Hamburgers Don't Grow on Trees Raising Beef on a Family Farm with Kindness by Liza F. Carter ©2025 Saltwind Press

Welcome!

This book is available as a free gift for you to read. I wrote Hamburgers Don’t Grow on Trees: Raising Beef on a Family Farm with Kindness to inspire thoughtful conversations about raising meat in ways that honor the animals, respect the farmers, and care for the land. Please share this book far and wide!

If you’d like to order a physical copy, it will be released in mid-August through this site. To be notified when becomes available, send an email to: hamburgers@saltwind.net

If you'd like to underwrite distribution of a print version of the book to children through educational channels, you can donate here.

In Prais

Introduction

Have you ever wondered where meat comes from? If you already know that the meat on your plate comes from an animal, you might wonder what kind of life the cow, chicken, pig, or lamb experienced and how it was treated before it became food for humans. Some people think that kids can’t handle knowing where hamburgers come from, but as a scientist and a mom, I’m sure that you can. The truth is that, even though most of us eat meat daily, many people have no idea how meat is raised. Most meat in this country is raised in large factory farms where the animals are poorly treated, cannot graze in pastures, and spend their lives in strict confinement. However, there is a growing number of farmers who are dedicated both to the well-being of their anim

Meet Lima Bean!

Lima Bean was born one March morning on a nearby dairy farm to a black-and-white Holstein cow named Lima. The Nottermanns like to name their calves and thought that since his mama was named Lima, Lima Bean would be the perfect name for him.

Lima, the mother cow, went into labor after being pregnant for 274 days—only six days shorter than an average human pregnancy. Like humans, calves are born headfirst; unlike humans, they nestle their two front feet alongside their head, and their feet and head come out at the same time. Mama Lima l

Newborn Care

Lima Bean at two days old.

Baby calves, like human babies, have immature immune systems. Since the Nottermanns’ calves come from different dairy farms, each one is vulnerable to different germs. Until the calves’ immune systems get stronger, the Nottermanns are very careful! Each calf has his own pen, bottle, and water bucket. Before anyone can enter a calf’s pen, they must first step into a bucket of rinse water to clean their boots and then into a bucket of sanitizing liquid.

5–12 Weeks Old

After five weeks, Lima Bean has grown sturdy enough to move out of the barn and into a small enclosed field called a paddock. The paddock near the house is used for calves who are old enough to be out of the calf barn, but who are still drinking milk. A three-sided shelter allows the calves to go in or out of it whenever they want. Lima Bean is so excited by his new surroundings that he jumps and runs all around the paddock. He discovers that grass tastes yummy. He has so much fun that he tires himself out. He has to lie down for a nap.

Grass

Just like you have favorite foods, Lima Bean has his favorite species of grass. While garden lawns typically have only one or two species of grass that are chosen because they look pretty, a healthy pasture produces many kinds of grasses. Grass is an important part of the food chain, capturing the energy from the sun and converting it into food for cows. Farmers choose different species of grass to provide a range of nutrients to grazing animals. In turn, the animals are selective about the plants they eat, seeking out the most nutritious grasses.

When you see cows grazing, you might think that they are using their teeth to bite off grass, but they are not. Cows don’t have upper front teeth; they wrap their long tongues around t

Growing Up

Lima Bean is now one year old and weighs approximately 800 pounds. During the first year of his life, Lima Bean gains an average of two pounds a day.

Steers graze on pasture for much of the year, but in the winter, when snow covers the ground, Lima Bean and the other boys feed on dried grass known as hay. Here, Ben uses a tractor to move the bales from where they are stored in the field to the paddocks where the steers will be fed.

Saying Goodbye

As a full-grown steer, Lima Bean has now reached what is known as his “slaughter weight.” Most animals are slaughtered as soon as they reach their adult size.

It is difficult to think about a real live animal like Lima Bean becoming the meat on our dinner table. Many Native American and other traditional cultures have rituals surrounding the taking of an animal’s life for food. Whether slaughtering a domestic animal or hunting a wild one, they ask forgiveness of the animals and thank them for their sacrifice. Reverence, respect, and gratitude are shown toward the animal, acknowledging their gift of food to us. These rituals recognize that humans are part of the web of life, where many animals do, in fact, eat other anima

Hamburgers

All living things die, some by old age, others by disease, starvation, or predation. Meat animals die by being slaughtered. Nancy and Helm have selected a small slaughterhouse that is near their farm and owned by a brother and sister. Small slaughterhouses are able to treat animals with compassion and make the end of animals' lives as stress-free and painless as possible.

Small slaughterhouses are a crucial part of rural life that permits farms like Snug Valley to exist. If the Nottermanns had to drive their animals four hundred miles to a large facility wh

Epilogue

When I first started writing Hamburgers Don’t Grow on Trees, I thought the book would end with a discussion of the importance of a humane slaughtering process and an acknowledgment that an animal’s life is taken for us to eat. I would discuss the web of life—a complex and interconnected system in which all animals, including humans, depend on plants and other animals for food.

But, as I researched for this book, I realized that the most important issue is not just the few minutes at the end of an animal’s life when they are slaughtered, but the animal’s quality of life starting from when they are born until the moment of their death. As you have learned from Lima Bean’s story, it is possible to give an animal a good life, even if they are going to be slaughtered for meat.

In the past, almost all animals raised for meat in the United States had a life like Lima Bean’s. Sadly, that is no longer the case

Where to Find Ethically Raised Meat

• Find Humane is a website and app that lets you search for humanely raised animal products near you including meat, skin care, leather, and pet food. It features a searchable map and directory of over 50,000 stores, farms, and delivery options across the U.S. and Canada. www.findhumane.com.org
• A Greener World, which lists Certified Animal Welfare Approved sources of meat, maintains a website that promotes and supports sustainable farming practices benefiting people, animals, and the environment. <a href="https://agreenerworld.org/certifications/" target=

Discussion Questions & Recommended Readings

Discussion Questions

1. Had you thought about where your meat comes from before you read this book? What did you think? And what prompted those thoughts?
2. How do you feel about raising animals for meat?
3. When you think about eating meat, does it make a difference to you what kind of life the animal had? Why or why not?
4. Animals don’t know that they are being raised for meat. How does this impact your thoughts?
5. Do you think that it is important that meat animals be well treated?
6. Many domestic animals only have

Author

Liza F. Carter is an environmental scientist, writer, photographer, and painter whose work bridges art and environmental advocacy. With a deep belief in the power of art to foster a caring connection to the natural world, Liza uses her creative talents to inspire stewardship and appreciation for nature. Her photography and paintings are known for capturing intimate, emotionally resonant moments that invite viewers to engage deeply with their environment.

Liza’s previous book, “Moving with the Seasons: Portrait of a Mongolian Family,” offers an in-depth look at the lives of Mongolian nomads, documenting their traditions and resilience amid the pressures of climate change and modernization. The book has received seven national awards, inclu

Support/Order the Book

Paperback Edition

If you would like to order a physical copy of the paperback for yourself or a friend, it will be released in mid-August through this site. The print version of Hamburgers Don’t Grow on Trees is being offered at cost with a nominal markup to support the forward thinking work at Snug Valley Farm. To receive a notification when it’s ready, or if ordering for educational purposes, please email hamburgers@saltwind.net for special pricing.

Tip Jar

Thank you for considering a contribution to the tip jar! Your donation will help the underwrite the publication of a print version of the book to distribute at no cost to children through educational channels, helping to spark positive change in our food syste

Downloadable Resources

Download Action Steps / Where to find Ethically Raised Meat (PDF)

Download Recommended Readings (PDF)