I hope everyone had a happy and healthy holiday season! Tis the time of year for resolutions, and here's mine: I resolve to eliminate conventionally raised meat from my diet. I already use naturally and humanely raised meat and eggs in my home, but when I eat out, I eat things I would never purchase in a store. Time to clean that up, which will largely mean becoming a vegetarian outside my home. It is daunting to contemplate, but I suspect it will be less difficult than I fear. Anyone else?
The
Atlantic Food Channel has some good news. 2009 brought welcome legislation and improved conditions for animals.
NOFA/Mass is having a
Winter Conference on January 16th at Worcester Technical High School featuring Joel Salatin as its keynote speaker. He will also lead an all-day seminar on "introducing livestock to your farm." Check out the schedule of events; it looks like there's something for everyone (cultured dairy products workshop? Yum!)
Posts
Cool! Congrats on committing to cut out factory-farmed meat. You might just find it easier and more in line with your beliefs to just become a vegetarian.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, there are a ton of great veg-friendly places to eat in the Central MA area. There's a guide to good ones in the Worcester area here: http://VegWorcester.com/restaurants
If you're going to be at the NOFA Winter Conference, come say hi to me. I'll be at the table with all the vegan baked goods & cookbooks!
Drew
Hi Karen,
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting ... what a great New Year's Resolution!
Drew, thanks for the comments and site about veg-friendly dining options in the area!
I just wanted to comment briefly, though, on what you said about becoming vegetarian being 'easier' ... I think that in terms of eating out and shopping in traditional grocery stores, then yes, I would agree, that this may be a viable option, to avoid the factory-farmed meat. BUT, in terms of living more sustainably & self-sufficiently, becoming vegetarian here in New England is probably NOT as practical as that. What I mean is, for myself at least, I know that I could not possibly produce the appropriate vegetarian-based needs on my own (year-round soybean crop in the backyard for example) however I CAN produce healthy sustainable food for my family, yr round, in my own backyard, by keeping chickens and raising rabbits (and composting their waste to use as natural fertilizer in my garden in the spring/summer). If the goal is just to avoid the factory-farmed meat, that's one thing, but I think people need to consider the bigger picture, too, and realize that 'going veg' isn't always the solution... and comes w/its own pile of issues (What is the environmental impact of growing soybeans -think de-forestation and, unless it's grown organically, chemical fertilizers & pesticides, etc.) Just some things to keep in mind.
:)