Vegetarian Grass Rancher was Grass fed steak

[Guest guest]

>Hey Allan... when you were vegetarian, was it for ethical or health reasons?

(and others who asked how a vegetarian gets into raising

grass fed beef)

Around 1980 I was suffering from environmental illness-related

malnutrition to such an extent, I was essentially dying. Most

obviously, my hair was coming out in handfulls and I would fall

asleep any time I was alone and sleep FOR DAYS if given the

opportunity. After exhausting the best that both MDs and

Psychiatrists had to offer, I finally found my way to an organic

whole food diet. Gosh, I started recoopering in 3 weeks and in three

months, I had so much energy that not only had my hair grown back and

I could 'walk and not be weary,' but I had become an incredible

evangelist for eating directly from Nature.

My EI was a blessing. Early on I realized that much of the 'organic'

produce in health food stores is actually tainted with chemicals. As

a commercial product, how could one expect anything other than

maximum profit being the goal of growing and marketing it? At the

time I was working with a macrobiotic counselor. When I complained

about getting 'zapped' by 'organic broccoli,' he gave me the sage

advice 'the only way you will get pure food is to grow it yourself.'

This was before the CSA movement, and it was true at the time. This

lead me to moving out to West Virginia where I studied organic

agriculture and eventually became a biodynamic farmer and CSA

operator.

I had become a vegetarian for my health. I later became a vegetarian

for ethical reasons. I could not condone the confinement raising and

inhumane slaughtering of beef, pork and chicken due to my own

appetites. During my healing, I do, however, feel that vegetarianism

was essential.

Eventually, I started hosting FOOD AND FARMING conferences in the

Mid-Atlantic region. I also read GUNS, GERMS and STEEL and got a

better perspective on the beef-and-dairy heriage of Europeans like

myself. Through the conferences I met Sally Fallon and Salatin.

Sally urged me to grow beef for her and people in DC, which I did.

, of course, showed me how. I've always tried to not push my

personal beliefs on people and, to the extent that it was not harmful

to them, have always gone out of my way to make people happy So, I

started raising beef, pork and lamb intensively on grass for families

in the DC area. My animals were always happy animals, coming when

called, enjoying an arm around their neck and conversations a couple

of times a day.

At an open house a Salatin's a year ago friends of mine urged me

to try the pastured chicken -- how could there be either ethical or

health objections to eating pastured chickens cooked over a wood

fire? Well, there couldn't be. Let me tell you: my body RESONATED

with that chicken. It was a slow start, but after a couple of months,

I'm pretty much a meat with every meal sort of guy.

Of course, all of that meat is well balanced with biodynamically

grown vegetables and salad greens! ;-) at my table.

There's a lot more to this story, maybe I'll make the time to 'flesh

it out' at some point later.

-Allan Balliett