“I try to avoid factory farmed dairy and eggs, if possible. I do this to boycott large commercial diary and eggs producers who really don’t treat their animals in a humane manner. I can produce all our own dairy products here, so there is no reason for me to have to buy from, and support, factory farm commercial producers. If we run out of dairy products, we’ll do without and use soymilk, tofu and ‘fake cheeze’ until our goats freshen again. Just by doing this, I do quite a bit, in my own little way, to not support the factory farm industry.” – Molly Nolte, Fias Co Farm
We often visit the web site of Fias Co Farm, a wonderful resource for everything goats – from birthing and health to milking and dairying. We’re grateful to Molly Nolte for maintaining it as a public service!
On my last visit, I happened to click on Molly’s Humane-ifesto. It is thoughtfully written and well worth a read. It may also make a great starting point for one’s own personal “humane-ifesto.”
Sure, we do our best to be kind to our goats. They are part of the family – we could do no less. But that’s just the beginning.
It’s not easy to avoid the industrial food machine, especially in a climate where it’s difficult to “grow your own” much of the year. We joined a CSA last year that offered fresh vegetables throughout the winter – but in January what grows (even in a greenhouse) is mostly leaves. Sometimes it’s difficult to deny oneself the peppers, fruits, and even (generally tasteless) tomatoes offered at the local grocery store.
Molly has chosen a vegetarian path. I tried that for a while (almost ten years) but was unable to continue. Like Molly, I try to avoid factory-farmed products, including meat. We buy a locally-grown pig once a year, which provides most of the meat we need. I understand there may soon be a source of locally-grown poultry, which will eliminate the need to buy chickens from the store. (Our preferred store carries a brand that claims to be “family farmed,” but having never seen the farm these chickens come from, I have my doubts about the conditions in which the chickens are raised.)
Please take a few moments to read Molly’s manifesto. You may not agree with it, but hopefully it will make you think. From thinking comes awareness, and from awareness comes change.
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