I am so tired of this winter weather. When I was younger, I loved the snow. Now, I love the wood stove! I’m ready for the snow to pass and for Spring to arrive! Notice I said Spring, not Summer. I like Summer, but let’s ease into it.
That being said, with Spring comes baby chicks and I got my first round of baby chicks yesterday. At the moment, they are here in the office with me staying warm and cozy under a heat lamp. This weekend the weather will break and I’ll take them out to the brooder. They’ll have more room to run around with plenty of food, water and two heat lamps for warmth.
This year I have decided to move to a 1oo% certified organic feed. In the past I have used conventional feed with my pastured birds. My personal desire is to consume more organic and less conventional food. When we first started Andreas Homestead our goal was to provide the best possible product for ourselves and our customers. In fact, our vision statement says:
“At Andreas Homestead, we envision a lifestyle that creates health: healthy land with healthy animals creating a healthier you. Health is tied not only to what you eat but the quality of that product.”
As I have studied and learned, I strongly feel the best way to accomplish our vision statement is to move to a more organic lifestyle. Why? Autoimmune diseases are on the rise as are hypertension, stroke, diabetes, obesity, thyroid and liver cancer, kidney disease, and Alzheimer’s. I look at the older generation in my family and I cannot help but wonder why they have the health issues they do. I want a healthier senior life.
“A huge increase in the incidence and prevalence of chronic diseases has been reported in the United States (US) over the last 20 years. http://gmwatch.eu/index.php/news/archive/2014/15774-glyphosate-and-the-deterioration-of-america-s-health
So what is organic? According to the USDA Consumer Brochure: Organic Food Standards and Labels: The Facts:
“Organic food is produced by farmers who emphasize the use of renewable resources and the conservation of soil and water to enhance environmental quality for future generations. Organic meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products come from animals that are given no antibiotics or growth hormones. Organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; bioengineering; or ionizing radiation.”
At Andreas Homestead, we do not use any chemical fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides anywhere on the farm. All our fertilizers are from composted materials and manures from the goats and chickens.
Did you know, before World War II nothing was labeled as organic? That’s because it was ALL organic. Just think, our grandparents (or maybe your great grandparents) were eating organic long before it was the “thing to do.” But maybe they were the lucky ones? With WWII came the development DDT and the development of synthetic chemicals and pesticides. Did you know that after WWII there was a huge increase in cancer? http://www.sehn.org/web2printer4.php?img=0&lnk=0&page=pppra.htm
So why organic feed for my chickens? I desire to eat more like my grandparents did. More natural, real food. The only way I can get feed that is free from pesticides or chemical fertilizers, antibiotics, animal by products or GMOs is to either grow it myself, which I do not have enough land and resources or to buy feed grown that way from someone else. Organic feed is the only feed that confirms an absence of all these. Even if I went to an non-GMO feed, that doesn’t mean it was grown without pesticides or herbicides. This is the only way to be sure that any residual pesticide, antibiotics or herbicides are not passed on through the chicken meat to me (and my land through the animals).
So this year, my pastured birds will be raised in open-air, floorless pens that are moved several times a day for fresh grass and bugs as they have always been but this year I will only offer organic feed to my chickens. Afterall, if you are what you eat then you are what your meat eats.
Here’s a bonus: Top 10 Reasons To Grow Your Own Organic Food
http://foodmatters.tv/articles-1/top-10-reasons-to-grow-your-own-organic-food