Our nations food system has changed significantly since Jesse’s Grandfather Les Ward (now 93, a former WWII dive bomber pilot) began raising egg layers in Monroe, NH.  With the advancement of new technologies and the growing demand for eggs in this country, eggs are now being produced in ways that are vastly different then when our farm originally began.  The food industry is making big headlines these days however it is often concerning  food safety and treatment of animals (i.e. Salmonella Outbreak at Wright County Egg Farms in 2010, and more recently the discovery of inhumane treatment of hens at Sparboe Egg farms who was subsequently dropped as a producer for McDonald’s) rather than positive news stories about food and agriculture

There is a growing need to rethink the way that our food is produced in this country. You as the consumer can help to “Change the Way We Eat” by making a choice when you go to the supermarket, co-op, local farmer’s market or down the road to your neighboring farm.  There is a shift happening in the food industry because their is a consumer outcry for more local, organic, and Certified Humane Foods. Do your part. Find out more about where your food comes from and how it is produced.

In case you missed it over the weekend. Here is a fantastic recap of TEDx Manhattan: “Changing the Way We Eat” a highly informative series of talks about food in America.

TEDx Talks Take On Food Policy | Food Republic.

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Jesse will also answer some of the questions that you may have about what the barn environment where our hens reside is like (when they are not in the winter gardens or in pasture) such as the inclusion of scratch areas for the hens, as well as how much light the hens have each day.  He will also explore the life cycle of our chickens and also the different sizes of eggs and how eggs are graded. You will also learn more about the health benefits of organic eggs in your daily diet.

Please listen to find out more about Pete & Gerry’s Organic Eggs (and hens).  We are very proud of our farm  and want you to know more about what we do.

Waiting in line to lay an egg

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According to Maria Rodale in the Huffington Post Green Edition, “the ideal situation is to be able to find food that’s not only organic and local, but TRANSPARENT.”

Jesse, Gerry’s son will always encourage people to buy locally if possible  but will also encourage you to discover the agricultural practices of any farm that you choose to support whether it be local or organic.  We  highly agree that transparency in agriculture is the key to the renewal of agriculture in this country.

Summer pasture

We are proud of our family farm and work hard to tell you our story about how our farm got started and the evolution into what our farm has become today.  We are choosing to work with other family farms so as to support agriculture in New England and to also limit the size of our own farm.  We believe in organic because our eggs are produced without antibiotics, pesticides, or gmo’s. We want to do this for our own family and also to be able to provide people who do not have access to local farms with a healthier egg.  We are working hard to lessen our carbon footprint with the addition of egg processing in Pennsylvania to limit the number of miles that our eggs must travel.  We are also looking into renewable energy sources such as micro-hydro, solar and currently use The ‘Freeaire’ (http://freeaire.com/) refrigeration system in our cooler space.

Freeaire

Know who your eggs come from.

via Maria Rodale: Organic or Local? I Say Transparent.

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In case you missed it, Jesse (son of Gerry), was recently interviewed for the Farm Report on ‘Heritage Radio Network.’  He gives a more in depth view of the evolution of our farm as a 4th generation farmer in Monroe, NH as well as discussing what happens at our organic, cage-free family farm on a daily basis. Jesse grew up in Monroe and spent a lot of time at the farm growing up (including days being scolded by his mom and dad for having the most ultimate ‘egg toss’ with his best friend Doug).  With graduation from college (in 2000) approaching Jesse was given the opportunity to return to work on the family farm alongside his dad.  With some encouragement from me (his then girlfriend and now wife, a ‘flatlander’ transplant from suburban Philadelphia) we came back to Monroe and Jesse joined the family farm.  Our family farm has continued to grow and change since that point into what it is today which is a family farm that we are very proud of.  With the growth and demand for our eggs we have chosen to partner with family farms to meet this demand and now work with 26 family farms.

Please listen to find out more about the story of our family farm:

The Farm Report

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Did you eat a rainbow today?

This year the USDA proposed changes to the school lunch guidelines in our public schools.  The idea was to cut back on salt and starchy foods (goodbye french fries or tater tots with every meal) and to lower salt intake and overall caloric consumption.  Unfortunately these proposals were recently thrown out in favor of continuing to count pizza as the equivalent of one serving of vegetables due to the tomato paste smeared on the dough underneath a greasy layer of cheese.  Also, the definition of “whole -grain” is still up for consideration which means forget about the possibility of at least serving pizza with a whole wheat crust.

Do you want your child to have the option of eating pizza every day at school?

In order to combat the limits placed on school lunch programs by the the guidelines of the USDA, we need to continue to look for creative ways to bring a “rainbow” of fruits and vegetables into our schools. We need to try to provide or at least introduce our children to vegetables such as broccoli, eggplant, and kale and fruits such as plums, pomegranates, and raspberries in the hopes that the future youth will fight for change in our food systems as they grow older.  This is also another argument for petitioning your school to start a garden program or to connect with local farms and the Farm to School Network to bring agents of change into our school lunchrooms.  We need to fight for the health of our future.

Green Apple Earth

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One of the big questions that all parents have today is “how can we improve nutrition in our schools?”

Before I became a stay-at-home mom to our two children, I worked in a public school as a first grade teacher. School lunch often consisted of pizza, “beef dippers (mystery meat version 2.011)” and apples that came pre-sliced in a branded package.  Being the wife of an organic egg farmer, this was very disconcerting to me.

We should be feeding the developing minds and growing bodies of our kids nourishing foods that are locally or regionally sourced (if possible).  Teaching them about the origins of their food by connecting them directly to farms and farmers will also help to encourage kids to think more about their own nutrition. Because it is easier, many schools instead offer processed foods that would have previous generations scratching their heads.

Farm to School

A growing number of schools are now working to change this trend by joining the National Farm to School Network (http://www.farmtoschool.org/index.php).  The National Farm to School Network was started in 1995 with pilot projects like “The Edible Schoolyard” in Berkeley, California, which was started by Alice Waters of the Chez Panisse Foundation (http://www.edibleschoolyard.org/).  The Edible Schoolyard brought the “farm” to the students with a garden and classroom designed to help children to learn more about sustainble and organic farming and healthy food choices.

Today there are over 2,000 Farm to School Programs in all 50 states including New Hampshire Farm to School (http://www.nhfarmtoschool.org/), which included “The Apples and Cider Project” aiming to bring local apples and cider directly from farms to local schools.  Farming is also in need of a new younger generation to help give agriculture in this country a boost in a way that is sustainable and healthy.

National Farm to School Month

In November 2010, Congress officially designated October National Farm to School Month (http://www.farmtoschoolmonth.org/).   Pete and Gerry’s Organic Eggs welcomes kids from our town school and local area schools in for visits to see our farm and our egg processing facility to show them the entire process from hen to package.  We will also be celebrating with a breakfast at the school and a visit by our very own Gerry and Jesse.

We hope your local schools are participating in Farm to School Programs; but if not, pass this information along and make a farmer friends with your school.

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