Our visit to the heartland and Cedar Summit Farm

On Tuesday, my son (Harrison) and I packed up the car and headed down to Cedar Summit Farm. It was only about a 45 minute drive from the Twin Cities metro area. I chose the more scenic route and couldn't help but reminisce about when I was a young girl and spending my summers in mid-Michigan at our cabin. I remember driving through the country side and looking at all of the all of the cows, sheep, pigs, horses and vegetable farms and of course, the dirt roads. This trip was different. There were the same farm houses as I remembered in mid-Michigan, but there were no animals! There were a couple of vegetable farms and lots and lots of corn fields. Still stunned, having seen no animals in the heartland we arrived at the Cedar Summit Farm and yes, finally saw some cows. This farm is a grass fed dairy and the cows were grazing very joyfully in the grass. We sat and watched them from the road (since there were no tours that day) and observed. They were congregated together in groups, but something struck me so odd when watching them. All of their tails were waving and wagging, similar the way my dogs tails wag/wave when they are happy to see me. Could this be a sign of happy cows?

We stopped at the Creamery and had some wonderful homemade ice cream. It really was delicious! I also picked up some meat, eggs and honey (all from local sustainable farms). I decided to take a different way home, in hopes to seeing more animals and taking in the picturesque heartland. We did see 2 more dairy farms on our way home. One farm had a very large shed, but I didn't see a cow in sight. I don't know if they were inside this shed or out roaming the farm. The other dairy farm, appearing to be larger, did have cows outside. These cows weren't grazing on the green pastures, but rather were confined to a dirt pen no larger than the lower level of my house. There had to be at least 40 cows in the pen and they too were in a group; the VERY noticeable difference --they weren't waving/wagging their tails.

I have spent such little time in the country since my summers in mid-Michigan and it was a different experience. The farms and the country side appears to be the same, but the farms have significantly changed.

My family has been thoroughly enjoying the sustainable food products that we picked up at the Cedar Summit Farm. The milk is really, really fresh and the eggs, chicken and beef all taste really good. Harrison and I will be visiting the farm again tomorrow to replenish our stock!

Milk -- Grass Fed Dairies

For many people who know me, I tend to be a strong advocate for cows milk and you all at this point are probably saying "enough already". Primarily from the perspective that it is satisfying! Simply stated, I strongly believe that when you consume milk with meals or snacks, it provides greater satiety and therefore you are not as hungry later. Isn't that the experience that we all want our food to give us -- satiety and nourishment? We certainly know that the complexity of the proteins found in cow's milk can lead to that satiety, but is also balanced out with vitamins, minerals and fats.

Now, with that being said, there is a lot of controversy about milk including health benefits, but more importantly about how industrial dairy farms are operating here in the United States. Again, the horror stories of large industrial farms and their techniques for milking cows, literally makes me ill to my stomach and I do believe many of the stories to be true. So, once again what is one to do? Are you ready and willing to pay $5.00 - $6.00 per gallon of milk?

I cam across a website, eatwild, which is a fantastic resource for "safe, healthy, natural and nutritious grass-fed beef, lamb, goats, bison, poultry, pork, dairy and other wild edibles". The website has a Directory of Farms which lists over 800 pasture based farms throughout the country. We will discuss more about the other farms in future posts, but I want to particularly bring your attention to the ALL GRASS FED DAIRIES DIRECTORY. There are actually only a few grass fed dairies in the United States, which was surprising to me! I was happy to see that Minnesota's Cedar Summit Farm made the list. Cedar Summit Farm's milk is very available in the Twin Cities and is so delicious! There were two other farms listed on the directory in Minnesota, Green Pastures Dairy and PastureLand. You can buy food online directly from these farmers or you can visit the farms. I am already planning out some visits to stock up on supplies!

Grass fed cows produce milk that has higher quality vitamins, minerals, omega 3-fatty acids, I suppose the way "nature intended". I love milk and my clients love milk. Is it worth it to pay $6.00 a gallon to ensure that your milk is coming from happy cows that are humanely treated, are not stressed and are producing a much higher quality product -- I think so!

The Silver Bison Ranch

To continue with my carnivore theme...

Last weekend my family made a visit to a horse farm in Wisconsin. On our way back home to Minnesota, we stopped at the Silver Bison Ranch. The 1000 acre ranch is home to about 400 roaming buffalo. The buffalo eat the natural prairie grasses and are NEVER exposed to a feed lot or any "man-made" feed products. They are not given steroids or hormones to "fatten" them up. There is no use of pesticides or herbicides on the pasture and the water and land surrounding and part of the farm is protected. The farmers rotate their pastures to allow for adequate forage growth and to allow the "natural clean up of manure " by soil insects. These bison are raised humanely, they are happy and are living in a stress free environment surrounded by green trees, green grass, deer, butterflies and native plants.

There is a long American history and bison. It is believed that bison have been in existence in North America for over 10,000 years, first migrating to the plains of the Great Plains and Canada. In fact due to their grazing patterns bison helped shaped the ecology of the great plains. At one time bison was the most numerous species of mammals on earth, but during the mid 1800's they were hunted for their skin leaving the population near extinction. Bison herds started repopulating in the late 1800's/early 1900's and now there are over 400,000 today. Most of the herds today are not "pure breed" bison, but rather have been crossbred with cattle or genetically polluted. There are however still 4 genetically unmixed herds. All of the herds in the United States, except one are farmed and mainly raised for consumption. The one "wild" herd is located in Yellowstone National Park and consists of approximately 3000 - 3500 bison who roam in the wild and free.

Bison are nutritious and an excellent source of high quality lean protein, zinc, iron, copper, magnesium, phosphorous, vitamin b-6, niacin, vitamin b-12, selenium, omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids.

If you live in the Minneapolis area, there are some places where you can purchase The Silver Bison Ranch bison and they also service to some upscale restaurants. To find out where you can call the ranch at (715) 684-2811 or visit their shop which is approximately 35 miles east of Saint Paul. If you don't live in the area, you can call them and they do mail order.

Compassionate Carnivore

Okay...it has taken me some time to put together my thoughts and actually start typing, but here I am and very present in this moment! My original thought for my new focus of the blog was to write about Jeni's -- fabulous handmade ice cream. And while, this would fulfill my summertime craving for homemade ice cream my focus shifted when I picked up and started reading The Compassionate Carnivore: OR, HOW TO KEEP ANIMALS HAPPY, SAVE OLD MACDONALD'S FARM, REDUCE YOUR HOOFPRINT, AND STILL EAT MEAT by Catherine Friend.

I love animals and I also love to eat animals. I counsel my clients to eat animals and drink animal products on a daily basis. My world has duality, for I know that I am fueling my body well and it responds well to the nutrients, but I also feel guilty knowing that much of the meat that I have eaten in my life probably came from a large factory farm where animals were not treated humanely. As a generation X'er and born in the 1970's, the farming community has changed significantly in my lifetime. It was most likely that my parents were raised eating meat from small family farms and they probably ate much less. I have been reading some of the horror stories about large farming practices and it really does make me sick to my stomach. So, what is one to do? How can we make a difference?

For the last five years, while living in Minneapolis, my family and I have become more conscious and we have purchased a lot of our meat from a local meat market who only works with sustainable small farms (Clancy's) or directly from the small, sustainable farmer. With that said, I still didn't look at eating meat -- fish, poultry, beef, lamb the same way I do now after reading Catherine's book. Catherine Friend's book has inspired me to take a more deeper and honest look at my relationship with the meat that I am eating. I now think about...did the animal live a happy life? Did the animal smell the fresh air daily and allowed to roam the open prairie? Am I am able to deeply honor and respect the animal for the nourishment it provides me and my family? I am now! I don't think I will ever eat a McDonald's hamburger again.

Catherine Friend is a farmer and shares her love, passion for the animals that she raises and her farm -- The Rising Moon Farm in Minnesota. Her book is a must read and I quote her four ideas on being a more compassionate carnivore:

• Pay attention
• Waste less meat
• Replace factory meat with meat from animals raised humanely
• Choose meatless meals over meat from animals raised in factories
  

I have struggled for many years with the moral and ethical concerns about eating meat, however being a vegetarian was never an option for me! This book is truly a must read. Thank you Catherine for your heartfelt, honest and eloquent perspective on sustainable farming!