As a small cow/calf operator (one bull, four mama cows - 4 calves a year) I rotate pastures (no fertilizer), only grass fed, no antibiotics or hormones … all natural, humane - I truly love my animals. I live in a part of Texas (north of DFW) where most people have been so indoctrinated that the idea of eating real food or speaking of complex adaptive systems is not only rejected — it is considered irrational, ungodly or even threatening. I have not yet found a sufficient market mechanism to sell my yearlings for what they are — unstressed, grass feed, mama feed, no injections — at anything other than regular commodity auction.
If any vegans are fuming at me I’ll offer four defenses. 1) I’d butcher and eat one of my own yearlings but I rarely eat meat … I would be years eating even 1/4th of a 500 pound heifer - I’m not your enemy, 2) I no till garden, no fertilizer (sometimes gather cow manure) and I personally eat mostly home grown vegetables, 3) I never kill or eat one of my chickens but do eat their eggs and let the chickens who climb on me to be petted live a full happy life, 4) you come out and buy this land (the market appraisal is $1.6 million) and pay the taxes without an agricultural exemption (cow-calf being the safest path because of all receipts) and see how well you like paying the state of Texas $25,000 a year for a ranch you already own (Texas is a no income tax state, revenues are from property tax).
Around here people think they are being healthy by eating at Chick-fil-A. I drive by the lines and shake my head in astonishment wondering … do they have any idea how the chickens are raised, slaughtered, or how many extra chemicals are added to the bread, meat, ingredients? Why do you think the kids love Chick-fil-A sauce? Hint: sugar.
We need a systemic farm to table solution (minimize transport, natural and fresh) that comprehends all the data from sunshine, air and soil to gut and use of every nutrient and by product. The nutritionists (I doubt any read this real world example) will roll their eyes at this: I see no other way to get to natural real food at minimum load without using a lot of wireless and computing software to measure/track soil (all organic and inorganic elements), water, plants, animals, planting, harvest, distribution — all end to end. It’s a great application for AI (I can hear the groans and cringing). That’s ok, I’m used to actually trying my best to actually progress in field operations with my sweat and equity on the line while being battered by ideologists from all sides.
