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Certifi ed Humane When we buy local cheese, poultry or meat at the farmers’ market, we sometimes see a certifi ed humane notice. One such producer is Baetje Farms, outside St. Louis, Missouri. Their highly regarded goat cheeses offer traceability via a lot number, so buyers can know exactly which milking the cheese came from. In factory farming, which often


involves penning or caging animals that never go outdoors, “certifi ed humane” means that this producer meets Humane Farm Animal Care standards:


n Fed a nutritious diet without antibiotics or hormones.


n Provided proper shelter with resting areas and suffi cient space.


n Animals have to ability to behave naturally.


Veronica Baetje says her farm’s goats


receive organic mineral supplements and locally-grown alfalfa hay in addition to pasture grass every day. She adds, “They are free to choose what they prefer to do, whether skip and run up a hill, lie under the shade of a tree, soak up some sunshine or play with their herd mates.”


Wild Food


At times, farmers’ markets will offer foraged foods from the wild or wild game. Sources are listed online at


EatWild.com. “Few of us will go back to foraging in the wild, but we can learn to forage in our supermarkets, farmers’ markets and from local farmers to select the most nutritious and delicious foods available,” says founder Jo Robinson, in Vashon, Washington, For example, Dave and Sue Whittlesey, at High Wire Ranch, in Hotchkiss, Colorado, raise bison (buffalo) and elk that they sell both through local stores and at the Aspen Saturday Market. The wild game is 100 percent pasture-fed, non-GMO (no genetically-modifi ed feed), gluten- free and not given hormones or any antibiotics unless the animal is sick.


Trusted Sources The land, climate and growing season dictate the best natural farming practices for each area, often described along with their products on farm and farmers’ market websites. Wisconsin’s Dane County Farmers’ Market, in Madison, provides detailed descriptions of farm products and agricultural practices so customers can make informed choices. Sometimes, the type of farm makes a difference. “We are intentionally human scale,” says Virginia Goeke, of Sylvan Meadows Farm, in Viroqua, Wisconsin.


Healthy Foods Lexicon


Foraged—Native foods gathered from the wild, rather than cultivated. Examples: wild mushrooms, fi ddlehead ferns, mulberries, native pecans, black walnuts and native persimmons.


Free range—Poultry raised outdoors where they are free to range over natural vegetation.


Grass-fed—Beef or milk cows fed on grass. The benefi t is leaner, better-fl avored meat and more omega-3s, plus fuller fl avors in milk, butter and other dairy products.


Heirloom—Older, non-hybrid varieties of produce, including fruit trees, herbs and vegetables.


Heritage breeds—Ancestral breeds of poultry and livestock that often take longer to reach market weight, but have more fl avor.


Local—Grown or raised within a three-hour driving radius of the consumer’s purchase site.


Pastured—Livestock raised on pastures instead of factory farms.


24 Central Florida natural awakenings


Traceability—Precise tracking by a farmer that informs the consumer of which chicken hatched a specifi c clutch of eggs, which farm grew a cantaloupe and which mill boiled down and bottled the sorghum syrup.


Wild-caught—Fish that live and are caught in open lakes, streams or oceans.


For more current agricultural, market and trade terms, visit LexiconOfSustainability.com.


“We choose to husband our land to promote harmony and synergy. We are creating a sustainable farm ecosystem where herbal meadows, prairies, heirloom gardens, orchards, woodlands and rare breeds of livestock and wildlife fl ourish.” Sometimes, we’d just like someone else to do the food curating for us. The Kansas City Food Circle requires member farmers to take a pledge to follow certain agricultural practices. “When you buy food from our members, you can rely on the co-op’s pledge that it’s been certifi ed naturally-grown or that the farmer has USDA Organic certifi cation,” says Akins. Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative, the joint effort of 100 small-scale family farms providing fresh, organic, seasonal produce, in Leola, Pennsylvania, gives similar assurances. The USDA reports that 160,000 farmers nationwide are currently selling to their local markets via farmers’ markets, community supported agriculture organizations, restaurants, groceries and institutions, generating health, social, economic and environmental benefi ts for local communities. It keeps growing because we keep asking questions.


Judith Fertig blogs at AlfrescoFood AndLifestyle.blogspot.com.


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