If you’ve seen Food Inc., you probably remember Carole Morison, the chicken farmer who stood up to Perdue. Under Perdue’s restrictive contract, farmers are forced to pack chickens, sardine-like, into long, low warehouses without natural light and feed them diets that include antibiotics and arsenic (kills parasites, promotes growth). In the movie, she memorably explained her reason for speaking out:

“It’s not right what’s going on. And I’ve just decided I’m going to say what I’m going to say. I understand why others don’t want to talk. I’m just to the point that it doesn’t matter anymore. Something has to be said.”

Morison had been raising chickens for big corporations for 23 years as a “contract grower.” Contract growers provide land, chicken houses built to company specs, fuel, water, labor, and disposal of manure and dead chickens. The poultry company provides the chicks, feed, and additives. In this vertically integrated system, the company owns the chicks from start to finish (they also own the breeder flocks, the eggs, and the hatcheries). They hire “catchers” to collect the chickens. Then they slaughter, process, and package.

But Morison didn’t want to take away the screened-in buildings her chickens lived in and replace them with airless, lightless warehouses. She struggled to finance the “upgrades” Purdue was constantly requiring. She also wasn’t happy about the waste that was polluting her beloved Chesapeake Bay (the arsenic in the feed doesn’t just disappear), and she didn’t like the fact that she couldn’t bring her grandson to see the baby chicks. (Company regulations prohibit “unregistered” guests, so you can imagine how they felt when they found out the filmmakers of Food Inc. were spending time there.)

“I was being forced to be something that was not a farmer,” she said. After she failed to make the required upgrades and then spoke out about Purdue’s business practices, Purdue terminated her contract.

Morison’s story haunted me until I attended Animal Welfare Approved’s panel last week, Green Pastures, Bright Future: Taking the Meat We Eat Out of the Factory and Putting it Back on the Farm. There I discovered that Morison went on to found the Delmarva Poultry Justice Alliance, organizing a coalition of farmers, religious leaders, workers and others to advocate for better working conditions. She now works as an agricultural consultant specializing in local food systems. The 17-group alliance addresses health issues, unfair labor practices, and environmental pollution stemming from chicken production methods.

Morison spoke about the broad meaning of local and sustainability. “Consumers need to get more involved in their own communities,” she said. “You’re not only sustaining farms, but the communities as well.” She pointed to the economically unsustainable state of family farming: “Why would farmers raise chickens when they have to go out and get another job to raise chickens?”

When asked the common question about whether organic, sustainable farming can be scaled up to meet the needs of the growing global population, she replied “We need to learn to feed ourselves and our neighbors. The global economy doesn’t work for food production.”

That never occurred to me: Why are we trying to feed the world? We don’t even know how to feed ourselves. If feeding the world means spreading a diet linked to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, and propagating a food production system that’s killing the planet, maybe we should think twice about it. “We’re putting farmers in other countries out of business,” Morison said. “How is that feeding the world?” (Another panelist, farmer and veterinarian Dr. Patricia Whisnant, president of the American Grassfed Association, added, “And we’re suing them in international court for not accepting our GMO’s!”)

Yet another panelist, Nicolette Hahn Niman, author of Righteous Porkchop, cited a Compassion in World Farming report that proves that, with a modest reduction in meat and dairy consumption in the western world, the planet can, in fact, sustain itself using grass-fed and pasture based system.

After the panel, I had the pleasure of sitting across from Morison at dinner. She was just the kind of company I’d expect her to be: brash, funny, and smart. She gave me lots of good advice about raising backyard hens. I’m so glad this woman has a voice.

Carole Morison, front center. From left to right: Nicolette Hahn Niman, David Kirby, author of Animal Factory, Dr. Patricia Whisnant, and Andrew Gunther, AWA Program Director.
[Photo courtesy of Animal Welfare Approved.]

Oh, how I love cheese. When I was a kid, I used to melt American cheese in the microwave and eat it straight up, with a fork. Even as an adult, sometimes I play a little game in my head (or with anyone who’s willing to participate) called “Three Cheeses.” Which three cheeses would you choose if you could only have three for the rest of your life? You have to carefully consider all your food needs. For instance, if you want a life that includes pizza, you must have mozzarella. And Parmesan is a wise pick because it’s versatile.

Here are my three: Mozzarella, Parmesan, cheddar, feta, Gouda, Swiss, ricotta. And cream cheese. And American. Jeez, choosing only three is like making Sophie’s Choice.

So you can imagine my dismay when I realized I could find no local third-party humane-certified cheese or milk. Eggs, chicken, and bacon we’ve got covered (yay!); dairy has proved the biggest challenge. And how can a person have chicken Parmesan without parm and mozzarella? Or an omelet or tuna melt without cheddar? So the truth is, I’ve been eating cheese and butter indiscriminately, even as I adhere to strict standards about animal flesh.

But the life of a dairy cow may be even worse than one raised for its meat, so I’m starting to address the holes and inconsistencies in my food policies. In factory farms (including large organic farms whose packaging assures you that the milk used to make the cheese is free of hormones and antibiotics), cows are confined to single stalls and repeatedly impregnated so they produce milk. The female offspring, naturally, are used to replace older dairy cows in the herd. Many of the males are sold for veal (and we’ve all heard that horror story).

With these lovely facts in mind Michael and I went to the farmers’ market again on Saturday, fingers crossed. Dairy mission accomplished! We were happy to find two good sources: feta made with goat milk ($6 for 5 oz.) and Dutch Farmstead cheese for $16.99/lb. Though not humane certified, our conversations with the farmers/cheesemakers left us confident that their animals were well-treated.

The feta was made by Lynn Fleming of Lynnhaven Dairy Goats, who had a lot to tell us about how she raises her goats (she bottle feeds them when necessary!). The Dutch Farmstead was made at Cato Corner Farm in Connecticut, whose sign informed us that their 40 cows went to pasture on April 23rd. I felt that detailed pasture information was the best we could hope for, beyond the gold standard of a third-party certifer.

We also bought a half gallon (in an old-fashioned glass bottle) of skim milk from Milk Thistle Farm for $7.

I realize these prices are far beyond what most people can or will pay. They’re even beyond what I would have paid six months ago. This represents a personal shift in priorities—a shift I am fortunate to have the luxury to make.

Michael, who has been off all dairy for months now, was so elated by our purchases that he flapped his wings and flew home. I remained to talk to Ann Marie, a vintner who grows grapes and makes wine on the North Fork of Long Island, and bought a bottle of Merlot to celebrate.

My mom with one of her Samoyeds.

My mom was a true animal lover. Over the course of 25 years, she mothered five big, white, puffy Samoyeds (not at the same time!), most of them rescues. So this year I’m planning to buy some gifts in her memory, through some of my favorite organizations.

Best Friends Animal Society’s mother’s day appeal is about supporting the human “moms” who take care of helpless animals, the animals who are determined to care for their litters under difficult conditions, and, of course, all the animals who need loving homes and TLC. You can make a donation in your mother’s honor: $25 fixes an animal to prevent unwanted litters, $50 will microchip five cats with permanent ID to help them find their families if lost, $100 helps a homeless animal get from a shelter to a forever home.

Meanwhile, Farm Sanctuary helps you honor the love between animal moms and their offspring by sponsoring one of the rescued animals at their sanctuaries. Most factory farm animals are separated from their moms shortly after birth and never get to experience a life-long bond. The Farm Sanctuary’s animals, who of whom were rescued from industrial farms, depend on adoptive “parents” to provide them with everything they need. (When you sponsor an animal, you get a personalized adoption certificate and color photo to present to your mother.)

The Humane Society and the ASPCA are also offering special gifts for Mother’s Day; all purchases support these organizations’ efforts to save animals and improve their lives.

After all my recent criticisms of kosher meat, I want to share something helpful about the laws of kashrut, courtesy of my dear cousin Amy, who keeps a kosher home. (This has nothing to do with animal slaughter, I promise.)

The laws of kashrut require that milk and meat be kept strictly separate—separate dishes, silverware, tablecloths, pots and pans; even separate ovens, stovetops, sinks, and counters. Jews who keep strictly kosher wait a minimum of three hours after eating meat before ingesting any dairy. Orthodox Jewish rabbis look into every aspect of packaged products to determine whether they contain milk or meat byproducts.

You’ll find plenty of hidden meat products in food that you think is free of them. For example, gelatin is made from the boiled skin, bones, and hooves of slaughtered animals. You’ll also find animal products in Jello, marshmallows, grocery-store guacamoles and sour creams, many brands of yogurt, as well as many chewy candies like Skittles, gummy bears, and some gums (like Trident Splash). Lard is pig fat and is used to flavor products like vegetable soups, seasoned rice and stuffing mixes—even Salsa Verde Doritos. Rendered beef fat (suet or tallow) is sometimes used in pastries, bread/muffin/biscuit mixes, and… Hostess snack cakes.

Kosher products come in three varieties: milk, meat, and pareve. Pareve contains neither milk nor meat, and therefore may be used in all dishes.

So here’s the trick. If you’re a strict vegetarian or are looking to consume only meat that has been well-raised and slaughtered, the word “PAREVE” on the label assures you of no animal-related surprises. Pretty handy, no?