The snow is melting. The sun is shining. The kids are shedding their snowpants and coats.
Spring!
That makes me think about
Chickens.
Also, my chicken corner in the freezer is almost empty, so that makes me think about spring and chickens, too.
This week I’ve worked at the arrangements for our chicken CSA for this summer. We raise our chickens out on pasture, out where they can eat grass and bugs, dust bathe, and get some sun, because we believe they should be treated like chickens in order to be at their healthiest and best. What is the result?
- Chicken that will nourish your body with extra vitamins A, D, and E.
- Chicken that isn’t full of medications, stimulants (like arsenic) or antibiotics.
- Chicken that improves the environment.
- Chicken that you instinctively know feels and looks “right.”
- Chicken that has flavor (minerals and vitamins from the grass equal flavor).
We haven’t eaten chicken from the store in about 20 years. The last time we did, it was a very disappointing and unpleasant experience. It lacked flavor except for a little salt (“salt water added”). The meat texture was mushy. It felt heavy in our stomachs. All very unlike the chicken we’d been raising. We’ve had other chicken here and there, and it’s all about the same: not food we want to nourish our bodies with.
Eating, to me, is a sacred thing. Food provides the building blocks with which my body stays strong. An uncluttered, clean running, strong body supports a clear mind and stable emotions. Food is the stuff of life, and life is sacred. We regard our animals in the same way. We feed them well and appropriately. They live true to their nature. Their lives enrich the soil that feeds them. And when they provide us with food, we appreciate every bit of their gift. Chicken from the Tyson industrial chicken machine has not been raised with love and care, in a way that allows the chicken to be a chicken. The process does not honor nature or seek to benefit everyone and thing involved. And the gift of the animal’s life is reduced to pieces parts and dollars and cents.
Nourishment is a cycle of life. I’m eager to fill our freezer with our chicken again. I know that I’ve cared for those birds and nourished them. They’ve nourished the soil, which has in turn nourished them. And, lastly, the birds will nourish me and my family, and the people who value this through the Community Supported Agriculture share opportunity.
You can join us! Do you want food that is raised naturally, without additives that can harm you and your children’s bodies? Do you want food that looks, tastes, and feels authentic? Do you want meat raised with respect for nature in a sustainable and regenerative way? Check out the CSA chicken packages here: Chicken CSA.
Chickens on Pasture
Read more about it!