Little Donkey Farm: Sustainable, Ethical, and Healthy Meat 小毛驴农场：可持续符合道德规范的健康肉品

If you’ve been living in China the past few years you’ve heard the news: melamine in the milk, clenbuterol in the pork, and even fake eggs. In the most recent headline, the World Health Organization warned China about the rising prevalence of multi-drug resistance tuberculosis, a problem in large part due to antibiotic overuse in livestock.

Can we really consume meat safely in China? As someone who avoids meat and dairy products anyway I don’t usually spend time worrying about this problem. But let’s face it, I’m in the minority.  If people are going to meat, we should work actively to provide safe, environmentally responsible, and ethical choices.

This month I found one such choice: Little Donkey Farm in Beijing’s Haidian District.

如果你最近几年曾经在中国待过的话，你应该会听过下面的新闻：牛奶有三聚氰胺，猪肉有瘦肉精，甚至会听说过假的鸡蛋。世界卫生组织在最新的头条中提到，对中国越发严重的多药物抗药性结核病的现状进行警告，而产生这个问题的很大一部分原因就是家畜家禽中抗生素的滥用。

我们能不能在中国安全地消费肉品呢？作为一个不吃肉和乳制品的人，我通常不会花时间去担心这个问题。但我们毕竟要面对这个问题，毕竟我只是一个不吃肉的少数者。如果人们要去吃肉，我们应该积极行动，给大家提供安全的、对环境负责任的以及符合道德规范的选择。

本月我找到了这样一个选择：北京海淀区的小毛驴农场。

The beginning of spring at Little Donkey Organic Farm in Haidian District. 春天海淀区的小毛驴有机农场。

Other bloggers have covered Little Donkey’s Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, but I want to focus on the animals there.  In addition to renting out farm plots and their vegetable business, Little Donkey sells about 100-200 animals for meat every year to individuals and families.  The animals are termed “ecological”, which is similar to the “free range” label for products in the US.  This means that while their feed is not organic, their living conditions are relatively good.

其他的博友已经提到过小毛驴农场的社区支持农业项目（CSA），不过我更想讲讲那里的动物。小毛驴农场除了会租出自己的农场用地和卖出自己的蔬菜以外，还会每年向个人和家庭卖出100到200只作为肉食用途的动物。这些动物被称为“生态动物”，这个跟美国的“自由放牧”产品标签是相似的。这就意味着这些动物不仅仅是用有机饲料喂养的，而且它们也有着很好的生活环境。

You won't find any battery cages or antibiotics at Little Donkey, happy chickens roam freely in spacious pens. 在小毛驴农场你不会看见层架式鸡笼或者抗生素的使用，你只会看见欢快的小鸡在宽敞的栏圈里到处走着

Wandering around the farm, the animals I observe appear healthy and relaxed.  Sleek chickens roam freely around a large outdoor enclosement. Pigs live in spacious pens with deep, clean bedding l and are separated into stable* social groups of about fifteen.  (*This is an important detail as pigs tend to fight when unfamiliar with each other, which can result in stress and injury).  I also noticed that all the pigs have tails.  In large industrial farms, pigs often have their tails brutally removed when they are young to avoid bite injuries later on.  Since Little Donkey pigs are healthy and relaxed, there is no need to worry about tail biting.

当我在农场中闲逛的时候，我看见那些动物都很健康和悠闲。健壮的小鸡自由地在一个很大的户外围栏里面走着。在宽敞的圈栏里的猪住在很深很干净的铺垫上。它们被分成大约15只一组，这样是很稳定*的社会性分组。（*这是一个很重要的细节，因为猪在互相不熟悉的时候，它们往往会打架，从而导致压力和受伤。）我也注意到了所有的猪都是有尾巴的，但是在大型工业化农场中，人们为了防止猪长大后被同类咬伤，所以在猪很小的时候就把他们的尾部很野蛮地剪掉。因为小毛驴农场是很健康和悠闲的，所以我们也没有必要担心猪会互相咬尾巴。

Little Donkey pigs. 小毛驴农场中的猪

Little Donkey feeds the animals a corn and soy based diet supplemented by green fodder (the ratio varies by season according to what’s available at the farm).   Most notably, their diet is completely antibiotic free. Little Donkey prefers natural solutions to keep the animals healthy.  On my visit we were shown the side barn where they store a variety of traditional Chinese herbal medicines and fermented garlic solution used to keep animal living spaces hygienic.

小毛驴农场给动物吃的主要是玉米和大豆，同时也会补充绿色草料（比例会随着不同季节而改变，这是由农场中能提供的草料决定的）。值得注意的是，他们的吃的东西都是没有抗生素的。这个农场更愿意使用自然的解决方法去维持动物健康。在我们访问过程中，我们也看见了旁边的仓库中贮藏着很多传统中国草药以及发酵的大蒜汁，这些都是用来保证动物居住的环境是卫生的。

Natural solutions for animal health and sanitation. 用自然的方法去维持动物的健康以及卫生

Shiyan, Little Donkey’s founder, said she choose to raise animals because of their complementary role on the farm providing manure for crops.  Animals in turn eat leftover and waste crops unsuitable for humans. This system as a whole places much less stress on the environment than the modern grazing and concentrated animal feed operations (CAFO’s) which drive worldwide deforestation and water pollution.  When it comes to turning animals into food, the chickens at Little Donkey are slaughtered on the farm, and pigs at the neighboring village butchery.  Keeping it small-scale and local makes death more humane and less-stressful for the animals.

As a non-animal scientist, my gut impression was that the animals at Little Donkey Farm live a happy life with just one bad day. Moreover, the environmental impact of raising these animals is negligible, and their manure reduces Little Donkey’s reliance on petrochemical based fertilizers.

农场的主人Shiyan说她养动物是因为动物对于农场产生互补的功能，可以为谷物的生长提供肥料，而这些动物只会把人类不吃的或者剩余的谷物吃掉。现代的放牧模式和集中动物喂养作业模式（CAFO’s）会导致全世界的森林砍伐加重和水污染；相比于前者，小毛驴农场的系统作为一个整体会对环境产生更少的压力。而农场上的鸡会在农场里被屠宰，而猪会在邻村被屠宰。保持屠宰的小规模和当地化，可使得屠宰更加人道以及对动物产生更少的压力。

作为我一个非动物科学家，我内心感觉到，在小毛驴农场上的动物有着幸福的一生，当然屠宰的那天是痛苦的。另外，饲养这些动物对于环境的影响是微不足道的。而动物产生的有机肥料可以减少农场对石油化学肥料的依赖。

Is this sustainable?

Little Donkey’s motivation for selling good meat is not to maintain some food certification (which very few people in China take seriously anyway), but because they personally know the people eating their products.  This relationship is a powerful safety feedback mechanism in the food system.

But while the food at Little Donkey is cleaner and more ecologically sustainable than conventional farms, 200 chickens won’t feed Beijing.  Moreover, one Little Donkey chicken costs 100rmb and the pork is 30rmb/500g, more than twice the cost of conventional meat. So what do we do?

I do believe that for those eating meat it’s worth the extra time and money to get food from farms like Little Donkey.  This may mean reducing how much meat you eat to accommodate your food budget.  If you are worried about a loss of nutrition, you can get most of what you need by substituting with plant-based foods. You’ll also have peace of mind knowing the meat on your plate is growth hormone-, antibiotic-, and poison-free.

这是可持续的么？

小毛驴农场售卖高品质肉品的动机并不是维持某些食品的认证（有少部分国人很注重这点），而是因为他们知道有人吃他们的产品。这种关系是一种强而有力的食品系统安全反馈机制。

尽管这个农场的食物比传统的农场更洁净、生态上更可持续，但是200只鸡并不能满足整个北京的需要。再者，一只小毛驴农场的鸡要100人民币而一斤猪肉要30元，价格是传统肉品的2倍。所以，我们应该怎么做呢？

我相信那些吃肉的人值得花更多的时间和金钱从小毛驴农场一样的农场里获得食物。这可能意味着我们要减少吃的肉量去维持原来的食品预算。如果你担心营养不够，你可以利用植物食物作为替代来满足你绝大部分营养需要。同时你也可以很安心地知道在你盘中的肉品是没有生长激素、抗生素或者毒素。

How to Buy:

If you are interested in purchasing Little Donkey products, visit them online: 中文 English

There are three options for pick-up (1) at the farm (2) at a central distribution site in Beijing or (3) delivered directly to your door. Becoming a member will get slightly lower prices on meat, eggs and vegetables.

Read more about Little Donkey and their philosophy at Shiyan’s blog.

如何买呢？

如果你想购买小毛驴农场的产品，可以访问以下网站：中文 English

有三种购买的方式：(1) 在农场买（2）在北京的一个中央集散市场买（3）直接送货到你的家门口。成为农场的会员可以买到更低价格的肉品、蛋类和蔬菜。

在Shiyan’s blog上可以知道更多关于小毛驴农场以及他们的经营哲学。

Chinese Translation by 麦毓麟（Warren）