Too cute, uploaded by amybaeder.

I’m ridiculously tired, but I wanted to let everyone know I posted pics from the last month on Flickr. This tiny little bunny was one of the many delightfully adorable creatures Dawn and I saw at the Puyallup Fair this morning. Take a look at this photos when you get a chance! I’m off to bed.

Later….

Sunday I had pre-church breakfast at a home in Seattle where chickens take residence in the backyard. I have already expressed my fondness for the idea of urban chickens, but reading “A Delicious Revolution” by Celia Barbour made me want to don my overalls and purchase some laying hens. Barbour argues that every day we eat something–something that should connect us to our natural world, but in this day of over-processed and over-packaged food, she states, “the food that crosses your lips probably bears as much resemblance to its natural state as a chicken nugget does to a barnyard hen.” She states that a food revolution is going on, and she seems to say that this revolution is one in which anyone with money and taste buds can be involved. By buying organic and local, by frequenting farmer’s markets, by growing your own food, or by participating in Community Supported Agriculture, one can take a stand about the food they are eating.

How might our world be different if we took ownership of our food, especially for our children’s sake? What if all cities had a School Lunch Initiative that replaced over-processed, HFCS-infused mystery meats on a stick, made into fingers, or put on a bun with fresh, local, nutritious ingredients, as Alice Waters has done in Berkeley, California. Granted, Seattle Public Schools has made progress
with multigrain buns, seasonal fresh fruit, vegetarian options, and r-BST hormone free milk, but could we partner more with local farmers or p-patches for some of these meats, fruits, or veggies?

Last Friday, Justin and I celebrated our 8-year anniversary at a neighborhood restaurant that attempts to use as many local ingredients as possible, and I must say, it was delicious. What would it look like if more restaurants adopted seasonal ingredients and seasonal menu? Again, I think Seattle is ahead of the curve with such restaurants as Union, Dahlia Lounge, and La Medusa (all delicious!) that make it their mission to feature fresh, local, and seasonal ingredients. But should I have to pay almost $100 a meal for two people to enjoy the delights of fresh, local, seasonal, and organic foods? Right now, enjoying a slice of an heirloom tomato or a prairie-fed, pan-roasted organic chicken in a restaurant is an exclusive treat that few can enjoy, when it used to be a routine that most Americans What about the majority of our nation’s restaurants–can they, too, benefit from a partnership with local farmers? One might state, “But then the menus would be different from month to month! But then a meal in Santa Fe chain might be different from one in Vermont!” Yes. The towns in the US might just regain some of their regional distinctiveness again, perhaps at the expense of our all-important consistency and homogeneity in fast-food restaurants and sit-down chains. Americans might have to regain their sense of taste and seasonality in an effort to cut down on carbon emissions, support local farmers, and eat in a more healthy manner.

The other day Justin and I walked to Safeway in our neighborhood. On the end of an aisle, right next to the checkout, there was a display for 10 Little-Debbie boxed snacks for $10. Each box contained at least 1600 calories, meaning a person could buy most of a day’s worth of calories for $1. But is that the type of food that we want to encourage our American families to eat? Apparently someone close to home has thought about this, because Seattle’s Columbia City Farmer’s Market, according to the Rainier Valley Post, is doubling food stamps. This means the “money” will stretch a little further for these families at the sometimes-pricey farmer’s market. Sustainable, local food should be an option for low-income, urban apartment dwellers and middle-class suburbanites, not just a luxury that a few can afford due to lifestyle changes of neo-hippies who move to a coop, rural families that still sustain themselves through hunting, fishing, and growing their own food, or those with enough money during these hard economic times to spend on quality food. Now….who wants to help me figure out how to raise chickens?