I'm taking a break from blogging about Sara's birthday party, mostly because I haven't received the pictures from the photographer yet and secondly because I have a new hobby. After watching the movie Food, Inc. I really started investigating local agriculture and the differences between food produced commercially and food that you can get from local sources. I have spent several weeks researching local farmers and the processes they use, whether they use commercially available fertilizers and pesticides, what they feed their animals, how the animals are treated, etc. I've read tons of other blogs with Moms that have the same concerns I have - "What is in the food I'm feeding my child?"
I'm not sure that if I wasn't a mother that I would have given this subject much thought at all. I'd probably continue to purchase commercially produced, over processed food and gone on my merry way. But thanks to the fact that I have a beautiful two year old that I want to have the best that I can give her, this has now become a priority.
Earlier this week, I finally decided on a Meat CSA in the area that delivers meat to the local farmer's market once a month. We selected Rainbow Meadow Farms located in Snow Hill, North Carolina. The price wasn't bad - $600 for 6 months. Each month you pick up $100 worth of meat from them, which could include any of the following: grass-fed beef, pastured chickens, pork, lamb or turkey. They also offer quail and rabbit, though I'm not sure yet just how adventurous I'm going to be in the meat department...lamb is a stretch for me right now and I've asked that they leave lamb out of our monthly box for now.
My next decision is if I want to join a local food cooperative that provides all kinds of local food from across the state. They have fruit, veggies, beef, lamb, bison, seafood, chicken, turkey, pork, dairy products, including milk, herbs, grain, flour, and eggs. I recently found out that the organic milk that I thought would be the best for my daughter is ultra-pasteurized. Sounds good, right? If milk is typically just pasteurized, ultra-pasturized sounds much better!! WRONG!! Ultra-pasteurization uses extremely high temperatures to pasteurize milk. While it kills off the bad bacteria, it also kills off the good bacteria and makes a milk product that can survive unrefridgerated without spoiling for up to 50 days!!! Now, I'm no expert, but that just doesn't sound right to me. I can't find anyone local who sells raw milk, so I think I'm just going to go with a local dairy that doesn't use the UHT (ultra high temperature) method of pasteurization.
Well, that's my latest hobby. I hope you will follow me on this ride to find the best foods to feed my family. I'll post after we get our first box of meat to let you know what we got and what I plan to cook with it!!
