Monday 9 March 2009

I am an omnivore

"The blessing of the omnivore is that he can eat a great many different things in nature. The curse of the omnivore is that when it comes to figuring out which of those things are safe to eat, he's pretty much on his own."

I stuck it out and finished The Omnivore's Dilemma. I am glad I did. I was hoping there would be a little more discussion on here about some things in there but I guess it was a little unmotivating for everyone to get into?

My favorite part of the book was reading about Joel Salatin's farm- Polyface. I was fascinated with how everything worked together so perfectly. I would love to buy all my animal products from a farmer like that. It really helped me see the value of eating local (when possible). Pages 257-259 sum it up well (if it wasn't so lengthy I would quote it here).

I have to say I was pretty disappointed with what I read concerning "organic" meats and "free-range" chicken.

Some goals I have made:
Have a vegetable garden once I own a home.
Shop at farmer's markets whenever possible/available.
Buy eggs/meat/dairy from a local source where animals are treated properly (no monocultures, no industrial).
Be flexible.

2 comments:

Jennifer said...

I haven't finished it and I probably won't anytime soon, but I will say that after the first 100 pages I felt a crazy desire to visit Iowa.

Lindsey said...

I like that quote. I thought it was pretty sad how we, as humans, have screwed up the food chain. The way animals are treated and injected with antibiotics when they shouldn't be subjected to the circumstances in the first place.

I have not been very good at reading, period. I have been so tired lately, that nothing is keeping my eyes open... but I am really going to try and be better. I have a few things to post on this one... if I can just get my act together and do it.