Healthy Livestock Agriculture - Healthy People:  Connecting Local Pasture-Raised Food and Consumers in Central North Carolina

Project Overview

CS04-030
Project Type: Sustainable Community Innovation
Funds awarded in 2004: $10,000.00
Projected End Date: 12/31/2005
Region: Southern
State: North Carolina
Principal Investigator:
Sally Norton
Program on Integrative Medicine

Commodities

  • Agronomic: sunflower, grass (misc. perennial), hay
  • Animals: bovine, poultry, goats, swine, sheep
  • Animal Products: dairy

Practices

  • Animal Production: free-range, grazing - multispecies, grazing - rotational, winter forage, feed/forage
  • Education and Training: workshop
  • Farm Business Management: new enterprise development, community-supported agriculture, marketing management
  • Natural Resources/Environment: biodiversity, habitat enhancement
  • Production Systems: holistic management
  • Sustainable Communities: urban/rural integration, social capital

    Proposal abstract:

    Consumers, farmers, health professionals, and scientists are increasingly concerned about our food quality and safety, and its relationship to the environment, public health, and farm profitability. These concerns have created a growing market for locally produced, pasture-raised eggs, meat, and dairy products in central North Carolina. This project will develop informational materials to facilitate health professionals and consumers knowledge and use of healthy, pasture-raised livestock products. This project’s four specific objectives are: (1) to collect producer information and publish findings in a local food guide; (2) to develop and disseminate educational materials about sustainability, nutrition, and food safety as it relates to the consumption of locally produced eggs, meat, and dairy products; (3) to develop new partnerships to outline further projects and outreach opportunities; and (4) to document and evaluate project activities and outcomes. The Advisory Committee for the Livestock Production Methods Survey pilot, which will provide guidance to this project, includes experts in farming methods, breeds conservation, public health, science, and the environment. This project will raise awareness of the connection between food production and health and will build an important foundation for future efforts to build a vibrant local and sustainable food market in this region. It also will serve as a model for similar efforts in other regions where an urban market potentially exists for local foods.

    Project objectives from proposal:

    This project has four specific objectives: (1) to collect additional producer information and publish findings in a local food guide for a five-county region in central NC; (2) to develop and disseminate educational materials about sustainability, nutrition, and food safety as it relates to the consumption of locally produced eggs, meat, and dairy products; (3) to develop new partnerships to outline further projects and outreach opportunities; and (4) to document and evaluate project activities and outcomes.

    Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.