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Thursday, December 10, 2009

The lure of the local

This blog has evolved into something other than creative cooking.  It has really become a reflection (and at times a rant) about food and eating.  Food in the sense of the substances that we put into our bodies for nourishment and in my case, pleasure.  The more I learn about food production and food science the stronger I feel the urge to become a farmer.  However, being a farmer is not a realistic option at this point because I have no land, but there are things I can do on the urban scale.

This was my first summer not being a CSA member at Greensgrow, so I bought most of my produce from Whole Foods, Genaurdis, and Trader Joes.  I tried to be conscientious about meat, but it's nothing like the CSA - they identify the farmer (name and address) who provides the meat and related products.

I heard a CUNY podcast about a man raising chickens in Brooklyn, first for eggs and then for meat and I was very inspired. This man referred to himself as a locavore - I love the concept - eating only what is produced locally.  Why can't I raise backyard chickens?  This would be an invaluable lesson for the kids and would limit our meat intake to what we could actually grow.  Well backyard chickens are illegal in Philadelphia.  Why can't I become a locavore - well I suppose it's because I haven't made enough effort, and believe me there is some effort involved. Eggs, and Chickens, Grow in Brooklyn

My first step will be to make some adjustments to my backyard.  Right now it serves as a habitat for wildlife, mostly birds - there were at least two families that used the yard for nesting this past summer.  The yard is approximately 36'x16'; I will need to plan carefully so that I can do some intensive produce gardening this coming summer and maintain at least a bit of the habitat.  Then there's the meat - how much am I willing to pay and how far am I willing to drive to get meat that's been raised and slaughtered in an sustainable and appropriate manner?

These concerns become more than a matter of what's for dinner, but a matter of life and death.

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