About Us: Diversity and the Family Farm
Managed diversification is the age-old way to maintain a farm's health. Plants feed our livestock, and likewise, livestock feed our plants. This relationship produces tremendous things.
Our garden greens are more nutritious than any found in your chain store produce aisle. Our premium meats taste nothing like the plastic-wrapped cuts found in the grocery meat department. Our fleeces have a personality! There is no comparison between the monoculture corporate grower and a small producer like Laszlo Family Farm. Our gardens, animals, and land are maintained with personal care and our products are worlds apart.
Many traditional livestock breeds and food seeds are threatened with extinction because they are unable to adapt to today's large-scale agribusiness model relying on monoculture. The demand for more and cheaper processed foods requires large numbers of animals to be raised in cramped indoor facilities, relying on antibiotics, growth hormones, and cloning to produce acceptable food products for the mass market. Seeds are regularly genetically engineered to combat pests and develop uniformity. Soil and subsequently our waterways are poisoned daily to keep millions of acres of farmland free of insects and weed plants. At this time, preservation of our environment for future generations does not figure into the bottom line of giant agribusiness corporations. Nor does genetic diversity.
The traditional breeds and heirloom seeds that have been unable to adapt to large-scale agribusiness are an essential part of our American agricultural inheritance and have been passed down to us over hundreds of years from the dedicated farm families who labored before us.
We urge all small farmers and consumers to join us in the stewardship of rare breeds and heirloom seeds. Both add unsurpassed beauty to the diversified small farm. Most often, rare breeds exhibit minimal food requirements, disease resistance, docile temperaments, and strong maternal instincts. Heirloom seeds remind us of the hearts and hands that tended the land and fed our ancestors. As small farmers and consumers, we can protect the genetic diversity in livestock, poultry, and seeds, safeguarding these treasures for future generations.
Within each of us there is a hunter, a gatherer, or a farmer. Find which you are and make use of the skill. Hunt a deer or turkey in season, collect wild blueberries or asparagus from the fringe, or plant a spinach seed in late winter. As a consumer, we encourage you to get to know your food. Assuredly a greater connection to the food you eat will deepen your appreciation of life. Support all local farmers and the high quality foods and products they produce. We invite you to learn more about our farm.
(signed) Clarke T. Laszlo, and sons Joseph and Samuel
To find out more about our farm and our farm animals, heirloom vegetables, and other specialty products, email us or call 978-386-1116