TED WYCALL
Organic beef and vegetable farmer, Greenbranch Farm
Salisbury, MD
“Alternative farming is essentially growing things without relying on big companies to supply you with all of your inputs. It’s entrepreneurial farming. I’m a big believer in creating a local food system where instead of ’let’s grow all the chicken for the entire world right here on Delmarva’…instead of doing that, why don’t farmers on Delmarva grow the things that the people on Delmarva are going to eat. Let’s grow all of our own fruits and vegetables. Let’s grow all of our own livestock and feed our own population, whatever we can provide for them that they’re going to consume. Let’s do that first and then, once we’ve got that figured out, then let’s maybe start to export some food.”
I worry about the chickens grwon on Delmarva are they safe to eat? All those chemicals and antibiotics and hormones. I’ve heard they grow from day old chicks to harvest size in 6 weeks due to the diets they are force-fed. And how is it that I can purchase an already cooked rotisserie chicken in Acme for $6? That seems too cheap, I will pay more for healthier chickens, I think. Wouldn’t fewer chickens that cost more and are not stuffed with chemicals be better for us, our water quality and the Bay?