And in the spring, a young man's fancy turns to dust, and dirt, and the urge to plant seeds so he can then reap what he sows at a later date. It's a hard, thankless task pretty much, and threatening to become a lost art as North American farming and food production becomes ruled by large corporations, and the disconnect between what the employee (aka farmer) is told to plant,
and what is right for the land grows ever larger.
The ubiquitous corn crop - a curse, not a cure.
So, today is an ode to the farm, the farmer, and his field of dreams.
This is what milk looks like before it's packaged into cartons and jugs and bags. These are jersey cows, prized for their rich milk and the dairy products like cheese that are made from it.
Here's a AAA Black Angus steak on the hoof.
Really raw hamburger looks like this...
This is what a scrambled egg looks like, before it hits the pan. It is also what your chicken wings look like before they hit McDonalds.
And seriously? There's really only one question to ask here...
WHY?
Hi ho the dairio, the farmer's in the dell!
Canadian singer/songwriter Murray McLaughlin's The Farmer's Song
is an eloquent tribute to farmers...enjoy!
15 comments:
Nice post, Susan. If only most of the eggs and chicken out there really did come from lovelies like that one, who gets to roam around, rather than batteries.
I agree with your first commenter... the majority of our meat, milk and eggs do not come from free range animals. Animals like those in your pictures are the lucky ones. I am not a militant animal activist, but there are very few animal products I will eat (and absolutely nothing from McDonalds)
Enough said...I do like your photos.
This is such a good, and clever, post. I wonder if the people in the cities, who consume the produce of the farmer, ever pay him a thought. Many of them see farming as a romantic lifestyle and have no idea of the hardships that face farmers in real life.
You're right - Farming and food production are ruled by large corporations, and that's sad.
The black cow is a beauty. I also like the brown cow and its calf. The hens are lovely and I would like to have their eggs as these are hens that move freely and eat natural food.
Thanks for this important post.
Beautiful photos and a timely reminder of the original source of our food. I'd like to see more 'proper' farming and an end to batteries - it's beginning to grow in UK as 'authorities' and 'boards' realise we need a balanced ecosystem in which the creatures we can't farm or control play their part.
Excellent post Susan.
Excellent post! In our age so many people are disconected from the land to the point that they do not realize that we humans to are a part of the natural food chain.
I appreciate all of your posts so much...tonight I've been sitting here on a lovely spring evening listening to the Whip-poor-will (finally) and thinking "it's not over yet!!"
I love your narration as much as I love the photos. The photos tell the story by themselves, but you turn it into poetry. nice work.
Thanks for your post, Susan. It totally carried me back to my childhood. Chuckling... my mom never served lamb again after the new butcher decided to do business in our front yard.
McDonalds eggs and chicken McNuggets do not come from healthy hens that run around - they come from McAwful factory farms, where the animals live in horrific conditions. Very few people get to eat splendid chickens like this one.
If no one ate bacon or pork, there would be no reason for pigs to exist - they'd become extinct.
It's OK to raise animals to eat, as long as it's done humanely. When I was a child in communist Poland, we had no fruit or vegetables in the winter - meat was our only source of vitamins and minerals and my mother went to great lengths to get it.
In rich societies one can afford to be fussy, because there are so many choices. When you're faced with nothing but cabbage and potatoes, believe me, meat can be a lifesaver.
In some parts of the world farmers have to raise livestock, because the soil is not strong enough to sustain constant growing.
If animals eat other animals to survive, who are we to argue with what nature intended?
Powerful post Susan. Thank you!
Hi everyone and thank you all for all of your comments on this post! I want to make it clear that I don't have a particular issue with people's food choices..but I do believe that we are manipulated, and may not always be making our dietary choices with all of the information required to make a truly informed choice.
Tougher times in 2010, eh?
I too used to write ad copy. And it was for McDonalds! But I never ate their burgers. Love your photos. I signed up to follow you. Stop by my place for a visit and I promise no fast food. http://www.boomerpie.com/
Very nice post, I especially liked the first image of the farmer, its beautifully composed...Thomas
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