Is Organic Food “Gross?”
As you can probably imagine, I have had a lot of conversations with people about organic food. I was surprised to learn that a few of these people thought organic food was “gross.” When I sincerely asked them, “Why?” they didn’t appear ready for this question and were caught off guard. Was there something I didn’t know about organic food? They stared at me for a moment and then looked confused and admitted they didn’t know. Could it be that we are told something enough times that we simply believe it, and don’t even know why?
To be honest there have been many times in my life that I have done the same thing. This is definitely something I need to work on. Today I would like to make a comparison of organic production verses conventional, industrial farming practices and let you decide for yourself if organic food is “gross.” When I think of organic farming, I think of a pasture-based system, but unfortunately most of the organic products we find today are raised basically the same as the conventional model. Since animals receive organic grains and don’t receive drugs it’s definitely better, but they are still raised in confinement, and since there’s not much difference, I would like to compare factory farmed foods to what most people think of when they picture an organic product; animals on grass, outside, soaking up the sun. Please note that not all conventional hogs are raised this way, but the majority are.
Conventional Factory Farmed Pigs
-Confined inside a large building
-Very Efficient
-Small area to move about and pigs don’t move much
-Air Quality is poor and dusty. Fecal particulate can permeate the air they breathe
-Drugs are considered useful for preventing and treating disease
-Given a diet of grains often genetically modified
-Tails cut to prevent chewing them off and piglets’ teeth are cut
Mentink Family Farms Pasture Based Hogs
-Plenty of room to eat, sleep, forage, run, and play
-Moved every 5 to 12 days to a new home on green pasture during the growing season. During the winter they are given shelter, hay for bedding and food, and plenty of room to move about inside or outside. Moved a few times in the winter to prevent disease.
-Less efficient and very small amount of pigs
-Fed grain raised organically, excess garden produce and pasture raised, grain-free milk, a lot of chemical free nuts, along with a buffet of plants, leaves, nuts, berries, and whatever else they can forage.
-Don’t need drugs
-Clean fresh air to breathe and plenty of sun to soak up vitamin D
-Tails and teeth left intact because we have never had a problem
Do you think organic products are gross? Is there something I’m missing? We love to hear from you!