Omnivore's Dilemma

I really had no idea when I started reading this book that the middle section was going to parallel so many of the things I've been writing about. The author actually goes and visits Petaluma Poultry in search of 'Rosie'. He visits Earthbound Farms to track the spring mix of pre-washed baby greens. He talks to the marketing consultants of Whole Foods. He asks the questions so much more eloquently than I about whether or not 'organic' principles can hold up to big business supermarket principles.

Anyway - I've been quite tickled to sit here reading his book this afternoon - vicariously enjoying his ability as a journalist to go search out the faces and land behind the food.

I have continued the search in my own corner of the world - looking for a true NW free range chicken. I thought I found it in Draper Valley's Ranger chicken - but the answers become vague when asked how much time the chickens spend dining au naturale. Also of interest: Booth Creek Management, parent company to Rosie/Rocky Chickens just bought the Ranger chicken operation. I'm not sure what that means - other than it's information and reveals another big corporation behind what I thought was a smaller NW business. Ranger chicken, apparently is known for it's high quality product - even if the 'free range' designation does NOT mean that the chickens spend time out in the pasture. Oh, the need to juggle and balance the facts...

There is a new movement afoot - "pastured poultry." These are chickens that are kept primarily outdoors, moved from pasture to pasture like a rotating crop. Certain farms in our area do specialize in these supposedly tastier birds - Skagit Valley Ranch and Seabreeze Farms. Both of these farms show up at the local Farmer's Markets in the U-district and Ballard pretty much all year round. You can also order bulk - 1/2 a pasture raised cow; whole chickens, pigs. I'm not quite ready to buy in bulk but I will be going into Seattle next Saturday to check out these products. I want to see for myself if I can taste the difference. I want to see if I feel different eating a chicken that ran around in the grass versus a chicken that spent seven weeks in a feedlot before being slaughtered. (7 weeks?? That's why Rosie chickens are smaller, by the way).

At the moment, my cat and I are listening to the coyotes in the backyard. Their call is so sharp and high, the yipping continuous now for about ten minutes. My cat's tail is still slightly poofed but I've learned to love these creatures and their plaintive cries. (At least that's what it sounds like.) The moment of connection with these night hunters prowling my land feels almost sacred. It touches something within. Recognition of the predator and a cycle of life that is absent from my own life as a creature of the land. It is certainly absent in my plastic wrapped meat purchases.

Thoughts for another day -