Day 2 of waking up, still wanting to make this work. I think the ultimate outcome of this is that I'm going to end up making a lot of small, but helpful, changes. So, I started today. No day like the present, right?
I must tell you, I have an addiction. A terrible one. Not your traditional vices like smoking or drinking or drugs; I'm addicted to Starbucks' Earl Grey Tea Lattes. I know, I know, how can tea, milk, and a little vanilla flavoring be so powerful? If you're thinking that, you've never smelled the deliciousness first thing in the morning. They're just the right mix of sweet and strong and I just love them. Please let's not talk about how much money I've spent on them in the last year.
The crazy thing is that I've learned how to make them at home and I have all the supplies on hand. I can make about ten of them for the price of one. So why haven't I? Laziness is one reason, and the second is that mine just aren't quite as good. Dumb, I know.
As I was getting ready for work this morning, I was not only thinking about the cost of them, but the fossil fuels I'm helping waste by buying them from a corporation. I mean, I know our Starbucks are only about a mile from each other, but the supply truck probably travels some distance to get to all of them. And how much am I paying per cup for that, not only monetarily, but in pollution? I'm not too worried about the ingredients that Starbucks is using and I like their business model, but I need to be thinking holistically. So, given that, I made my own tea this morning and will from now on. That will be a little harder than I want to admit, but maybe it's a good first change symbolically.
However, I don't want to talk about what I had for dinner. It goes under the column of "Lazy Before Spring Break." Small changes, right? One at a time, right?
I have started doing some reading: I've picked up Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. I'd read about half of it last year but put it down and just didn't pick it back up. I like the premise, though, and I really love her writing, so it's a good read. I'm already learning so much. One interesting thing I've learned is that when you purchase food, $0.85 of every dollar goes into the packaging, marketing, and transportation. Only $0.15 goes to the actual food product. So, why not buy from a local farmer? Yes, you might pay a little more, but more of your dollar is going to support their work. Now I just can't wait to get to the Farmer's Market when it opens in a few weeks!
Isn't there a farmer's market that's open year round? Maybe not near by.......
ReplyDeleteI like my local Italian fruit and veg market (just a 5 minute walk away)...so little money for so much goodness...but I'm not buying in bulk for 2 growing boys anymore!
My worst addiction is Italian espresso from the local shop...I wish I still believed in giving stuff up for Lent!My homemade espresso does the trick first thing in the morning.
Keep up the great work, Sarah!
I posted this on FB's "NetworkBlogs" discussion board...I'm not techie enough to figure all this out...so I'll repost here too.
ReplyDeleteOkay, well, you invited me to follow this blog...and you did so knowing I have some strong opinions on the topic. :) Let me start off by saying that I believe everyone has a right to their own opinions, way of living and beliefs--so long as it doesn't hurt anyone else. So, anything I say here is simply my OWN opinion...shared with all of you--not to tell you that I think my way is right, but just for the sake of sharing. Take from it what you will, or don't. It's just my two cents. :)
So, as you know, I'm a vegetarian, and I also eat mostly organic when at home. I'm sure I'll have lots to add on these topics as you go, but the first thing that popped into my head was: Chickens. So many people think that it's all okay, because they mostly only eat chicken. I thought the same thing...it was the last thing I ate in my pre-vegetarian life (over 8 years ago). However, it is so terrible--not just on a health level, but also on a cruelty to animals level.
A few facts on chickens. There are two types of chickens in farming: laying hens, and broilers. Broilers "spend their entire lives in filthy sheds with tens of thousands of other birds, where intense crowding and confinement lead to outbreaks of disease. They are bred and drugged to grow so large so quickly that their legs and organs can’t keep up, making heart attacks, organ failure, and crippling leg deformities common. When they are only 6 or 7 weeks old, they are crammed into cages and trucked to slaughter." Laying hens "are crammed together in wire cages where they don’t even have enough room to spread a single wing. The cages are stacked on top of each other, and the excrement from chickens in the higher cages constantly falls on those below. The birds have part of their sensitive beaks cut off so that they won’t peck each other as a result of the frustration created by the unnatural confinement."
When you buy "free range" chicken--you are not buying a happy chicken who lived her life wandering the fields before ultimately making it to your plate, or her eggs to your frying pan. Free Range means that the chickens are not put into cages. However, this is not an improvement in their quality of life. They continue to be packed into small spaces by the tens of thousands. Their beaks are still cut off, as well as their toes (so they won't claw each other).
Health fact about chicken (because everyone thinks it's so much healthier): According to a major 2006 Harvard study of 135,000 people, people who frequently ate grilled skinless chicken had a 52 percent higher chance of developing bladder cancer compared to people who didn’t.
Not to mention the issue of hormones and antibiotics that you've already addressed.
So, what to do about this?? Well, you could become a vegetarian--but that choice doesn't sit well with everyone. So, maybe start by making better choices. There are VERY FEW chicken farms with humane practices (largely because birds are exempt from the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act). But they ARE out there. Manna Mills in Mountlake Terrace offers eggs from several local farms, with a chart on the practices of each farm (beak clipping, wing clipping, cage/free range, etc).
The other option...and the one I'm partial to...is to grow your own chickens! It's not that difficult, and it's fun too. We had them while I grew up, and it's very educational for kids. Here's a link to a site with more info: www.backyardchickens.com
And, there you have it...my first two cents for your blog. :)
One more note...regarding our city...it is now (FINALLY) legal to keep three laying hens within Edmonds city limits: http://www.ci.edmonds.wa.us/Ordinances/2009/Ord_3759.pdf
My opinionated friend Kristi, I'm so glad you're here. :)
ReplyDeleteYou've probably seen in my next post that your talk of chickens really has me thinking. It probably won't become a reality, but it's gotten me thinking. I do want to know more about chickens and the right way to buy them for eating, since I feel pretty good about our meat. We do eat a decent amount of chicken, though, and I want to make sure we're buying ethically. Thanks for all this info!