food for thought

I heard something about this vaguely in the background this morning on NPR, but Gina Spadafori at PetConnection has a more thorough post here about the state of the meat industry in the U.S. These kinds of conditions are the reason I didn't eat meat for over 15years.

While living in Maine, I came to understand that there were artisanal farms committed to raising organic, cruelty-free meat -- and while we rarely kept in our house because my wife remains a vegetarian, we did have access to a couple of restaurants who remained committed to purchasing seasonal produce from local, small-scale farmers and fishermen.

If you find yourself in downeast Maine, we both heartily recommend Cleonice in Ellsworth and The Burning Tree in Otter Creek.

Folks might also consider checking out EatWild.com for information and resources regarding where to find grass-fed, pasture-based farms offering meat, eggs, and dairy.

For those concerned about what they're feeding their dogs, you can check out The Dog Food Project or DoberDogs for their dog food analysis. For the record, we feed the boys California Natural... a little more expensive, but good, clean stuff.