@farmerman,
I don't have enough experience with large farm animals to give you an answer, Farmerman. I remember Joel Salatin writing something about worms and livestock in one of his books, maybe in
Everything I Want to Do Is Illegal. If I find it I will post it.
Farmer's markets are the best places to buy veggies if you don't grow your own. Most CSA's give you too much of one thing at a time. The best CSAs let you pick what you want.
Organic can be as cheap as regular if you know what you're doing. Organic chicken costs the same as McNuggets lb for lb. You don't have to buy things like tree nuts organically because they are low or no spray to start. You have to educate yourself about where your food comes from and how it is created in order to have the best diet for yourself and the earth.
I agree that freshness is the most important part of taste. Nothing beats free range, local eggs and ripe fruit picked off a tree. Most supermarket produce has spent days riding around in a truck or sitting in a warehouse. I've been preaching local and small scale for almost 3 decades. I love it that I'm finally seeing people join my parade.
