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Farmers Must Be Wary of Disguised Marketers

© Gloria Morris

The only crop suited to be raised on much of our hilly farm is livestock. The pasture areas would badly erode if they were put into crops. My plan for our pasture areas, and the current hay field, is to rotationally graze sheep and poultry. This is a very sustainable and environmentally friendly way to farm on hilly ground. It is also the simplest way to raise livestock, as they are fed what they evolved to eat: grass, not huge volumes of grains and hormones.

In a recent discussion, the concept of the certified "Free Farmed" program was brought up as a possible marketing tool for people who raise livestock on pasture. I was intrigued by the possibility of a new marketing tool, and so I eagerly investigated. Unfortunately, I was not pleased with what I found out, and I am passing along what I've learned for the benefit of other small farmers, who may wish to read what I found before they pursue this marketing tool.

Essentially, Free Farmed certification would tell customers that you raise livestock humanely on pasture. This *might* be a neat marketing tool. http://www.freefarmed.org/default.htm

However, the Free Farmed certification program is run by an arm of the American Humane Association (AHA). http://www.americanhumane.org/default.asp Concerned that an animal rights organization would be sponsoring a farm certification program, I checked out their published views, and found their position papers posted at: http://www.amerhumane.org/animals/policy... After doing some reading, I could only conclude that the AHA is yet another radical animal rights organization.

The AHA is against such things as hunting:

"The American Humane Association finds that wildlife management often consists of creating habitat that favors "game" species, which creates an overpopulation available for the purposes of sport hunting. The American Humane Association opposes these practices and favors wildlife "management" requiring the least human manipulation, favoring all wildlife in an ecosystem equally. On occasion when all other avenues have been exhausted and there remains a demonstrable necessity to kill some wildlife, it should be performed by responsible officials, and methods utilized must result in instantaneous and humane death."

Therefore, apparently according to the AHA, the delicious venison dinner my family ate tonight, which was obtained by bow hunting on our farm, was wrong. We should, according to the AHA, have government officials come out and kill our deer when they get over-populated. Heaven forbid that we eat animals that exist in a great profusion on our farm and try to sustainably harvest this healthy food source.

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