CHEESESLAVE

Joel Salatin said once that we have an NRA for guns — we should have a group like that to protect our food in this country.

I totally agree with that. I’d gotten completely ridiculous with the number of chemicals and genetically modified ingredients in our food supply. (I guess that’s because chemical companies own the food supply!)

The traditional food movement is all about taking back our food, going back to the time-honored ways of growing, producing, preparing and eating foods.

I thought I’d share some videos of some of America’s great contemporary food heroes. We’ll start with Mark McAfee of Organic Pastures Dairy, who fights every day to keep raw milk on the shelves in California, and in the hands of raw milk drinkers all over the country (they will ship it anywhere in the states).

People have been drinking raw milk for thousands of years. It’s only in this past century that we started pasteurizing milk and dairy products.

Why? Because the cows are sick and pasteurizing it kills many (ahem — not all) of the pathogens.

Why are the cows sick? Because they are crowded into factories, standing 24-7 on cement floors, and fed genetically-modified industrial corn and soy full of pesticides, herbicides. Cows are not meant to eat soy or corn.

What are they meant to eat? Grass. Grass is what keeps them healthy. Cows are meant to roam on pasture. And that is exactly what they do at Organic Pastures Dairy. They eat grass all year long. They receive no antibiotics and no growth hormones. Healthy cows produce clean, nutritious milk. Milk that is clean and does not require pasteurization.

Dairies like Organic Pastures are continually fighting to keep their doors open. Right now they are fighting a “sneak attack” on raw milk that occurred last fall that threatened to end all raw milk production and sales in the state of California.

Who is behind this kind of thing? I don’t know for sure but I bet my boots it’s chemical companies like Monsanto. They make a lot of money off their swill milk pumped full of Posilac (growth hormone). They don’t want people to know the truth. Which is why they pay front groups like The Hudson Institute to build websites like this one: Milk is Milk.

Milk is Milk is a thinly veiled attempt to convince consumers that there is no difference between their tainted, polluted milk from confinement cows in factory farms and real, healthy milk from healthy cows on pasture.

Funny, when I was trying to figure out if raw milk was safe to drink after my baby was born, I was googling and reading everything on the internet. I saw the Milk is Milk website. At first it scared me. Maybe raw milk wasn’t safe to drink after all.

Then I dug around and found out that it was funded in part by Monsanto. That is exactly what convinced me to drink raw milk! Anything Monsanto (makers of Agent Orange, RoundUp, Posilac) says is good for you is definitely not good for you.

If “Milk is Milk”, just try calling up Horizon (an organic factory farm) or any other big dairy and ask them for a tour. You won’t get one. They don’t want you to see the truth.

Then call Organic Pastures. They allow tours all year long. Because they have nothing to hide. You can actually meet the cows, who all have names. It’s right here on their website!

Thank you, Mark McAfee, for doing everything you do. And thanks to everyone at Organic Pastures Dairy. We need more people like you in this country!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6AyznQDOfM&rel=1]

I have been reading “Gut and Psychology Syndrome” by Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride. She has had quite a lot of success treating children in her clinic in England, reversing autism, allergies, ADHD, and many other conditions. Her own son was diagnosed with autism. He is now in a regular school and is completely functional.

Dr. Campbell McBride recommends a special diet, what she calls the “GAPS diet”, as well as supplementation with cod liver oil and therapeutic-grade probitoics. I was very interested to learn this, as I have heard of many people having success with diet and probiotics with autistic children.

Including Jenny McCarthy, who, in her book, “Louder Than Words”, wrote about her son’s marked recovery after she changed his diet (to gluten-free, casein-free) and started giving him probiotics. Her son regained his language and social skills, and is now fully recovered.

If diet and probiotics can have this kind of affect on autistic children, what kind of affect can they have on other children? What kind of affect can they have on us? Those of us with food allergies and chronic fatigue and asthma and digestive problems and chronic colds and sinus infections? And auto-immune disorders such as arthritis, lupus, and MS.

How do we improve our immunity, and how do we avoid damaging our immunity?

In her book, Dr. Campbell-McBride made lists of how we can strengthen and weaken immunity. Here they are:

TOP 10 THINGS THAT BOOST IMMUNITY:

1. Cold-pressed oils - olive oil, fish oils (including cod liver oil), nut and seed oils (flax seed, sunflower seed).

2. Fresh eggs, particularly raw egg yolk. (Note: Raw eggs are safe as long as they come from healthy pastured chickens, not sick battery chickens from a factory farms. It is not advisable to eat raw egg whites, however. I usually boil my eggs for 3 minutes or fry them, and eat the yolk runny.)

3. Onions and garlic.

4. Freshly pressed vegetables and fruit juices (this means freshly juiced, not store bought).

5. Regular consumption of greens: parsley, dill, coriander (cilantro), spring onion and garlic, etc.

6. Probiotic supplementation and fermented foods (kombucha, kefir, cultured butter, yogurt, homemade sauerkraut, beet kvass, etc.).

7. Contact with animals: horses, dogs, etc. Having a pet in the family can do a lot for children’s immune status.

8. Physical activity in the fresh air.

9. Swimming in unpolluted natural waters: lakes, rivers, and sea.

10. Exposure to sunlight and sensible sunbathing.

TOP 10 THINGS THAT DAMAGE IMMUNITY:

1. Sugar and everything containing it: sweets, soft drinks, confectionery, ice cream, etc.

2. Processed carbohydrates: cakes, biscuits, crisps (chips), snacks, breakfast cereals, white bread and pasta.

3. Chemically altered and artificial fats: margarines, butter replacements, cooking and vegetable oils (including soy oil and canola oil), processed foods prepared with these fats.

4. Lack of high-quality protein in the diet from meats and fish, eggs, dairy products, nuts and seeds.

5. Exposure to man-made chemicals: cleaning and washing chemicals, personal care products, paints, fire retardants, petrochemicals, pesticides, etc.

6. Exposure to man-made radiation: electronic screens (TV, computers, play station, etc.), mobile phones, high-power electricity lines, nuclear station and nuclear wastes.

7. Drugs: antibiotics, steroids, antidepressants, painkillers, anti-cancer medication, anti-viral drugs, etc.

8. Lack of fresh air and physical activity.

9. Lack of exposure to sunlight.

10. Lack of exposure to common microbes in the environment. Living in a too sterilized environment is strongly associated with compromised immunity. The immune system needs constant stimulation from the microbes in the environment.

Surprising lists, huh? According to Dr. Campbell-McBride, pets, cod liver oil, fresh air, eggs, fermented foods, and sunshine all strengthen immunity. White flour, sugar, vegetable and soy oil, antibiotics, chemical cleaners, personal care products, and vegetarianism all weaken it.

Someone on the LiveJournal natural living community posted this fascinating and miraculous story about kefir, the fermented dairy drink:

After my first batch of kefir, I got a period for the first time in a couple of years. I was stunned. I thought it had to be the kefir because that was the only thing that had changed.

Then about a month later, my body started feeling like it was trying very hard to have a period but couldn’t. I had headaches and fever-like symptoms coupled with what I can only describe as a very anxious, tense body for a week and a half. One night I woke up in the middle of the night after having night sweats. The feeling that woke me was that feeling you get when a fever breaks. I had started my period.

The next month, when I felt the fever-like symptoms coming on, I started drinking kefir right away. Sure enough, my period came on without a struggle soon afterward. I starting drinking the kefir every day. It kept getting easier for my body to have a period with each cycle, and now I’m cycling normally.

I later reread the section in the The Body Ecology Diet book about kefir and thought, “I’ll be damned.” It states right there in the book that some women find their periods come back when they start drinking the kefir! Strangely enough, that had gone by me the first time I read the book. (Well, there’s a lot of information in there.)

…it’s one of the reasons I’m so devoted to the principles of this diet (that and seeing my autoimmune problems back off, which was my main goal, and my hormones start to balance). Prior to getting my period back, I’d been doing the basic diet for a few months, without the probiotic foods. Prior to that was the processed foods nightmare, which went through college, when I didn’t know any better.

I was on a lot of antibiotics when I was a kid (for ear infections) and some when I was in college. I also took birth control pills for several years to regulate my periods, not knowing that would make things worse.

I’m 29 now. I had an awful bout of hives in high school that “experts” couldn’t diagnose. The hives went away on their own after a hellish year. When I was 24-25, they came back in force with my thyroid crash, when my autoimmune thyroid problem came on me strong — so bad my hair was thinning and eyes were sensitive to light. I had chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, you name it.

Long story short, I connected the hives to poor digestion and cured them with digestive enzymes. Since the hives and autoimmune thyroid had come at the same time, I began to think digestion was the root of all of it. I went to see a colon hydrotherapist who teaches Body Ecology at her clinic. I never looked back. This knowledgeable woman confirmed my suspicions, and I just knew Body Ecology would help me heal.

Amazing, eh?

It’s sad that medical doctors are constantly putting women on the birth control pill to regulate their cycles. The birth control pill is one of the things that messes up your intestinal flora!

It never made sense to me. Why should you have to take a pill to regulate something that should be a natural human function?!

Here’s an article on why you should avoid the birth control pill:

Just Say No to Birth Control Pills

Oh and by the way, the kefir available at the health food store is NOT the same as the stuff you make yourself.

If you want to make your own kefir, here is a site with good information:

How to Make Kefir

I bought my kefir grains here:

GEM Cultures

Seth was diagnosed with leaky gut a few months ago. He has had a number of symptoms including constant intestinal and digestive problems, an inability to lose weight, inability to concentrate, etc. etc.

Leaky gut is a condition in which your digestive tract is damaged and weakened by a lack of good bacteria.

Good bacteria in the gut kill off toxins. When you don’t have enough, you get an overgrowth of yeast, also known as candida albicans.

I had this condition 15 years ago, when I was in my mind-twenties. I figured it out by putting all the pieces of the puzzle together — since doctors had no idea what was going on with me.

My symptoms were:

Arthritis in my knees, spreading to my hands and elbows
Bad respiratory allergies (constant sneezing, itching, runny nose, watery eyes)
Brain fog, dizziness
Constant fatigue
Thrush (a white coating on the tongue)
Bloating and slight weight gain
Constant cravings for refined carbs, sugar, and alcohol
Sores that would not heal — including open sores inside my nose
Continual sinus infections and other illnesses due to a weakened immune system

I believe what caused the yeast overgrowth was a combination of things:

Repeated rounds of broad-spectrum antibiotics as a child
Repeated rounds of broad-spectrum antibiotics as an adult for my constant sinus infections (caused by the candida!)
Vaccines (I had a recent round when I went back to college)
Eating dead foods lacking in probiotics and enzymes (pasteurized milk and dairy products, no lacto-fermented foods, a lack of raw fruits and vegetables)
Eating meats and dairy full of antibiotics
The birth control pill (I was only on it for a short time in my early 20s but I think it added to the mix)

It took me a while and a lot of research to figure out that it was the candida causing all my symptoms. Western doctors advised me to take pain medication for my arthritis and allergy medication for my sinus problems. They were only interested in treating my symptoms.

I ended up going on a wheat-free sugar-free diet. I was taking anti-fungals like garlic supplements and I was taking high doses of pharmaceutical grade probiotics (prescribed by my chiropractor-nutritionist), as well as a variety of nutritional supplements like bovine adrenal gland and thymus gland to strengthen my immune system.

Within a matter of a few months, I was 90% better and symptom-free. I stayed on the diet and the supplements for a few years until I was completely better — and could eat whatever I wanted with no symptoms. Cake, candy, bread, ice cream — no problem.

It wasn’t until I got on the birth control pill again this summer (prescribed by my doctor after the baby was born) that I started experiencing symptoms again. The biggest clue were the open sores on the inside of my nose. One day I read that the birth control pill contributes to candida — I stopped taking it immediately. I guess I was on it for a few months. Weeks after I stopped taking it, I still had the sores. And my allergies were back!

I tried taking some probiotics I got at the health food store. I’ve also been drinking tons of raw milk and eating lots of lacto-fermented foods. But nothing was helping. Months went by and I still had the sores.

Three days ago I started taking ThreeLac, which I ordered on the internet. I had read about it in Jenny McCarthy’s book, Louder Than Words. It’s what she used to help reverse her son’s autism.

Three days and guess what? Allergies and sores — GONE.

Unbelievable, eh?

Meanwhile, Seth is going through a massive detox. For the past three days since we started the ThreeLac, he is suffering from major yeast die-off. Flu-like symptoms: sneezing, achey muscles, severe fatigue, chills, vomiting.

This happened to me the first time I got over candida — it lasted a couple of weeks.

We reduced his dosage — from 1 packet daily to 1/4 packet. Hopefully it will be a little easier for him.

I’ll keep you posted on our progress.

I woke up with a sore throat this morning. A friend with a cold came over yesterday. She figured she was past being contagious but I guess not.

It could have been her, it could have been someone else I caught it from. Doesn’t matter. This is a sign though that I need to get healthier.

The thing is, I’m very susceptible to getting sick right now. My immune system is compromised — obviously more than I realized. Ever since my OB-GYN put me on the birth control pill. Which I promptly stopped taking a couple of months later when I read that the birth control pill causes candida.

You see, I had really bad candida when I was in my mid-twenties. It was from all the antibiotics I got as a child. I had recurring strep throat, and every time I got it, they gave me more antibiotics.

Candida is an overgrowth of yeast in the digestive tract and it is caused by a lack of good bacteria. The good bacteria normally fight of the yeast and other “bad” bacteria. If you don’t have enough good bacteria in your gut, the yeast grows out of control. Antibiotics kill all the bacteria in your gut — which causes candida.

I guess the birth control pill does the same thing. I stopped taking it back in September. I think I only took it for about three months. That’s long enough to cause an overgrowth of yeast. I have sores in my nose that won’t heal — same thing I had when I had candida in my twenties.

Obviously with a shortage of good bacteria, you are more susceptible to getting sick. You don’t have the good guys to help you fight off the bugs.

The ironic thing is, when people get sick, they go to the doctor and the first thing they do is give you an antibiotic!

We live in a backwards upside-down society.

And most of us are living these days with a chronic shortage of good bacteria. Jenny McCarthy (as well as Donna Gates of the Body Ecology Diet, Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, and many others) believe that this is what causes autism. I think there are tons of diseases and disorders that can be traced to a lack of probiotics in the digestive tract.

What to do? How do you fight a cold or a flu?

Do what your grandma would have done. Chicken soup.

And I’m not talking about Campbell’s from a can. That stuff is useless. Plus it’s full of MSG.

You need real homemade bone broth. Bones from animals (poultry, beef, bison or fish) that are simmered in water for 8-24 hours. With a little sea salt and parsley for minerals.

I could try to list all the benefits of broth here but it would take too long. Just read this: http://www.westonaprice.org/foodfeatures/brothisbeautiful.html

In addition to bone broth, animal organs are one of the best things you can eat. When I had candida in my twenties, I was working with a chiropractor-nutritionist. She had me on a supplement called Congaplex, which is made from bovine (cow) thymus gland, as well as crushed up bone. The thymus gland is one of the main parts of the immune system in the body.

Anyway, even though my immune system was compromised, I still recovered from the flu in a matter of a few days. Everyone else in my office who caught it was out for WEEKS.

However, I looked up the ingredients in Congaplex and it has yucky stuff like soy lecithin (sludge waste product from industrial soybeans). Here is a better product: http://www.drrons.com/organ-delight.htm I think I will order some to help me improve my immune function. I need to get Seth on this, too.

I don’t happen to have any bovine thymus gland on hand, but I do have frozen liver. Liver is chock-full of B vitamins, which help to build and repair immune cells in the body.

The best way to eat liver is raw. You can freeze it for 14 days (this destroys any pathogens) then simply grate it into some milk or broth or put it into fresh vegetable juice.

More information on liver: http://www.westonaprice.org/foodfeatures/liver.html

Cod liver oil is another excellent way to take liver. I could go on and on about cod liver oil. It is the one supplement everyone should take. Even Dr. Oz on Oprah said so!

Remember, our grandmothers were always telling us to eat our liver and take cod liver oil.

Another thing that helps is coconut oil. It is antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal and helps to support the immune system. You can put it in a smoothie and also use it as a lotion. The pores in your skin absorb the nutrients. (http://www.mnwelldir.org/docs/nutrition/coconut.htm)

I am going to start taking a high dose of a quality probiotics supplement to battle my candida. I ordered some ThreeLac which is what Jenny McCarthy used to help her son. Regular probiotics supplements you get in the store are not effective on candida because they are only a “maintenance” dose. With candida, you have to bring in the big guns.

However, I think I’m also going to order some Bio-Kult. This is the probiotic developed by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride. She reversed her son’s autism as well. Here is their story: http://www.bio-kult.com/nicholas.html

Unfortunately I don’t have any of these yet! My ThreeLac has not come in the mail.

So today I will drink a quart of colostrum kefir (from Organic Pastures — chock full of probiotics). Colostrum is the cow’s first milk which is loaded with antibodies. Kefir is fermented milk.

I am drinking a big glass right now. I added a heaping tablespoon of some over-the-counter probiotics I got at the health food store, as well as some coconut oil. I also just took my cod liver oil.

I am also going to drink at least a quart of chicken stock and take my liver supplements. I have some frozen liver I can also grate into a glass of freshly juiced fruits and vegetables. I have some kale here, as well as tomatoes, broccoli, beets, carrots and strawberries. All high in antioxidants. I know, sounds like a nasty drink but I bet it will taste better than a V-8.

The highest ranking fruits and vegetables are prunes, raisins, berries, oranges, pink grapefruit, grapes, kiwi, spinach, kale, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, beets, red peppers, carrots and tomatoes.

(http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art29448.asp)

If I feel well enough, I may have to make a trip over to Rawesome today to get some more high-antioxidant fruits, veggies and more colostrum and kefir. I need to stock up on eggs anyway. (They are only open today and Saturday.)

Oooh! I also have my beet kvass. I should try to drink a quart of that as well. Beet kvass is a lacto-fermented beverage that is super high in antioxidants as well as probiotics. All you do is cut up 6 medium sized beets, put them in a gallon of pure filtered water with a little sea salt and some homemade whey. Then you let it sit on the counter for a few days before you move it into the fridge.

Apparently foods that are lacto-fermented have a LOT more vitamins. The fermentation helps increase the vitamins. Here is an article on kvass: http://www.westonaprice.org/foodfeatures/kvass.html

I will also drink lots of hot tea with lemon, and do a steam bath. As recommended by Alla, our nanny, who just arrived. The steam bath helps you detoxify.

And rest of course.

I’m actually glad this happened. When you get a cold, it’s just a sign that your body is fighting. And this tells me my immune system is compromised. Now I will take the steps I need to take to strengthen it.

I will let you know how I recover.

Dr. George Heard was a dentist in the early part of the 20th century who first practiced in Alabama, where he had a majority of patients with tooth decay that required fillings and extractions — ultimately resulting in false teeth. He later moved to a small town in Texas where he was stunned to find very few cavities (average of 1.2 decayed spots per child between the ages of 6-18).

No, it wasn't fluoride. There were other Texas towns that had just as much or more fluoride in the water — and their incidence of tooth decay was greater.

Dr. Heard attributed the town's excellent dental health to diet. Particularly homegrown vegetables from beds rich in minerals, whole grain bread, and plenty of raw milk. And avoidance of white flour and refined sugar.

I asked every patient who came to me: “How much milk do you drink every day. Do you drink raw milk? Do you drink buttermilk and clabber?”

For years I made inquiry of my patients as to their milk habits. Almost invariably I found that the possessor of a mouth full of sound teeth had been a consistent milk drinker from early childhood. A surprisingly large number liked either buttermilk, clabber or both.

The significant fact is that the milk those patients drank came from cows that had grazed on native grass in Deaf Smith County pastures. In winter, as a rule, the cows had grazed on green wheat.

from “Man Versus Toothache” by Dr. George W. Heard, copyright 1952

Why in the world are we drinking skim milk from GRAIN-fed cows? Not to mention cows that are fed corn, soy, dead animals, day-old pastries, etc. Skim, pasteurized milk is completely devoid of nutrition. You may as well drink water.

And cows that are forced to eat grain and other things are not healthy. Grain makes them sick. Which requires more antibiotics, etc. Which is why you don't want to drink pasteurized milk. Not only is it devoid of nutrition, it is from sick cows that are pumped to the gills with antibiotics (and hormones in many cases).

And just what are all those antibiotics doing to the delicate balance of flora in your intestinal tract, the very seat of your immunity?

Do you think the antibiotics are killed or inactivated by the pasteurization process? Does anyone know? I don't know — I'm not a microbiologist, for godsakes.

But I do know that it can't be good to drink milk from sick cows who are pumped with antibiotics. I don't know how you can dispute that logic.

Cows are meant to eat grass in spring and summer, and hay in fall and winter. They are not meant to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in cramped factories eating grain and other abnormal things out of troughs.

Where are you getting your milk? Do you know the dairy? Do you know what they feed the cows?

If you like to drink milk (I hope you do, it's very good for you and delicious), not to mention eat cheese, ice cream, and butter, here are some good posts to read on my friend Beatrix's blog. These two posts illustrate the difference between real, healthy grass-fed-cow-produced raw milk and factory farm swill.

Please educate yourself:

The Sweet Sound of Cowbells Ringing Out in the Fields:
http://constantstateofflux.wordpress.com/2007/10/24/the-sweet-tone-of-cowbells-ringing-out-in-the-fields/

STOP DOING IT NOW:
http://constantstateofflux.wordpress.com/2007/09/21/stop-doing-it-now/

Think you can't get raw milk, pastured eggs, and grass-fed meat? Well you're probably right that you won't find it at Safeway. You might not even find it at Whole Foods (unless you live in California which does sell raw milk — for now…).

Here are some resources to help you find good real milk and grass-fed animal food:

http://www.realmilk.com/ (click on WHERE to find sources for real raw milk)

http://www.eatwild.com/

I just ordered a pound of leaf lard.

Those of you who have been following my food travails are probably thinking to yourself, “LARD!? She's finally cracked.”

But for those of you who know me well, you know I am fanatical about making a good pie crust. And my extensive research and hard work has paid off. People always ask for seconds and thirds of my pies. They have even told me that the crust is actually even better than the pie filling.

For years I have used Jeffery Steingarten's rendition of Marion Cunningham's crust (see “Pies from Paradise” in the book, “The Man Who Ate Everything”). He recommends a combination of butter and lard for the fat. You can also use butter and shortening — which I have commonly done. I have also very often used just butter which is also great.

I never felt good about the shortening. And now, after doing all of this research on good vs. bad fats, it turns out that shortening is one of the very worst things you can put in your gullet.

And it turns out that lard is pretty good for you! Even the (relatively) conservative NY Times says so: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/12/opinion/12kummer.html Food & Wine touts it, too:http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/lard-the-new-health-food

And there are zillions of other articles on the internet promoting the health benefits of lard, like this one: http://www.thehealthierlife.co.uk/article/3378/trans-fatty-acids.html

Who knew?

It also just so happens that lard is also the baker's top choice for pie crust. And best of all: leaf lard. According to Wikipedia: “The highest grade of lard, known as leaf lard, is obtained from the 'flare' fat deposit surrounding the kidneys and inside the loin.”

Gourmet pastry chefs and pastry aficionados reserve their highest praise for leaf lard. Again, in the NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/15/dining/15crus.html?ref=dining

I wanted to use it years ago when I first read about it (in some foodie book) but I didn't know where to find it. I think the author of the book said you could only find it in Asian community butcher shops. God bless the internet.

Needless to say I am switching over to leaf lard. Just as soon as my shipment arrives!

Here's where I got my leaf lard: http://www.sweet-briar-farms.com/

Meanwhile, I'm pondering what kind of turkey to buy for Thanksgiving. Turns out it is not such an easy decision.

Read this and your head will spin with all the options: http://www.ethicurean.com/2006/11/15/gobble-gobble-a-turkey-primer-and-resource-guide/

Organic vs. free range vs. antibiotic-free vs. heritage?

Here's the skinny (scroll to the bottom of the page for the chart): http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/meats/turkey-talk.asp

Cook's Illustrated did a piece this month on which turkey to buy. I normally trust Cook's implicitly. They are foodies to the core, and base their findings on empirical results from taste tests. However, I should have known something was amiss when I read the title of the article: “Should You Pay Top Dollar for Turkey?” The subtitle is even more alarming: “Turkey is pretty bland, so why pay $100 for a mail-order bird when supermarket options cost less than $2 a pound?”

My first reaction: Who's the cheapskate who wrote this article? I try not to base food buying decisions on cost. I base them on taste. I'd rather eat top quality filet mignon once a week than cheap steaks every night. But OK, I'll give it a chance.

They recommended Aaron's Best first. It is kosher, which means they kill the animal more humanely. But it doesn't say anything about organic, cage-free, or antibiotic-free.

However, Aaron's was tied with Walter's Hatchery Heritage Breed. http://www.walterspoultry.com/whyheritage.html

Looks like they are pastured/free range but I can't find any information about it. They are not organic. According to a website I found, they say “organic grain is prohibitively expensive”. Prohibitively expensive and yet they sell their turkeys for $7.14 per pound plus shipping? Hmmpphh. I would not eat one of those birds because he feeds them soy. Yuck. Soy-based grain is a no no. I could go on about the dangers of soy but just go ahead and google it. Also can't find out if they give their birds antibiotics. I'm betting they do.

Cook's tested a few brands of organic, pastured turkeys — and none of them did well. They did OK, but not better than Butterball. What Cook's DOESN'T tell you is the health risks associate with eating a Butterball turkey.

Sure, I might save a few bucks buying that brand, and it may taste a bit more tender and buttery - but do you know what they do to it to make it taste like that? Do you know how those turkeys are raised?

Turkeys raised on factory farms are hatched in large incubators and never see their mothers or feel the warmth of a nest. When they are only a few weeks old, they are moved into filthy, windowless sheds with thousands of other turkeys, where they will spend the rest of their lives. To keep the birds from killing one another in such crowded conditions, parts of the turkeys’ toes and beaks are cut off, as are the males’ snoods (the flap of skin under the chin). All this is done without any pain relievers—imagine having the skin under your chin chopped off with a pair of scissors. Millions of turkeys don’t even make it past the first few weeks of life in a factory farm before succumbing to “starve-out,” a stress-induced condition that causes young birds to simply stop eating.

By far the best-selling turkeys in the U.S. are the mass-produced, factory-farmed birds—Butterball, etc.—sold in supermarkets. Almost exclusively broad-breasted whites—a breed that’s also referred to as “large white” because of the size of its breast—these birds are typically raised in factory conditions, sometimes thousands to a barn, and may be treated with growth hormones to enhance their size and antibiotics to prevent disease. The birds tend to be raised quickly, in about twelve weeks, which yields a large and inexpensive supply but doesn’t allow the birds’ flavor to develop fully. Many factory-farmed birds are injected during processing with a solution that might contain water, stock, butter, or other seasonings to make the bird plumper, and more flavorful. That process produces a large bird that cooks up moist and tender, but it can also produce off-flavors and a mushy texture. Factory-farmed birds range in size anywhere from 8 to 28 pounds (one pound per person is a good serving guideline) and tend to be inexpensive—$1.50 or so per pound. (http://www.hurryburry.com/turkey.htm)

Yuck! Antibiotics and growth hormones! I will definitely not be purchasing that variety. Who wants a sick turkey pumped full of antibiotics and hormones that cause early-onset puberty in children?

Not I, said the duck.

Not I, said the cat.

Not I, said the dog.

It has to be organic (no pesticides) and pastured (much more nutritious).

Why are pastured birds better for you?

A study sponsored by the Department of Agriculture in 1999, for example, found that pastured chickens have 21 percent less fat, 30 percent less saturated fat, 50 percent more vitamin A and 400 percent more omega-3 fatty acids than factory-raised birds. They also have 34 percent less cholesterol. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/23/opinion/23barber.html?pagewanted=all (this is a great article BTW — well worth reading)

400% more omega-3 fatty acids! Plus no antibiotics or growth hormones. Plus you can go to sleep at night knowing that you ate a turkey that lived a happy life.

Is it worth the extra few bucks? I'd say so.

I think I'm going to go with Mary's Turkeys. Free-range, antibiotic-free, organic, and heritage (if available). I regularly buy Mary's chicken from Whole Foods and it tastes GREAT.

The organic turkeys sell for $2-3 per pound (a little more expensive than Aaron's Best) and the heritage birds sell for $4-6 per pound (cheaper than Walters Hatchery).

http://www.marysturkeys.com/art.%20Business%20Week.htm

They're based in Fresno and they sell their turkeys at Whole Foods. I'm going to go see if I can reserve one in time.

http://www.marysturkeys.com/

UPDATE: I found out that Mary’s does clip beaks.