The Possiblilty Of Being Able To Live Sustainably.....

In May, Jason, an old school friend, was in the local newspaper for figuring out a way for anyone who wanted to have the luxury of fresh farm eggs to be able to do so with custom built chicken tractors (a mobile coop that protects the chickens, gives them room to live and lay eggs, and allows them to eat bugs and fertilize the grass under the tractor). I wanted to know more. A few months later at a cookout, I was able to talk to Jason about his reasons behind this venture. We touched on organic foods, grass fed beef, bartering and trading, and growth hormones among other things. 

I have never in my life sown a seed of any kind and this got me thinking.....how awesome would it be to be able to grow your own food? To network with other farmers and growers and go back to the days of bartering? I could never see myself raising and nurturing a pig, chicken, or cow so that I could later eat it. I do however enjoy those things and would love to trade with someone who treated their animals with respect since they in turn would be nourishing our bodies. I was almost certain that the stresses mass farmed animals face every minute of every day affects the way they taste. It would alter their body chemistry the same way stress alters ours. How would a cow taste if it was able to live a nice stress free life in a pasture with grass and other animals and human interaction? 

So back to my conversation with Jason. He grew up on a working farm. I was interested in learning about what that meant. I wanted to visit his land, see his animals, and maybe even take home some fresh eggs. A few weeks later, I did. I also took home some fresh eggs even though I was hesitant about eating them. Why? Well, because they weren't approved by the USDA. I mean, I might get sick, or get worms, or salmonella poisoning! I decided to take that leap. I cracked open one of the eggs and it was the most beautiful shade of orange I have ever seen come from an egg. I cooked it up, fed it to my dog (what? really? you think I am gonna be a guinea pig this early on??), she ate it, and never wanted another store bought egg ever again..... ha! After she didn't DIE or get SICK, I did eat one myself and agreed with Baby...NO MORE STORE BOUGHT EGGS EVER AGAIN (;