my food does. If my daily food decisions are this important for my health and well-being, one thing is certain ā Aināt no way Iām believing the lies my food labels tell me!
Farming is More Than a Job for Us
I want to thank Sierrah for making it possible to share this in a format that is more than just a paragraph of words. I hope this post (mostly the video) helps to explain a little bit more about our mission here.
Braising Basics
Braising is a perfect way to turn tougher cuts of meat into fork-tender, mouth-watering meals.