Ditching the City

I had Jury Duty today... I know, not the topic you’re expecting from the title of this post. But, while I was waiting in the jury assembly room, I had the rare opportunity to read uninterrupted for several hours. A luxury and an indulgence on any normal day. I’m currently reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver; this is a different book for her. It’s the story of her family’s move to life on a farm in Virginia and their first year of eating only food raised locally or grown themselves. It’s also part investigative journalism, full of facts I didn’t know and I'd bet most Americans have no idea about. An example: most turkeys (the ones you and I serve at our Thanksgiving table each year) can no longer reproduce on their own. That’s right; it seems that the genes that make this possible aren’t useful in animals who live their life in confinement, packed closely together with thousands of other turkeys—so these characteristics are bred out to them, along with the qualities for superior disease resistance and flavor.

As I did when reading Omnivore’s Dilema, I find myself dreaming of making a major change in my life, of ditching the city and “living off the land,” growing our own food—not just the 4 4’x4’ raised beds we are currently tending, but several acres or more. The dream begins with moving to a climate somewhat more temperate than Georgia, after all I’m not crazy enough to think I want to spend 10-12 hours a day outside working in 90°+, buying a piece of land with a farmhouse, barn, and pasture. We’d grow and eat all our own food, raise chickens (both layers and broilers), maybe a cow or two. Sounds crazy right?