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Once more with feeling…
….we were at a party last night where, once more, someone in one of the conversation circles, announced her family “just doesn’t eat much red meat anymore”. Not a vegetarian exactly, you understand, just would rather not eat much red meat. Because I was a guest (and off-duty), I again let the remark pass. I did not tell the lady that the chicken and pork she was feeding her family was a whole lot worse for them than red meat. But still, despite all the evidence, it’s my impression that most of the experts today are still cautioning against “too much”, whatever that is, red meat. We’ve linked to various…
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Alright. That does it! – 2
The other day we mentioned that “the place” Devon in our mind actually stretches quite a bit farther than the place on the map. About as far south as you can go is Cornwall, where several of our partners in Traditional Devon live and farm. One of those is a vivacious young woman named Juliet Cleave from the Kew herd. She not only raises excellent cattle but is in the forefront of promoting the breed and grass fed meat. Juliet has put together videos that we’ve shown here before and here is her latest, which was something she did locally to promote the Great British Beef Week. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBqu1hi1KSw&feature=related
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BULLETIN: Famed Rotokawa herd sold…again…
A stunning announcement in the Devon world this morning: the famed Rotokawa herd, which originated in New Zealand, has been sold to Massachusetts breeder Henry Hauptman of East View Farm in Hardwick. Henry has been a fan of the herd from the moment he went into the cattle business and this fulfills a long-held dream. Henry tells us that he would not have considered the purchase of the herd Ken McDowall developed in New Zealand, if Ken hadn’t promised to once again be personally involved in operations. We talked with Ken last night and he said he would begin by traveling to the Hauptman farm in August to discuss breeding decisions. Both men expect to…
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The Unholy Alliance?
Sometimes I have to tell myself not to be so paranoid. As you will have figured out by now, when it comes to food and health, I’m no fan of the government, Big Ag and the drug companies. Now a writer has developed some history that indicates we need to throw Big Banks into the mix as well. There’s no question that we’re an over-weight, over-medicated nation, but I hesitate to blame it on a “grand conspiracy” put in motion 100 years ago. Nevertheless, that’s the claim. You can read and decide for yourself. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/07/15/ellen-brown-discusses-money-system.aspx?e_cid=20120715_SNL_Art_1 When you consider today’s “insider relationships”, cronyism and the revolving door involving people at the…
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Good friends, good times, good cows…
We’re back after a swing through the northeast capped by a visit to Don and Heather Minto’s Watson farm in Rhode Island. The Mintos have a wonderful herd of Devon and also sell grass fed beef. Their hot dogs are the best I’ve ever tasted but their butcher won’t reveal his secret. After checking their herd we had dinner at an excellent restaurant in nearby Jamestown, something of a ritual for us. Watson Farm has one of the prettiest settings of any we know, right on the shoreline of Narragansett Bay. Now it’s back to work. Our pigs are ready for market and the next steer has been butchered and…
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By way of explanation….
Between power outages and visitors, blogging has had to take a back seat recently. Last night we invited Rappahannock chef Sylvie Rowand in to prepare dinner in the style of her native Reunion and our guests included two Germans, a Brit and a Norwegian. Globalization strikes Hume. But so did another power outage…right in the middle of preparation. Of course, the battery on the generator decided to quit so I had to make another round trip to the pump house in the pouring rain with jumper cables to get a boost from the Gator. (Incidentally, that rain felt wonderful!) There’s a limit to what the generator can power and we…
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Et tu, NIH?
One of the rewards of what we do is talking to our friends and neighbors as they get their latest grass fed beef and pork fix. There were a couple of those conversations yesterday. One about the federal study that says the low carb diet is best for losing weight after all….and another with a woman who says she depends on the perfect fats in grass fed beef to supply just the right amount of fat she needs. We’ve ranted here before about the nonsense masquerading as science that comes out of not only the government but the medical industry. Anyone for the food pyramid? Now, though, this latest study…
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Just by coincidence…
I had barely finished writing my post below warning that grass fed farmers needed to carefully consider before shipping their animals into the commercial marketplace. My point was that designing your animals for “The Box” is what got the meat industry into trouble in the first place. It’s an easy way to sell your steers, assuming you produce them to the required size, but I wanted to point out it was possibly the proverbial “bargain with the Devil”. (Why didn’t I think of that phrase sooner?) The big food processors have been buying up the smaller organic and natural labels and inevitably, I argued, that will lead to the corruption…
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A 7,000 year-old cow….
….a painting found on the wall of a cave in the Sahara. Actually more than one cow. We think we can make out 7. Hard to see but much better if you click on the picture to enlarge. Thanks to our dear friend in Germany, Gisela Volkert, for sending it to us.
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The developing grass fed beef market….
There is no one in this business of grass fed beef whose opinions I value more than Bill Roberts of 12 Stones Grasslands Beef. Bill has not only an education in the field but years of experience in all levels of raising and marketing cattle. While a staunch advocate for natural food he has also been a critic of some of the fads and, let’s face it, the nutty theories of some of the well-known grass gurus. A recent article got us thinking…and worrying just a bit. And while I don’t disagree with his facts, I’m not sure I want to follow where they’re leading. So let the discussion begin! …