If It is Thursday it's Going Green - Humane Farm Animal Care

Battery Cages

Like all chickens raised for eggs, these hens have had large portions of their sensitive beaks cut off, and they will spend their entire lives in a filthy, cramped wire cage. Each hen has an area smaller than a sheet of notebook paper in which to stand and does not have enough space to spread even one wing. The cages are stacked on top of one another, so excrement from hens in higher cages often falls on those below. Ammonia and the stench of feces hang heavy in the air, and disease is rampant in these filthy, cramped conditions.

Humane Farm Animal Care

I was buying organic eggs until I recently viewed a video of the chickens on the farm where the eggs came from. It showed the chickens living in cramped cages with several being squeezed into a small space. Their beaks are ground down so low that they cannot even groom themselves. Their living situations are just deplorable. I learned that I should seek out free range eggs from chickens who are fed organically. I am happy to report that I was able to purchase them from the local farmer’s market.

It's sad fact, but more than 10 billion animals are raised for food in the United States every year and many of them are treated inhumanely.

Animals are frequently confined in spaces so small they can't stretch their limbs, flap their wings or turn around. These unnatural practices compromise their immune systems, so to keep them alive they are pumped full of antibiotics, damaging the quality and safety of our food and our medicines.

Grocers need to know that their customers won't stand for the inhumane practices at factory farms. And when grocers know, you, their customers demand Certified Humane® foods, they will in turn require their suppliers (the farmers and growers) meet those standards.

You can take a stand against factory farms by buying Certified Humane® products. The Certified Humane® label on a product means: the animals are fed a healthy diet without antibiotics or hormones, cages and crates are prohibited and the animals have ample space for them to stretch their limbs, flap their wings and move around.

Pledge to buy Certified Humane® products. If you cannot find them at your local grocery store ask your grocer to start selling Certified Humane® foods.

Better yet, consider not eating meat. Or at least try one or two meat free meals a week. Educate yourself about the foods that you purchase for your family. In Western New York the farmers have already started to bring their foods to the open markets and there is plenty to choose from.

Choose organic (no chemicals added). If you buy in a local store check the labels and try to purchase foods that were not transported from other countries or distant states. This will cut down on pollution in the environment caused by trucks driving thousands of miles to your area.

Buy local and read those labels

How to Cook Acorn Squash

Here is a seasonal vegetable that is delicious and so easy to prepare.

Baked Acorn Squash

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

1 medium acorn squash, halved and seeded

1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoons brown sugar

Baking pan

Step 1:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Step 2:

Use a paring knife to score the insides of each half several times.

Add 1/4 inch of water to the bottom of the baking pan.

Step 3:

Coat the inside of the two halves of squash with 1/2 tablespoon butter

and 1 tablespoon brown sugar. Place each half into the baking pan, flesh side UP.

Step 4:

Bake squash for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until squash is soft and tops are browned. Spoon sauce which has not been absorbed over exposed areas.

Slice and enjoy!

This is a great substitute for potatoes with a meal!


Acorn squash contains magnesium, potassium, vitamins C and A, and calcium.


An entire acorn squash only contains 172 calories!


Alone, a whole acorn squash contains less than 1 mg of fat.


Acorn squash is at it's peak in fall through winter, but can usually be found in the grocery store year round.


Store an acorn squash in the refrigerator for up to a week when placed in a paper bag

Don't like spinach? There are 8 Benefits to include it in your diet

8 Benefits of Spinach: The First Superfood

Spinach was a powerfood even before there was the term powerfood.

8 Benefits of Spinach:

1. Loaded with Vitamins: like A, K, D, and E and a host of trace minerals.

2. Good Source of Omega 3 Fatty Acids: the kind most of us need in North America.

3. Anti-Cancer and Anti-Inflammatory Antioxidants: Researchers have identified more than a dozen different flavonoid compounds in spinach that function as anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer agents. In a recent study on the relationship between risk of prostate cancer and vegetable intake (including such healthy vegetables as broccoli, cabbage, and brussel sprouts) only spinach showed evidence of significant protection against the occurrence of aggressive prostate cancer.

4. Alkalizes the Body: All those minerals helps to balance off the highly acid diet which most of us subject our bodies to and which drains our energy, increases obesity and a creates host of other health problems.

5. Nourishes the Eyes: The carotenoids found in spinach protect against eye diseases such as cataracts and macular degeneration.

6. Strengthens the Bones: One cup of fresh spinach (or 1/6 cup of cooked spinach) contains TWICE your daily vitamin K needs. This along with the calcium and magnesium in spinach is essential to maintain healthy bones.

7. Perfect for Green Smoothies and Salads: Organic pre-washed spinach is now readily available in most grocery stores. If you haven’t yet tried a green smoothie yet and think they might taste yucky then try one with the main ingredient as spinach. Spinach is so sweet, we guarantee you will be impressed.

8. Spinach is FRESH! Studies have shown that even the artificial light in the grocery store shining on those plastic tubs of spinach can actually help keep the leaves from spoiling. This indicates the spinach is still metabolically active and fresh.

by Diana Herrington