november november banana fana fo fember me my mo member, november!

Well in all honesty, November was a rather dull month. Crops dwindled and temperatures dropped, I spent a lot of time indoors reflecting (not that there's anything wrong with inwardness, it is just easy to get caught up in). December is already starting to prove quite different. Unlike sluggish November things are moving along very quickly. Old friends are returning and already my plane ticket to Baltimore seems to be approaching rapidly. Then when I come back I will have less than a week before I move to Full Belly. I find it hard it hard to picture myself there in less than a month (!). Nonetheless, I am excited for yet another change of pace and will try to take it in stride.

Now as I look back, all the time I spent in November wishing December would hurry up seems silly...How quickly things can change!

Peacocks in Berkeley

To update a bit on the reading front I can tell you this morning I curled up on the couch and made a considerable dent in Farm City. Which is, by the way, getting much more exciting now. I have finally reached the part of the book in which Novella purchases two new piglets for her urban farm. 

This is really exciting news for me since I've always been into having strange animals. As a kid I constantly begged for more pets but of course all my pleas went unanswered. After much frustration, I ended up finding that the only way I could acquire animals was by saving them. Over the years we nursed several baby squirrels and birds back to health. The problem with this plan was that the patients never stayed around for long because as soon as they healed, they left. Not even the kitten we rescued from the park was welcome after it had regained its strength. Yes folks, that's how cold my parents' hearts are, not even a kitten can melt them.

My first real pet-breakthrough was also unplanned. It came in the form of a gift from a scientist neighbor: a little white lab mouse. (I'm sure my parents must've been thrilled) I named her Lily Belini and at the time she was probably one of the most loved mice in all the world. She sat next to me as I did my homework or else kept my parents awake by running on her wheel all night. But in true mouse fashion, her era came and went rather quickly. After Lily, we lived for a few years without pets until my constant begging must have hit a nerve, one Christmas I opened a shaking box to find a baby bunny. I was in ecstasy.

I think that must've gotten us on a roll because then we somehow got two chicks. And at the same time as the chickens came another bunny, a few dozen goldfish and later, my puppy. (The dog definitely took the most work -- years and years of begging until she finally materialized -- but it was totally worth it.) Needless to say, after a few years of hard work on my part, our house did get pretty crowded. It became known as the Teletubby house to all the kids that walked past because they likened the bunnies grazing on our grassy hill to their favorite TV show.

I now remember having criticized Farm City after the first few pages but I have to say, it's growing on me. And at the very least it really did tickle my imagination. It got me dreaming and thinking about all sorts of untraditional pets: little piglets running around an Oakland garden, the ostrich that lives in Point Reyes, two weasels I once saw on a leash in Norway, the legendary peacocks that used to roam the streets of Berkeley... 

Food Inc.

Anger can be a very destructive thing. But I think a lot an be said for how much anger can also change things positively. Last night I watched Food Inc., and it sure did get me angry! Luckily I'm quite certain this boiling of the blood is a good thing. I was disgusted to find that there are only 13 slaughterhouses in the entire U.S. that process our meat. That means that one burger patty contains thousands of cattle. Gag me now! I guess it does make sense if you think about it. I mean how else do you think McDonalds could make their burgers taste exactly the same around the country? (Everybody say yay for uniformity...) But on top of that, all those millions of pounds of meat are basically controlled by only three or four companies. Capitalism at it's best, right? Well, needless to say I sure did relish my trip to the farmer's market this morning!!

But even more interesting than the raw numbers and facts that the film shocked me with were the characters. All the people that were interviewed are generally from the same "side" of the argument because the corporations all declined to be interviewed. But even among them, none of them were really on the same page. It was interesting to see those who were purists in comparison to those who believed there was no winning without concessions. The film shows an organic expo in California where all the so-called "good guys" are showing off their products. It's not until the viewer gets a tour of the companies that their true nature is revealed. The camera scans the booths and we pass the holistic looking Kashi Cereals only to be told that it's just been bought by Kellogs. Tom's toothpaste is now owned by Colgate. Pepsi bought Naked Juice.

In the end, it's hard to see all the views and decide where you yourself come down. Obviously I would like a world where all the food was local and organic, where the workers were treated with respect and the animals were cared for lovingly. But looking at the utter monstrosity that we have helped create makes me realize that you can't just change from one to the other overnight. Somewhere along the way there have to be stepping stones. And yet again I am caught, who wants to be a sell-out after all? I guess I'll just have to go work on some more small-scale farms and focus on doing my little part as best I can for the time being.