Farm Fresh

The Egg Man is coming.

Hmmm...that sounds a little weird. But the truth is, I get excited when the Egg Man comes because he brings me these:

Thank you to the BBC for the use of this photo. I am not actually in the habit of photographing my eggs, so I had to borrow a pic. But mine look just like this, promise.

Eggs, straight from the farm, straight from some lovely hens that run around outside as God intended, leading happy chicken lives.

 

For a long time now I have felt like the way we do food in this country is a little off. For instance, why is it that I live in a part of the country that is so thick with farms you can't throw a rock without hitting one, yet most of my food is coming from hundreds, if not thousands, of miles away?  Even in my urban paradise (about 1/2 a million people, give or take) I can still drive 15 minutes in 3 directions and hit a farm. The fourth direction would take me about 30 minutes before I hit farmland; maybe less. Yet try to track down a local source for, say, grass-fed beef, and you will meet a brick wall.

 

Imagine how happy I was when I found a farmer in my state who delivers to my city every 3 weeks. From him I get my lovely eggs, but also I can get cheese from grass-fed cows, grass-fed beef and lamb, and pastured broilers -- chickens who have been truly free-range, eating all the grasses and bugs and whatever else makes a chicken sublimely happy.

 

Here's what I love about the Egg Man:

• He re-uses my egg cartons. That makes me over the moon happy. Fresh food and less waste.
• My eggs are naturally higher in Omega-3s because the hens eat grass. Fresher and healthier food -- double bonus.
• I am supporting a local farm -- an actual person -- instead of the Industrial Food Conglomerate. I know my farmer is using humane, sustainable methods on a diversified farm. No chemically enhanced mono-cultures here.
• I have a short supply line between my food producer and me, which means a smaller carbon footprint.

Is it a perfect system? Not quite. It's still cheaper for me to buy grass-finished organic beef from Costco that's been trucked in from Oregon and Montana than it is to buy from my local producers -- about $3 per pound less, which is considerable and frustrating. But I am taking my litte victories where I can get them. My fresher, healthier eggs cost the same as organic eggs at Costco which are trucked in from somewhere in Texas (and that is a BIG carbon footprint, kids), and they are actually cheaper than organic, free range eggs at Target by a nice margin. Love that.

So I get yummy food, and I get to feel really virtuous at the same time. Can I get a  Woot?