Life goes on. Although I love raising animals and working this farm, although I might shed the occasional tear, I try not get emotionally attached to my livestock, be it bunnies, chickens, sheep, cow... Animals die. Period. Some of natural causes, some at my hand because their final destination is my dinner plate. I am a farmer. I learned a long while back to take the good with the bad. I don't cry when a fox or coyote thieves and kills my chickens or ducks (I am down to one duck and she's lonely; her mate got snatched in the spring.). I did cry when my milk cow died a year and a half ago. She was wonderful and very productive animal, and her offspring fed my whole family for better part of nine months. Now I not only have to spend money to buy milk and butter and cream, but also meat. I don't know if those animals that produce for the supermarkets are treated humanely. I would venture to say not nearly as humanely or as well as they would be if they lived on my farm.
Does anyone actually think about where their food comes from anymore? Or just complain about the rising costs? Why is it so expensive to eat healthy?
2 comments:
Barbara,
I'm with you on this. My uncle owned a farm and my cousins raised cows and other animals for 4H and had to part with them eventually. All of us knew what was coming.
As for eating healthy on limited income, there are lots of books, recipes, websites to help with cutting food costs, but it's a constant challenge.
I prefer to think that meat just grows in the styrofoam containers. That's what I'm going to tell my two year old when he's old enough to ask.
It is incredibly expensive to eat healthy. I finally forced myself to start eating a real salad a day and more fresh fruit two or three months ago, and it's unbelieveable how much it costs. One red pepper is usually about two dollars!
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