Happy Meat, Happy Ecosystems, Happy People

What is "happy meat?"

Is meat-eating inherently destructive, or can we have “happy ecosystems” along with happy meat?

What does meat-eating mean for human health on a more-than physical level? And what about avoiding eating animal products because you care about animals' welfare?

Home-Dairying, Banana Milkshakes, and Spare Egg Whites

This super-short post is not an in depth how-to post. It has commentary on home-dairying, a tongue-in-cheek recipe for raw-milk banana milkshake, and something easy and useful to do with your egg whites when you only need the yolks. There are also a few links to related resources that I hope you'll find helpful.

Farm Update: In the Garden

Pictures and commentary from our garden. Plants that get a particular mention are pawpaws and sweet potatoes, and there are brief references to quite a few other food plants/herbs, most of them with links to further reading if you're interested..  

Farm Update: New Calf, Chickweed Salads, Veggie Harvest

The kids'll soon be up and looking for breakfast. The cow needs milking and the calf pen needs cleaning. I just have time before all that starts, to show you some pics of the new calf, our recent veggie garden harvests, and the chickweed in the lawn that we're putting into salads. 

RAISING PIGS: Can Pigs Learn Table Manners?

All pigs are greedy, and large pigs are incredibly strong. Feeding the pigs, as they grow bigger, can easily degenerate into a full body contact sport in which the pig wins and the amateur pig-raiser gets discouraged and gives up on homegrown pork.

​Here are some ​strategies that have worked for us to keep pig-raising enjoyable when those cute little piglets have grown bigger and are no longer cute.

RAISING PIGS: New Piglets

Why we buy piglets rather than breeding our own; preparing for their arrival and minimizing the stress of their transition; what to feed them; and a few thoughts on choosing heritage breeds versus modern breeds.

RAISING PIGS: Mobile vs Stationary Pens for Pigs

​Part 1 of a Series | 5 to 6 minute read | Also published at PermacultureNews.org

Assuming you want your pigs to be able to enjoy natural behaviors like digging in living soil, foraging for fresh foods, and wallowing, do they need to be moved frequently onto fresh ground? 

Strategies for housing and feeding pigs vary according to circumstances, and in particular will depend on whether you keep your pigs in one place and can build permanent structures for them, or you want to move them around and need mobile infrastructure.

​We’ve tried both – moving pigs around and keeping them in one place. This article shares what we have (so far) found to be the pros and cons of mobile versus stationary pig raising systems, and why we are currently trailing a stationary arrangement for our pigs.