Thank You for your interest in Embracing Food Sustainability and Freedom!!!

Since entering the farmers market scene this year, I'm pleased to see the response many of you have expressed in wanting organic, pastured poultry that is raised and processed humanely by hand. We pride ourselves on the convictions that we adhere to and are glad to see that many appreciate our efforts to provide a superiorly raised product that results in better taste and is more nutrient dense than other options. A more diverse environment provides a full spectrum diet that results in nutrient density. This happens by being on pasture that hasn't had chemicals on it in nearly a decade and feeding supplemental soy free organic feed that comes from Reedy Fork Farms in North Carolina.

I want to thank all who have become members in the past and welcome those who are new or have taken an interest in what we're doing!

We are a culture where convenience is king. Convenience shouldn't have to come at the cost of compromise, or should it? Most of us appreciate the convenience of our local grocery store, but that convenience carries some compromise with it. The compromise of having produce shipped over a thousand miles to make it the shelf. Companies have had to realize this and you no longer get the delicious fruit of a tomato, whose juice runs down your arm as you bite it or leaves a puddle of the plate where you cut it. Producers have had to become more interested in ship-ability, than product integrity. This carries over to the factory farming methods that house thousands of chickens in warehouses. It's become a convenient way to house a million chickens under one roof, collect them in the dead of night, making them a shippable product to a mechanized processing facility that zaps the chicken, mechanically eviscerates, and mechanically bathes the product in bleach to remove contaminants by using contaminants, and can label it in such a way that you are free from concern. The worst part of this to me, is that this is what we have become use to. It's what I grew up NOT knowing...but they did.

I've shared with many of you that the chicken we eat is a breed called Cornish Cross. These chickens have been bred to be race car chickens. They are a cross breed between the Red Laced Cornish cock and White Rock hens. They go from hatching to dinner plate in just 6-8 weeks! Commercial breeders are secretive about their specific recipes of these birds which makes me wonder a little bit, but suffice to say, it's their trade secret recipes. These chickens are what we all have become used to. Why? It is the fastest turn-around on investment. The Cornish Cross has monopolized the meat bird industry for a very long time. The turn-around time is convenient but there is a compromise. The compromise is that they cannot reproduce on their own. Their organs will give out before they can reach a reproductive age (around 5-6 mos.) So how do I account for the 22 million chickens raised and killed each year in the US? They are handled by massive hatcheries and industrial chicken farms. This forces farmers to buy into the model to give the customers what they are used to. Whether local or industrial, it's the product people want because it's all we've known. This limits farmers to adhere to convictions they try to live by. What if the only availble chickens available from the hatchery require the chicks to be vaccinated? What if they required the hatcheries to give antibiotics prior to shipping, or get on a registry? This leaves me unsettled because I ask you to ask yourself the question as I have to ask myself.

If I want to change the world, is the first place I look, in the mirror?

I have ordered Cornish Cross chickens in the past and have ordered more Cornish Cross chickens. These will be processed and ready in early September. They are quite hard to come by. This is largely due to the Bird Flu (H5N1) pandemic that swept through the states in late 2024 and 2025. The approved methods of the USDA killed over 166 million commercial chickens according to the University of Nebraska. https://www.unmc.edu/healthsecurity/transmission/2025/02/26/killing-166-million-birds-hasnt-helped-poultry-farmers-stop-h5n1-is-there-a-better-way/#:~:text=It%20didn't%20work.,at%20an%20all%2Dtime%20high.

When poultry is kept in warehouses, fed supplemental feed, deprived of natural light and fresh air, they are susceptible to weakened immune systems. I'm sure we would get sick too. Not to get to graphic, but it reminds me of how a P.O.W. may have been treated.

We pasture all of the poultry we raise. We feed organic soy free feed to all the poultry on our farm. As soon as they are fully feathered, they are placed in the pasture and given shelter as they want it. That's 180 degrees from the "approved" USDA model for a few labels that require chicks have "access" to outdoors which could mean a square ft of grass with no feed and water on it. We simply ask ourselves, "How would they live naturally"? They'd live outside and move around as they see fit. So creation becomes our model and we identify how we can manage and protect them in that environment. We protect them from predators by using portable electric nets, move them often so not to damage the pasture, but instead benefit the pasture and the chicks. Supplying them with fresh pasture gives them fresh grass and bugs to eat while leaving behind manure to build and enrich the pasture. This is the same way we will treat a Cornish Cross or the new Buckeye Heritage breed we will be introducing to our farm in July. We hope this breed will be a suitable sustainable breed that are able to reproduce, reducing or even eliminating dependence on the hatcheries. They will take longer to get to the sizes we are all use to, but it removes our dependence on the industrial model that may require us to compromise the convictions that we hold dear. No antibiotics, no vaccines, and no registries EVER. Listening to a report by Joel Salatin recently said that authorities do not consider a flock being raised on your property to be yours, it belongs to Poultry of America or something like that, which in turn gives authorities the right to come on your property and exterminate your flock if they see fit.

As your trusted organic pastured poultry producers, we acknowledge the journey starts with us. You may agree with the information I have provided, but if you have no other option than a commercial hatchery bred chicken, you'll buy what you're used to. We are stepping out to try and provide a more sustainable product. We just ask for your support by providing feedback through comments, emails, phone calls, or texts. Living a lifestyle of integrity happens by adhering to one conviction at a time.

I / We will continue to be at the Saluda & Columbus Markets on the 1st and 3rd weekends of the month to see you, chat with you and support other local farmers. We have very low to no stock at the moment. If you are looking for something in particular, please reach out to me directly and I'll see what I can do.

Also if you have been one our members that has enjoyed our products, please consider leaving a review on Google, I know... it's the age in which we live.

God bless you and your's,

Gordon & Elizabeth

Your thankful stewards