Humane and ethical treatment of animals is an area in which Broadview Ranch excels. I am personally very proud of what we do at Broadview. We get a lot of comments from visitors that are surprised at how happy, friendly, and calm our animals are. This is very important to us and something that we actively work everyday to improve upon. We, as human beings, are designed to be omnivores. Some of us make the choice to not consume animal products, especially those products that are industrially farmed. We understand the dilemma and seek to produce and sell meat from animals that were raised with kindness, knowledge, and dignity. Today, our culture shies away from teaching our children that chicken nuggets are made from the meat of chickens and that hot dogs and hamburgers were once living breathing animals. This is partly because deep down we know that the vast majority of meat is not raised ethically. Industrial meat is raised in a factory environment. Animals raise in such a system do not enjoy the clean air, sunshine, or tall green grass. We at Broadview believe that it is imperative that all animals live a good life where they are allowed to be what they are; a pig needs to root, a cow needs to graze, and a chicken needs to chase grasshoppers. If animals are not cared for properly, our relationship with them is purely exploitative and unethical.
The origins of your meat do not need to be shameful – an animal that has lived well and is treated with respect and dignity in life as well as in death is a great thing. If we have done our jobs correctly, our animals during their lifetimes will have improved our environment, lived a life free from sickness and disease, died a painless death, and been a nutrious fuel to an appreciative member of the food chain. If I can say those things at the end of my life I will consider myself very lucky indeed.
We strive for continual improvement in the husbandry of our animals through three main avenues. The first and most important is the relationship that we build with our animals. Spending time with them allows them to remain calm and docile and educates us at to their wants and needs. The second is training and equipment. We continually research new handling methods to make interactions with our animals easier. Lately, we have incorpated some of Bud William’s animal handling theories and are updating our aging handling facilities with Temple Grandin inspired designs. The third avenue is through genetics. We seek the very best animals in order to improve the quality of our herd and our products. A very important metric by which we measure animals is temperament. We continue to work with only those animals that choose to work with us. Humane animal treatment is central to what we do. If you can’t enjoy interactions with your animals, then why farm? Please, don’t take my word for it. Get out to the the farm and see how we raise our animals. Inspect what we do for yourself and develop a relationship with us and the animals so that you can ensure your food is treated properly on its journey to your plate.
