Fight back with farm fresh
March 26th, 2009
Finally, last weekend Max and I took our first trip to a local farm! So awesome. It felt like another world. I mean, I didn’t have any cell phone coverage out there. Crazy, right? It was worth it though. Even when buying the most expensive eggs at Whole Foods I wonder…gee…does this company debeak their chickens? Am I eating eggs from chickens who are stuffed 10 to a cage and never see the light of day? What about the milk I’m buying? Has this cow been fed hormones and antibiotics to keep her producing milk constantly, even while preganant? Is that the kind of business I want to support?
I digress. But seriously, this is what I think about when I shop. That, or I’m thinking damn I forgot my reusable bags again!
So we’re driving down a dirt road past a sportsman club and lots of trees, wondering where this farm is…then, well, we saw the cows! Big, brown, furry looking things. Cows are furry? Did you know that? I did not. They were all hanging out, eating grass, covered in mud. Everything smelled kind of…good. Earthen, sort of. Max assured me that this was only because it’s still cold in Massachusetts. In the summer, the smell would probably shoot past “earthen” to downright “stinky. Ah, well.
Inside the barn everything was on the honor system. We bought fresh eggs and milk, beef and pork and left a check in the jar. Simple stuff. They also had yogurt, duck eggs and goose eggs! Maybe next time. I’ll admit the prices were a bit higher than at the store, but not by much and the freshness can’t be beat. This is quality food that I can feel good about. When was the last time you thought THAT about a Subway $5 Footlong?
So, in honor of Fight Back Fridays I want to say thank you to Misty Brook Farms in Barre, MA for raising animals with care using organic practices. Interested in finding a farm near you? Try LocalHarvest.org and RealMilk.com.
Ok, ok I can hear what you’re thinking: “Go to a farm, is she crazy? i don’t even have time to go to the bathroom!”
So for you folks, you’re in luck! It’s time to join your local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) for summer shares! Joining a CSA allows you to experience farm fresh foods without ever seeing a dirt road. They truck it in, and everyone subscribed goes and picks up their share once a week at the local dropoff point. For anyone in Boston interested in a CSA, please email me and I’ll give you the deets about one in Central Square or one in Medford. For all my lovely readers outside of the Boston area, check out LocalHarvest.org to find a CSA near you.
Finally, if farm-hopping sounds crazy and a CSA is too much commitment, I urge you to look for your local Farmer’s Market. This summer I’ll be spending a lot of time at the Medford Farmer’s Market but there are markets all over the place. Go look. Seriously. Prices at the market are always good and the food is fresher than the stuff that travels on planes, trains and automobiles to get to the supermarket.
If you haven’t already entered to win a Kripalu vegetarian cookbook, what are you waiting for? Enter by April 8th at 10:00am.
I can’t wait to actually “meet” the cows that are giving me their milk!
I go through the same thing when I’m at Whole Foods. Although, I checked out their website and if you look under “product guidelines” they list each type of meat and their rules about them. It does say that the chickens can’t be debeaked. However, it doesn’t say that they’re definitely pastured.
So interesting!
March 27th, 2009 at 9:18 amPost cow pictures!
Yes, the eggs at Whole Foods do most likely come from debeaked chickens. Sad. One time when you’re out at the farm, be sure you talk to the farmer. I love chatting with the farmer when I pick up my CSA order or my raw milk. They really have interesting food for thought as well as great food for bodies!
March 27th, 2009 at 9:20 amWhat a neat experience! A bunch of my friends grew up on farms (I went to college in Mississippi) and I used to love going to visit them. It’s such a different way of life. Kudos to you!
March 27th, 2009 at 10:01 amYour farmer’s market sounds great! I used to have a little farm and loved all the fresh brown eggs!
March 27th, 2009 at 10:02 amI *loved* reading your story. I totally identify with what you think about in the supermarket — even down to forgetting my bags! Farm fresh really is best.
Cheers, and thanks for joining in today’s Fight Back Fridays carnival!
-KristenM
March 27th, 2009 at 11:15 am(AKA FoodRenegade)
Michelle SUPER SUPER post!!! (I am beginning to feel like Flo from those Progressive Insurance Commercials – I don’t get a discount for agreeing…) but this is really good stuff here – the kind that gets me uber excited!
Here in Chicago we have Irv and Shelly http://www.freshpicks.com/cms/
and City Farm http://www.resourcecenterchicago.org/70thfarm.html which was actually a concept to assist Cabrini Green Housing Residents into self-sustainment.
I shop with them both; while I am vegan, my 13 year old is not, so I do the best I can to keep him healthy and engaged in the best eating possible. At City Farm they let him pick his own veggies!
Keep up the great job!
March 27th, 2009 at 11:17 amPlaces with no cell phone coverage are the best.
March 27th, 2009 at 1:18 pmHa! You cracked me up with the cell phone service comment. I think I struggled with that as much driving around KY for work as we do in Brazil.
What a cool experience. I’ve always been a country girl at heart and love the smell and feel of the farm. I’m bummed that I’ll miss the chance to participate in a CSA this year, but I’m all geared up to find one next year for sure.
March 29th, 2009 at 10:46 amHey girl, congratulations on the business and the new site! It looks absolutely superb. I looked into attending IIN and doing similar work a couple years back; looks like its workin’ for ya! So glad you made it out to the farmlands of Western MA. I’m from upstate New York, and that territory is very dear to me. Cows are indeed super-fuzzy, and have the kindest, most lucid eyes of any critter you’re likely to meet. I’ll look into the Central Square CSA – that farmer’s market is my favorite in the city. Although the Brookline market can’t be beat in convenience (it’s literally behind my apartment!), the one in Central has a diversity and friendly atmosphere I’ve yet to find elsewhere.
March 29th, 2009 at 4:17 pmI think it’s awesome you took the time to go!
NAOmni
March 29th, 2009 at 9:07 pm@Dana – I didn’t take any cow pictures, what was I thinking??
@Peggy – The only other people we saw at the farm were other customers. Farmer must have been hard at work. Or in the john or something
Next time!
@CulinaryWannabe – college in Mississippi? and now you are in New York? how is THAT?
@healthyashley – you had your own farm and your own eggs? or was it one nearby? either way, very cool.
@FoodRenegade – and thank YOU for hosting Fight Back Fridays. Awesome.
@Houseonahill – thanks for the sharing the links for anyone in the Chicago area!
@Vered – you’re not kidding. though i learned we’ll have to start carrying a paper map for when the iphone no longer can help us find our way.
@Lori – what, no farms in Brazil?
@jess – thanks for coming by! Central Square has two CSA dropoffs but I’m not sure if they have a farmer’s market. Harvest Co-op has all the deets!
@NAOmni – i wish we could have bought 3x as much and saved it but it would have spoiled. will have to trek out again another time…!
March 30th, 2009 at 9:32 amI love the farmers market and the “U-pick” farms around Corvallis! I’m just waiting for the Farmers Market to open sometime mid-April
March 30th, 2009 at 11:45 amGreat post! Love it! I cannot wait until our famers market starts back up so I too can have fresh real produce and eggs!
March 30th, 2009 at 1:05 pmI haven’t “met”my chickens and cows – but I do traipse off to the winter farmer’s market for my eggs.
March 30th, 2009 at 7:09 pmI love this post! I get my eggs from a farm that is Certified Humane (Glaum Egg Ranch) because I always wonder the same things you mentioned about the conditions. I try to buy meat that is as ethically raised as possible (like Marin Sun Farms here), but you never really know unless you can visit a farm. It’s great to be able to see where your food comes from first-hand!
April 3rd, 2009 at 4:01 pm