Local Farm Grows Animal Welfare Legend

Some friends and I decided to go in on a farm share this year. In case you're not familiar with Community Supported Agriculture, it's when family-owned farms sell "shares" to local community members. You pay up front for your share, which gives the farmer cash flow for the season and a guaranteed market for their crops, and in exchange, you get a weekly box of freshly harvested goodies.

What does this have to do with animal welfare? A lot. For one thing, many CSA farms are veganic, which means you're supporting animal-friendly agriculture. For those that offer animal products like eggs and cheese, you're typically more than welcome — even encouraged — to come to the farm to visit the animals and see how they're treated. CSAs also help keep small farms alive ... and you want these guys to stay in business — the more people there are buying from local, family-owned farms, the less money there is lining factory farm pockets. Keeping them around also means that developers are kept at bay and open space is preserved for wildlife.

In the case of my CSA, the animal welfare roots go even deeper. The first week that we received our share, I was surprised to learn that Frog Holler Organic Farm had been home to two of the great pioneers in animal protection.

Back in the day, Frog Holler was owned by Dr. Robert Gesell, Chairman of the Physiology Department at the University of Michigan Medical School. (His wife, Cora Lee Gesell, was a conservationist who ensured that the legacy of the land remained sustainable and animal-friendly.) In 1952, Dr. Gesell rocked the academic world when he delivered a paper calling for an end to vivisection and for the humane treatment of laboratory animals. His passion for protecting animals was inherited by his daughter, who was none other than Christine Stevens, the "Mother of the Animal Protection Movement."

In addition to taking up her father's crusade against the inhumane treatment of lab animals, Christine founded the Animal Welfare Institute and the Society for Animal Protective Legislation, and helped create the infamous Save the Whales campaign in the 1970s. She's credited with playing a major role in the passage of the Endangered Species Act, the Humane Slaughter Act, and several other animal welfare laws, as well as the international ban on the ivory trade.

Dr. Jane Goodall described her as: "Passionate, yet always reasoned, she took up one cause after another and she never gave up. Millions of animals are better off because of Christine's quiet and very effective advocacy."

For 50 years, Christine was determined and direct when it came to our "moral obligation" to animals. But Cathy King, current owner of Frog Holler Farm, said Christine's advocacy can't be described as a "grim determination." She was known for throwing parties where guests were expected to dress up as an endangered animal; she had even demonstrated in the streets of Washington, D.C. dressed in a homemade turtle costume. Christine probably would have appreciated the moment at her memorial service, in 2002, when her good friend Dr. Goodall had everyone in the room howling for the wolves in her honor.

How much of Christine's passion for animals came from growing up on the farm? It's hard to say, but this particular organic farm continues to be cultivated with animals in mind. In addition to keeping toxic chemicals out of the ecosystem, King says: "We use about three acres of the land for growing our crops, the rest is basically a wildlife refuge. Which makes it challenging to grow crops sometimes — especially with the hungry deer. By electric fencing, using hav-a-heart traps, and accepting that we'll lose a small portion of our crop, we have been able to coexist with the wildlife, which was certainly here first. We don't keep any farm animals, except a lucky dog and two spoiled cats."

It goes to show that the food on your plate can impact animals in more ways than you might expect; it's just one more reason to know where your food comes from. You can search for an organic CSA in your area at Local Harvest or Just Food.

Photo credit: thebittenword.com