Let’s Come Together to Protect Our Planet

Hi, Friends. It’s Head Hen Lucinda, here to talk about some ways we can give our planet a little love. Earth Day is just around the corner, and so I wanted to take a little time to tell you more about the steps Moink takes to care for our environment. You see, when we talk about ethical meat and being tender-hearted carnivores, we’re not just talking about how we treat animals, but also how we treat the land, water and soil.

CHANGE STARTS WITH US

I don’t know about you, but when I hear about the meat industry’s role in deforestation and global warming, it freaks me out more than a little. Just recently, I read about the largest dead zone on record in the Gulf of Mexico. Due to toxins from livestock manure flowing into our waterways, huge marine life populations are being killed off. Much of this large-scale water pollution and depletion of our natural resources is being fueled by big food companies that will line their pockets with profit at any expense, including the expense of family farmers. If there is one thing I know as an eighth-generation farmer, it’s this: No farmer wants to harm their land, or their environment. What we all want is to make an honest day’s wages for an honest day’s work, to raise our children on our farms, and one day hopefully pass it along to them.  It’s the large food companies that have backed small farmers into a corner.  Their actions are irresponsible, unkind and downright shameful if you ask me!

When we hear about this poor treatment of our planet, we can get fired up and then do nothing, or we can try to make a difference, even if it’s small. Like Ghandi said, we must “be the change we want to see in the world.” For the sake of our babies and grandbabies, it’s time to start walking the walk instead of just talking the talk.

As small family farmers, it used to be hard for my husband and me to get our sustainably-raised meats into the hands of tender-hearted carnivores like you.  This is why we started Moink. We love delivering exceptional meat, but we’re also a company on a mission. We exist to create the marketplace for other like-minded farmers to sell their high-quality proteins. Caring for the land is a huge part of our vision and values, because we farmers know first hand the harmful effects unethical practices can have on our land, our water, and our community.

THERE IS A BETTER WAY

It’s not always convenient, and certainly not as profitable, but Moink’s family farmers are doing what they can to raise quality animals and still be good stewards of the land. Our partners Cody and Andrea Todt of Falling Sky Farms in North Central Arkansas have work tirelessly to create a symbiotic relationship between their pasture-raised chickens, forest-raised pigs and grass-fed cows and the land they manage. Cody explained:

“We’re passionate about our animals staying on the move.” While industrial farming practices damage the environment by allowing toxic levels of nitrogen from manure to build up in the soil, we regularly move our animals to new pasture to keep them healthier and to allow the land to have plenty of time to rest and recover.”  

Another responsible farm we’re proud to support is Mannix Family Ranch, located in Helmville, Montana, the heart of the rich and breathtaking Blackfoot Valley. Fifth-generation farmer David Mannix and his brothers attribute much of their grass-fed beef’s taste and tenderness to the healthy land on which it’s raised and finished. The Ranch has always operated under the belief that the family themselves aren’t the owners of the land and livestock, but rather humble managers. The Mannix Brothers are constantly honing their practices, so they can pass on the value of stewardship and conservation to the next generation, just as it was passed to them.

“We strive to be worthy caretakers of all the resources we manage,” said David. We care for the whole ecosystem in such a way that it can flourish. Our goal is to provide for our families, deliver the best beef to our customers, and contribute to the long-term health of our community and environment.”

And then there’s our favorite fisherman, Tony Wood of Wild Alaska Salmon & Seafood Company. The majority of the salmon available in the U.S. is farm-raised, meaning the fish are kept in crowded and contaminated cages until harvest time. Large amounts of antibiotics and vaccines are used to control infections, and then dangerous levels of carcinogenic polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, build up in the fatty tissue of the fish from water pollution and the ground up fish they’re fed. Farmed salmon has also been found to contain toxins like methylmercury and dioxins, and farms have even been accused of fostering disease, polluting our oceans and spreading sea lice!

As Tony and his wife Heather learned more about unethical fish farming practices in our country, they decided to find a better way to get fish straight from the crystal-clear waters of Bristol Bay, Alaska. For the last 18 years, the husband-wife team has been bringing pure delicious fish from sea to plate while it’s still at peak freshness. Tony and Heather have proven it’s possible to harvest the most premium wild salmon in the world, and still carry out their mission to protect the Alaskan wilderness.

LET’S MAKE A DIFFERENCE  

There’s just no sugarcoating it, folks: conventional farming practices wreak havoc on our planet. While big food companies are willing to reap a plentiful harvest today at the expense of tomorrow, at Moink we want to be good stewards of our environment. Moink has a network of about a hundred eco-friendly farms all over the U.S. and beyond, and we’re working hard to support their operations and tell their stories.

Together, we can fix our broken food system and make a difference for future generations, all while enjoying the most delicious meat money can buy. Every time you skip the shady grocery store meat and order a Moink box instead, you send a message and place your vote for the fair treatment of farmers, the humane treatment of animals, the ethical treatment of our land.

Ready to join our merry gang of earth-loving, tender-hearted carnivores? Try a Moink Box today.