I read an excellent article in a recent New York Times Magazine about Tim and Liz Young of Nature's Harmony Farm in Elberton, GA. The whole thing is a good, quick read, describing the story of how Tim (a marketing service entrepreneur) and Liz (a special ed teacher) discovered beauty, balance, and justice on their 76 acre farm. Rather than raise animals to compete with those sold at Walmart, the Youngs are committed to the preservation of rare breeds, such as Ossabaw and Berkshire hogs and Murray Grey cattle. Here's an excerpt from the article:
Before the farm’s animals could get to market 35 miles away in Athens, the couple faced a daunting learning curve. “I think a lot of people who do what we do start with Joel Salatin,” Tim said of the “beyond organic” farming hero. They read Salatin’s books and visited his Virginia farm, as well as other sustainable models in the Southeast. But nothing could prepare the Youngs for the realities of full-time farming — like finding 25 dead piglets that had been abandoned by their mothers. Heartbreaking stuff, and yet, the article goes even further:
Their decision to raise animals without the use of antibiotics or medication means that some get sick and die. “You have to have values to get through those kinds of days and those kinds of conditions,” Tim said, “to say: ‘I’m sorry that that animal died, probably because we didn’t feed her any worming medication. But she shouldn’t be here.’ And that’s a really harsh thing to say. But you really set out of a love of the land, not a lack of love for the animals.”
It's a little bit shocking to think about the decisions like this, made every day - especially when you consider the fact that "big food" goes to all sorts of great lengths to keep animals alive - and caged or cramped - via extra aggressive use of antibiotics and medications. The Youngs make a case for the balance of nature, and I have no doubt that their love of the land and compassion for the animals drives many of their decisions. But there are clearly other cases to be made.
I'm very interested in hearing what you - especially you farmers out there - have to say about this. Please let me know. Read more about Nature's Harmony Farm here, including their excellent blog. Thanks Shari for the link to the New York Times article.
