Always Full Shelves
The reason grocery store meat cases are always stocked, no matter the season, is simple: nearly all animals in the U.S. are raised indoors. The system was designed to guarantee year-round supply by removing animals from the pasture and putting them in confinement barns.
Built for Control
Indoors, producers can manage every variable — temperature, light, feed, and water. That level of control keeps production steady and lowers costs. Large barns also replace the need for acres of pasture, packing thousands of animals under one roof. On paper, it looks efficient. In reality, it removes animals from the environments they’re meant to live in.
The Hidden Costs
Confinement strips away natural behaviors. Chickens don’t scratch for insects, pigs don’t root, and cattle don’t graze. Health suffers, and antibiotics are often used to compensate. Waste collects in lagoons instead of fertilizing fields, polluting waterways and weakening soils. The food may look inexpensive, but the true costs show up in the environment and in nutrition.
A Different Way Forward
At Maple Wind Farm and many other pasture based farms across the country, animals live outdoors and move to fresh pasture every day. This daily rotation lets them forage, fertilize, and regenerate the land. It produces stronger soils, cleaner water, healthier animals, and more nutrient-dense food.
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