Intern Jon's Book Review: Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer

While the average American lives blissfully without a worry of where the meat on his or her plate came from, Jonathan Safran Foer introduces the reader to a harsh reality in his book Eating Animals.  The nostalgic vision of family-farmed raised meat is nearly a dead illusion, as 99% of all meat production is now carried out by the often horrific factory-farming.  Likely recognizing that most Americans prefer to avoid acknowledging this truth, Foer engages the reader into his argument, supplying personal anecdotes of raising his son, fond memories of his grandmother’s cooking, in addition to the experiences of others such as small cattle ranchers who are threatened by corporate agribusinesses. He explains himself as someone who has dispassionately shuffled between vegetarianism and eating meat, and loved to eat meat when it was convenient.  However, through the research he dedicated to writing Eating Animals, he has now fully committed his dietary habits to purely vegetarianism as the easiest way to avoid supporting factory farming.  But his book is not only an argument for vegetarianism but also “an argument for another, wiser animal agriculture and a more honorable omnivory.”  

In other words, Foer is a vegetarian who supports the old fashion style of grass-fed farming.  He contrasts the methods of struggling small family-farmers with the images inside chicken, cow, and hog factory-farms.  For instance, Foer provides mind-numbing statistics such as the 145 marine life species that are killed as bycatch and then thrown back into the sea, for the specific fishing of just tuna; or that all male genetically engineered egg-laying chickens (known as layers), consisting of 250 million a year, are completely destroyed.   He also points out that the kosher meat industry also relies on industrialized factory-farming, and that such cruelty is not limited to treif meat. 

Foer focuses not only on the cruelty in the treatment of the factory-farmed animals, but also the health risks this system poses to us.  For instance, the feces covered confinement is a breeding ground for infectious viruses and bacteria.  Different strains of flu viruses can genetically mix and create drug-resistant hybrids that can and have led to large-scale pandemics.  Foer explains how the USDA and other Governmental regulating agencies are very much controlled by the corporate interests themselves.  For instance, chickens are placed in a water tank bath, after being slaughtered, where fecal-polluted water is absorbed by the meat of the chicken.  This process can be avoided but agribusiness CEOs know that they can sell the heavier water laden meat at a greater price.  Foer also warns the reader of misleading food labels.  For instance, USDA certified “free-range” or “cage-free” poultry or eggs merely means that these chickens came from a factory farm that had a small screen-door that rarely opens, yet these thousands of barn-stuffed chickens are still debeaked, drugged, and cruelly slaughtered.  Foer jokes, “I could keep a flock of hens under my sink and call them free-range.”  

While analyzing both arguments for and against eating meat, Foer considers the family traditions and the comfort that meat gives to carnivores. As a result, Foer truly does succeed in providing a convincing argument for all readers to change how their meat reaches their dinner tables. In doing so, he provides the suspense of a thriller novel with his nighttime break-in into a poultry plant, while certainly not lacking wit and humor that makes reading such a serious topic very easy to swallow.  Overall, Eating Animals is an informative and pleasing read, relevant to meat-eaters and vegetarians/vegans alike.  

Intern Matt's trip to the chicken producer

Paying a visit to the producer that processes and packages KOL Foods’ pastured chickens wasn’t what I expected at all. You walk in the front door and you’re greeted by a receptionist. Waxed tile floors, offices, desks, and the smell could only be described as clean. Heading in I was worried that the smell would be overpowering, or that perhaps the processing wing of the slaughter house would be dark and dirty. On the contrary it was extremely manageable. The workers were very nice and understanding, eager to help ensure our order was complete and correct. The process was very efficient. Workers took shected and kashered whole chickens and made the desired cuts and packaging needed to complete each individual product.

Our processing plant is one of the few kosher poultry processing plants in the country. For our customers, ensuring the poultry from KOL Foods is held to the highest standards of kosher is extremely important. I’m happy to say that as we watched the KOL Foods order being completed from start to finish I saw many Rabbis observing. Every single bag was clamped with a clasp that labels the product as kosher. These bags were then placed in bulk boxes, each of which is sealed extremely tight with plastic bands, bound together with a zip tie labeling each individual box as kosher. All this makes it impossible for their product to be tampered with from the production floor to the super market, or in our case when we ship you your KOL Foods order. 

Intern Jon: KOL Foods Opens a Farmers Market Stand

The sun had only been up for a couple of hours on our drive to the freezer to pick up our stockpile of frozen meats.  Running on excited energy and no sleep, I helped Robert quickly load the car with dry-ice and five coolers containing chicken, beef, and lamb.  Slamming the trunk door shut, we were on our way to set up our stall at the Sunday morning Bethesda Farmers’ Market. Since KOL Foods is the only non-industrial kosher meat producer in the US, and since Farmers’ Markets only sell non-industrial products, our presence at the Farmers’ Market was completely unique. market was completely unique. Also, being there was very new to us. Today’s consumers (kosher or not) go to Farmers’ Markets to know where their meat comes from and to meet its producers. That is precisely what KOL Foods offers! 

Upon arriving at the market, we began unloading the car. The other sellers at the market were overly welcoming. We received some help assembling our tent from the fruit farmers next to us, while other local farmers walked over and introduced themselves. We were made to feel at home as one local farmer assured me, “we may be competing against each other, but we’re all in this together, so if you need anything, don’t hesitate to come by.” Such hospitality didn’t end there. As a welcoming gift, one fellow vendor spoiled me with a delicious homemade apple pie, while another gave me a fresh batch of strawberries. 

We had finished setting up and were ready for the day. I soon found working with frozen food rather refreshing as the temperatures climbed into the high 80s and 90s. The weather became an afterthought, as we were greeted by regular KOL Foods customers who were so excited to finally buy Kol Foods meat in person, and not have to worry about the downsides of online shipping. On multiple occasions we were flattered with, “we came to the Farmers’ Market, just to see you guys.”  That was a treasure to hear.  Half the experience was just connecting with the customers, talking to them about the farms from where we buy our animals, and meeting new people. The entire morning seemed to have gone by rather quickly. I can’t wait to go to the next Farmers’ Market.  Hopefully this time I’ll get more sleep the night before. 

Intern Matt's Book Review: The Omnivore's Dilemma

The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan is a look into food as we know it. He explores where the food we eat comes from and attempts to answer the age old question of what exactly should we eat? I particularly liked that the author doesn’t criticize what choices people make. The book is written in a way to inform the reader of what exactly goes into producing the food we consume. Pollan leaves it up to the reader to choose what is best for them. There are three main sections to The Omnivore’s Dilemma: Industrial, Pastoral, and Personal. Pollan illustrates each section with a meal or two - fast food eaten in a car (industrial); industrial organic TV dinners and beyond organic chicken and vegetables eaten with family (Pastoral); and a final meal that was hunted and gathered with friends (Personal).

Where exactly does our food comes from? For at least the 90% of food that has been industrialized over the years the answer is quite simple: corn. Unless it is 100% grassfed, the meat that we eat is corn raised; most of our drinks are sweetened with corn; as well as most of our fast food. Beef and lamb were not intended to be raised on corn, yet since we have an over abundance of corn, due to government subsidies and policy, it is much cheaper to have corn raised animals in feed lots. This leads to health issues for the animals, leading to a dependence on antibiotics in agribusiness. By simply raising our animals on grass we can avoid the unethical treatment of animals, creating nasty antibiotic resistant microbes, negative environmental impacts, and poor health for the omnivores who are eating the animals.

A society that is so heavily reliant on corn causes many problems. Americans consume more corn than any other country and also have an alarming obesity rate. Many experts believe this is no coincidence. In a Chicken McNugget from McDonald’s there are 38 ingredients, 13 of which are derived from corn. The burgers have added corn sweetener in them, and the cattle itself was raised on corn to reduce costs. Forty-five out of sixty of McDonald’s products contain corn derivatives. Environmentally, it’s important to know that corn uses more fertilizer than any other crop. At the end of World War 2 the U.S. government had a surplus of ammonium nitrate, previously used in explosives and nerve gas. Now those same nitrates are used as fertilizer and are poisoning the ground water.

Pollan also talks about the industrialization of organic food. Unfortunately, although the organic movement has gained a lot of steam, the producers have begun to adopt a lot of methods used in industrial agribusiness, losing sight of the organic food movement’s anti-industrial roots. I have to say however; with as much popularity as organic food has, it is quite hard to remain non-industrial. Pollan also visits local farms where the crops are harvested and grown non-industrially. These farms are slowly diminishing and it’s getting harder and harder to find food that isn’t industrially produced.

Lastly, the final chapter of Pollan’s book is about personally harvesting food for yourself. He attempts to prepare a meal using ingredients that only he has hunted, gathered, or grown. With some help, he hunts for feral pigs, searches for wild mushrooms and abalone, makes a salad from his garden, bakes bread completely and entirely from scratch, and even cooks desert. Obviously this route is completely impractical in today’s world, but reading about his adventure opened my eyes to exactly what it would take to cook a meal without any industry at all. It’s quite astonishing how much we rely on the industrial food system.

All in all The Omnivore’s Dilemma is a wonderful book that I would highly recommend. The information I gave in this review only touches the surface of how far Pollan goes to expose what exactly we as humans consume. It’s a fascinating read that should be considered required material for anyone interested in what exactly is on their plate.

Intern Jon: A Trip to Our Poultry Farm

On Tuesday afternoon, Devora and Robert took Matt (the other intern) and I (Jon Cohen) on a field trip up to Lancaster, Pennsylvania to visit the Amish farms where KOL Foods buys its chickens. Both farms were so lovely; embodying a lifestyle that was so simple and so serene. The first farmer, Farmer Amos, showed us his free range chickens. The chicks are kept inside an enclosed area, known as a brooder, to be kept warm and safe while they are babies.  Once they are a few weeks old, they move to an open field under the protection of a donkey, to roam free as they please. On the second farm, we met Farmer David, who showed us his chickens and produce. The chickens are kept in large, moveable, fenced-in pens that lay out on the pasture, so that the chickens can eat grass and grain. The fenced-in area protects the chickens from being attacked by predators such as a foxes or hawks. There is plenty of room for the chickens to roam around, and they appear to enjoy themselves, especially compared to the Tyson and Purdue chickens found in PETA videos.

What struck me was that despite the fact Farmer Amos and Farmer David and I grew up with very different backgrounds and cultures, the three of us share something common, something that is very important to both of us. We all care very deeply about how our food is raised and processed.  Farmer Amos expressed his disgust for the stories he heard of factory farmed chickens from a Purdue plant. Similarly, Farmer David mentioned how he couldn’t imagine using the same tactics as the larger agribusinesses. When it came to growing his produce, David described how he conserves water through the use of drip irrigation because his water supply is limited to the water he pumps from the nearby creek. Also, he said he wouldn’t trust factory- farmed meat, “you don’t know what’s in it.” David, Amos, and I share a love for the environment even though their connection to the environment is very different from mine. Their methods of agriculture are necessary for the success and health of their respective farms - whereas for me, there is a disconnect between myself and the impact I place upon the environment from my own lifestyle. It’s clear that Farmer Amos and Farmer David love their animals and love their farm.   I wish I could say the same for many of the agribusinesses in America.