another day at the market

[nadinbrzezinski]

and this is how far removed we are from our food.

When I was growing up our school sent us on trips to the dairy, the farm, you know the usual. One of my coolest memories from those trips was to see a calf born. (Oh the horror, some parents screeched. how can you allow THAT to be seen by kindergartners)

Well today at the market there was this person selling chicken. These are chicken that he raises, and he butchers. These are locally grown in a farm, walking outside, eating what chickens eat. I would have bought one except the price and I realized a few of these people came to buy chicken killed in the traditional Jewish manner. So I don't eat Kosher, let people who do, get the chickens.

But then there was this comment from a young man, not older than fourteen, after he realized these chickens were alive not too long ago. And that the man selling them killed them. It took him hearing this conversation to realize that there is this chain called the food chain. It stopped being academic. So I bought a cup of coffee (and parents brought son to get closer to his food in a way), and he started asking questions. I was joking with the farmer about picking up eggs in a coop, and how different coops are and the illusion of free range. But this young man started to ask questions. So I talked to him and his parents, about the back breaking, early 'n the morning, work that it takes to get him eggs... or the back breaking required for food, and that the farmers here at the market are actually working the land.

I was born and raised in a large city, but having worked in a Kibutz actually was the best experience ever. It let me know how food reaches my table. but most of our city bound youth these days are very distanced from their food. He could not conceive that somebody could take a clucker and kill them. That is until today. I applaud his parents for it. I truly do. More of our kids need to reestablish that connection.

Oh and got cheese from a local dairy... they has Holsteins... and I am definitely looking forwards to getting their butter when I run out of store bought butter.

[imdjh]

1. We should have a kibbutzlike program in the US. It should count as your public service.

Many schools require public service to graduate. In any event, rather than have illegal aliens or even legal ones out there in the fields, it ought to be American youth doing a season in the fields and living on the farm or in the camps. We send young people off to the damnedest places, whether they need us or not (Of what particular use is a US college student in Borneo? What can he do that they can't?) when we could be using them, and paying them, to work in the ag industry and to get a sense of what real work is like.

A couple of years ago, I was watching one of those stupid reality shows on HGTV. The realtor was having trouble selling a house (in a hot market) because the bitchy drugged out queen that owned it was being unreasonable, and the buyer queen was (not surprisingly) expecting a few things to be right in a million dollar deal. Anyway, the bitchy realtor (everyone in this show was a bitchy gay man) said, "I'm working my ass off for this guy and he wants me to cut my commission." Working your ass off? You put the house in the MLS, answered some phone calls, and had an open house with some cheese and grapes. Working your ass off. Most Americans think working your ass off means taking a little shit and missing lunch. God forbid they should know what working their ass off is. This is why I have always said I would never hire anyone who hadn't worked in a restaurant. But working on the farm would be good experience too, and not as likely to have involved drugs and alcohol.

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. I also volunteered as a Paramedic for ten years

in Tijuana... bear in mind I grew up in Mexico City...

But there is work that is mental too.

And I will admit it, the kind of physical labor that I did in my 20s and 30s I would not be able to do today...

But people don't have a clue where they food comes from...