Ross Duffield, farm manager with the Pennsylvania-based Rodale Institute, a nonprofit research group advocating for organic farming practices, says the 2015 purchase of Applegate Farms by corporate giant Hormel Foods is a sign that corporate agriculture "sees the writing on the wall" and that niche meat may soon not be so niche. This spring, in a Food Demand survey conducted regularly by Oklahoma State University, animal welfare clocked the largest increase in consumer awareness among all factors. Humane treatment of animals ranked more important for respondents than organic, and antibiotic free. In another survey the same year by the American Humane Association, 93 percent of almost 6,000 people surveyed said it was "very important" to buy humanely raised products. In a national survey in 2014, 69 percent of Americans said animal welfare was a priority when grocery shopping. survey found that 77 percent of consumers are concerned about the welfare of animals they eat. And increasingly consumers are looking for meat that was raised without such shackles. But Rosmann's hogs aren't confined in the metal cages favored by industry, which have been linked to stress in the animals. The kittens scare some young piglets as we talk organic feed and watch a sow root around a bit, flop her body down, kick around a couple times and seemingly smile once properly muddy. He has a large hoop structure to contain the pigs, a type that's gaining popularity among outdoor hog raisers. Rosmann has dedicated his life to environmentally friendly, family farming.īack at the farm he gives me the tour with barn kittens following us around. His 700-acre farm is much more than hobby-growing organic oats, beans, turnips, hay, and raising about 90 cows and hundreds of organic hogs annually. HARLAN, Iowa-Over a lunch of burgers and pork tacos, Ron Rosmann talks about everything from bluegrass music to one of his favorite authors, Mari Sandoz.īut when the topic turns to hobbies, his son interjects: "Your only hobby was farming."
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