Where to start?

You know where we've ended up (egg obsessed and chick-less) but how did we get here? This post was inspired by Michelle, who asked for recommendations on how to find a farmer to buy her own fresh, local foods from. My advice? Start at RealMilk.com.

Just like the commercial hatcheries are turning out weaker, genetically homogenized poultry, commercial diaries depend on weaker, genetically homogenized cattle. The same business logic is being used in both industries. The animals are bred to produce the greatest amount of their commodity (eggs or milk) in the easiest and most cost-effective way possible.

Farmers who sell "real" milk--or who operate farm shares providing access to it--are outside of the commercial network. Not only do they farm in different ways, but they breed their animals very differently, too. Over the last couple of decades the divide between commercial cows (Holsteins) and traditional breeds has become obvious. In addition to overall poor health, commercial cows are also starting to suffer from increasing infertility, which I see as a huge genetic red flag in any species.

When commercial dairies use sickly cows--and lots of them--they have to assume that their products are contaminated. This makes life easier for them because it means they don't have to be careful--they're going to sterilize everything anyway (even the milk) so why bother? Here's the problem with pasteurizing dairy products. . . it kills all of the natural probiotics and enzymes that make them so good for you to begin with. That stuff that you pay extra to have put back into your yogurt at the grocery store.

Farmers who use healthy cattle don't assume that their products are contaminated--they actually test both the animals and the milk they produce. They also pay attention to their animals and institute policies and procedures that keep their products from being contaminated. That's the kind of farmer I want to buy my food from.

Coincidentally, many of these farmers are Amish. While modern organic farmers like PolyFace Farms are becoming more popular, the best source for experienced farmers who understand how to farm in a truly organic and sustainable manner are the people who have been doing so for hundreds of years.

So my advice to anyone who wants to improve their diet is to start with the networks set up to find non-commercial milk sources. They will help you locate farmers using traditional farming methods and the traditional, fresh foods that they produce. One word of warning, though: fresh, non-commercial foods are inconsistent. If you've only ever had grocery store fare, you may be in for a bit of a culture shock. Farm fresh eggs come in all sizes and colors; meats may be cut irregularly; and your milk will have a faint taste of whatever field the cows grazed on that week. :-)

Hard is good

Hard is good . . . or at least that's what I'm telling myself. It's important to me that my daughter grows up to be the kind of person who takes the road less traveled--or blazes her own path--and that's not easy. I never want her to make important decisions in her life based on which path is the easiest. I certainly haven't.

Compared to some of the big decisions that have defined my life food seems pretty insignificant, but I'm beginning to believe more and more that it's a crucial component in what's gone "wrong" with our western lifestyle. Since I've been trying to address this issue, the sheer magnitude of the problem has become nearly overwhelming. I'm not a gourmet chef and my cooking skills are rudimentary at best. Over the last five years or so I've gone from ordering a value meal in the drive thru (supersize me) to staring down a plate of organic beef and trying to figure out how to turn it into a meal my two year old will eat. (That was tonight, by the way, and I was successful!)

So this is all a very long, draw out way to say that I don't think Round Two of our egg experiment is going to be successful, but I'm not giving up. Having access to real food and understanding where real food comes from--and it isn't a paper bag covered in golden arches--is Really Important. And things that are Really Important are worth doing, even if they're hard.

Why are we raising our own chickens?

Well, the short answer is that I'm willing to try almost anything once and this seems like a good experience for my daughter and the chance to provide her with healthy, organic (and truly local) fresh food. The long answer is (by definition) a little more complicated. :-)

Part of the problem is that Americans see things like the video below every day and while they are horrified and moved emotionally--they're not actually moved. Americans are not moved to act or to make changes in their lifestyles and buying habits that could effect real change. I always shake my head when people say they care but feel like they can't make a change. Because, really, it's so easy.

This is the way that the poultry industry currently treats chickens:

If you aren't okay with that, all you have to do is stop buying your eggs at the grocery store. Almost every urban and suburban community in this country has a farmer's market, every rural route has at least one farm that sells fresh eggs--and other healthy, organic, locally raised, fresh foods. No, it may not be as close as your local Giant or Safeway and yes, you might have to plan out your food shopping a week at a time. No more speeding over to the local grocery store at 7pm on a Tuesday because you've run out of eggs. The good news is that fresh eggs last a while so you can buy a couple of dozen at a time.

Or, you can do what we're doing, and try to raise your own chickens. You don't have to start with fertile hatching eggs--most farms will sell chicks of various ages for just a couple of dollars each. You also don't need to spend a great deal of money on supplies. Our incubator was less than $20 and the cage I plan to use as a "brooder" to raise the chicks was a giveaway from someone's spring cleaning.

So whether you go the easy route and visit your local farmer's market once a week or go completely bonkers like us and try to hatch your own eggs, you have no excuse for buying eggs at the grocery store. You don't need to carry a sign to stage your own protest--let your money do the talking for you. Companies will listen.