Shopping Local Meat Farms Is Better For You, The Environment & Your Local Economy.
The local food movement is popular, and local meat farms like ours embrace the enthusiasm people show over knowing where their food comes from. Many consumers are educating themselves on the benefits of locally grown meats from pasture-raised chicken to local beef, lamb, and heritage pork. Some benefits include:
- Healthier Options: Local meats don’t just taste better; they’re also better for you. Unlike industrial feedlots, most local meat farms don’t use hormones and use antibiotics sparingly. Modern scientific studies show correlations between antibiotic use in animals and an increase in antibiotic resistance in humans. Added hormones can also lead to premature sexual maturity in children.
- Environmentally Friendly: Shipping animals and meat across the country isn’t just expensive; it adds to the pollution of our environment. Shopping your local meat farm reduces your environmental impact and carbon footprint due to transportation, including energy-inefficient refrigerated trucks.
- Economically Sound: Reduced shipping costs help minimize the price differences between local meat and industrial meats. Local meats may cost slightly more, but your money stays in the community, and you get a premium product that can positively impact your health.
Local Meat Farms Integrate Traditional Methods With Modern Science.
At Sunrise Farms, we balance our methods between old fashioned practices and modern agriculture. We believe in raising our animals ethically with lots of fresh air, high-quality Non-GMO feed and well-maintained pastures. Unlike the feedlot method, our practices provide for our animals’ well-being and cater to their natural diets and habitat. Here’s one of the key differences between our method and the feedlot principle in regards to beef:
- The Feedlot Principle: Raising cattle in a feedlot restricts movement and emphasizes feed as opposed to pasture. This principle allows a cow to put on weight quickly without losing it due to activity. Ultimately, the cow goes to slaughter on a shorter time-table.
- The Sunrise Farms Principle: We supplement our cattle’s diet with Non-GMO feed after weaning but then allow our herd to graze on our Virginia pasture to their hearts’ content until they reach around 1,000-1,200 lbs.
Our process takes longer than that of industrial farms, but it allows us to implement our values in the entire process of raising quality food. We invite you to visit us and learn more about local meat farms and the important role they play in protecting the environmental, economic, and overall health of our community.
