Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Happy meat

A couple of months ago Elliot and I went to Greenfest in Seattle.  It was held in a large ballroom at the Convention Center downtown filled with booths showcasing natural foods, eco-friendly home designs, various "green" products, and tons of samples.  There was a huge crowd and it took a few hours just to get a look at everything.

I was like a kid in a candy store.  It was awesome.  Not only did I enjoy the theme, but did I mention that there were a ton of samples?  Of dark chocolate?

One of the highlights for me was that we found a somewhat local farm that offers a CSA ("CSA" means community supported agriculture) for eggs and meat that is just about 5 hours from where I live in the city.  Crown S Ranch is a small, family-owned farm, and I even got to chat with Jennifer, the farmer who was running the booth.  What I love about them is that they are essentially a grass farm, similar to the one mentioned in The Omnivore's Dilemma (a great read if you haven't picked it up).  

All of their animals are raised on certified organic pastures and the farm's website describes how each type of animal is kept.  As I've learned more about food quality and sourcing, this has become really important to me.  I'm happy that these animals are able to live a life that has some sense of decency, where they can experience a relatively natural life and aren't fed a diet of antibiotics, GMO corn, and animal by-products.  I don't want to eat these things and I don't want my food to eat these things either.   

Instead they get to eat the things that they would naturally eat, like worms and grass.  They even have a chicken tractor!  

We signed up a couple of months ago and they begin delivering to our neighborhood in September.  We'll get one dozen eggs, one chicken, and a few pounds of beef every month or two.  They offer monthly tours of the farm, so we'll plan on doing that sometime this summer.  Until then, we're buying as much of our meat from local farmers markets as possible.  

I really am very excited about supporting this farm.  I'd love to see this become a trend in the States.

Goodness

A month!  It really has been too long.  Please don't fester and die, little blog.  I promise I'll do better...

Soon.

:)