I had a meeting today with a couple who farms long pie pumpkins for seed for FEDCO Seeds.  Truly great folks.  We were talking about the possibilities of us using their pumpkin “by product” (the meat once the seeds are gone), and it was great to hear that our purchasing their pumpkin for treats for your dogs would be making a difference in their lives.

That’s why we do what we do, with who we do it with (you catch all that?).  We realize the importance of supporting small scale farmers and not large scale agri-business, because our purchasing can make an impact on folks’ lives.  Because of the people who make it a point to purchase from us, you’re really helping others down the line, and I want to make that point abundantly clear.  No other dog biscuit company can say that they know the folks who grow their ingredients.

We don’t just buy from a distributor who buys from a broker who deals with a farmer.  The importance of economic support is evident in everything we see and hear today, and the plight of the farmer has been known for ages.  Equal Exchange is doing fantastic work in the field of domestic fair trade and we’re doing our part, albeit a small part right now, but with everyone’s help we’ll be able to serve a huge industry that could benefit so many farmers and families if all adopted similar policies.

I know I can get somewhat preachy about this subject, as it’s what I truly devote so much of my life to, it is just so important to the health of all people to pay attention to where things are coming from, where the ingredients in food are coming from.

So, in November, Renee and her parents and I will be at the farm, doing what the farmers call “shmooshguckin’” and taking out the seeds of thousands of pounds of pumpkins, to be used in a new flavor of biscuit for your dogs to enjoy.