It's been a quiet week here in our household. Matt's down with the flu and I've been flying solo pretty much the whole week. We'll all be grateful when he's well again. In the meantime, I've been thinking lots of thoughts about food, sustainability and our future.
Did you know Matt and I want to have a farm? We would like to produce most of our own food.
Why in the world would we want to go to all that trouble?
In the last two years we've read two Michael Pollan books (
Omnivore's Dilemma and
In Defense of Food), we've watched
Food, Inc., we have read
Radical Homemakers by Shannon Hayes,
The Dirty Life by Kristin Kimball,
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver,
The Joy of Keeping Animals by Laura Childs. We've watched countless YouTube videos on raising pigs, goats, rabbits, chickens, aquaponics, farming, growing hay, intensive gardening. We've learned how to make our own bread, yogurt, tortillas, cheese and apple cider. We've canned peaches, tomatos, peppers, potatos, beef, chicken, cake, soup, and pumpkin. We've tried to grow as much as possible in our small apartment and obtain other good foods from our farmer's market and friend's gardens. (For a great video on raising pigs, check out Kingbird Farms on YouTube-- it's part of the Cornell Small Farms project. Also, I would link it for you but my link button isn't working right now.)
We haven't even scratched the surface though. I still go to Kroger every week for the basics-- milk, cheese, fruit, spaghetti sauce, etc. We don't eat fancy foods. We eat a lot of beans and homemade goods, so I only buy the basics. And still our food bill is into the hundreds. Much higher than what it could be.
We also don't eat locally. We're buying fruit shipped from California, Mexico, Argentina, Chile. Meat grown in feedlots in Oklahoma and milk from intensive dairy farms outside our state. Who knows where this comes from? I certainly don't.
I do know a few things. I know that the way animals are raised by the corporate food companies is unhealthy, inhumane and ethically wrong. We will never buy meat from the store again, even if it means that we have to be vegetarians until we can have our own meat. I know that the conditions from growing crops is unhealthy for the soil, since monoculture was never the right way to grow food. I know that the pesticides on those fruits and veggies I pick up are poisoning animals, the soil and me.
I also know that a tomato fresh from my garden tastes a million times better than one from Kroger. I'm not imagining it either. It really does have a much better taste.
And so Matt and I have decided that we want a farm. We want to raise animals humanely. We want to grow and can most of our own food. We want our children to learn what it means to sacrifice some time to take care of our food (i.e. pigs and goats, chickens and rabbits) and we want them to know where their food comes from.
It's a scary proposition, to be sure. I'll be the first to admit I am a little scared of the work. And the early mornings milking a goat. I am NOT a morning person.
I think the benefits will be great though. I'll gain appreciation for the hard work the farmers of Kroger put in. I'll appreciate the Earth more. I'll eat better. (Hopefully I'll work off the weight I gain from eating better.) We'll live out in the country, which is something both of us want. I think that I will be a better steward of the Earth that way too.
We can't have it now. It's not in the cards this year. It probably won't be in the cards for a few more years. We do have a garden though (and some new heirloom seeds too!). We're thinking about raising rabbits in our backyard. We will try to can a lot from our farmer's market this year. We just bought part of a cow. We'll do what we can in our current stage of life.
And you know what? This feels right. I've been worrying and worrying that by becoming more "into" local organic farming and eating that I would be focusing less on the gospel of Jesus Christ. As I've read more though, I feel that this knowledge and the gospel go hand in hand. We are meant to be stewards of this Earth. Which means we need to take care of it. We are meant to be stewards of the animals. Which means that we shouldn't abuse them. Our children will learn to appreciate the blessing of the Creation by watching new chicks or seeing a pumpkin grow. And all those hours logged in our garden with me or Matt will be a great chance to talk about the gospel, repentance and the purpose of our life.
I sure do hope this dream is realized.
Well, on Thursday I noticed that Fancy Nancy had a prolapsed egg vent. You can look it up....if you want. After examining her and reducing it (yes, I actually reduced it. I can honestly say I never thought I would do something like that), I put her in dark isolation. She did fine for the two days she was there. I was hoping she wouldn't relapse.
But she did. And she couldn't lay any more eggs, ever. So....chickens are food, not pets. Right? That's what I thought. They're kind of like food and pets. Anyway, we ate her. She was TINY. I mean, we probably only got a pound of meat off her at the most. Because she was our best layer, she converted all her extra energy into egg production, not meat.
We were worried about Emily's reaction. Emily thought it was cool that we were eating her. She loved the soup in fact, and had seconds. 
