Getting closer to my food

We eat a lot of eggs in our house — breakfast, lunch or dinner, you might find us eating eggs. We like them, they’re convenient and healthy. What has always troubled me about this food source, however, is how unhealthy and downright horrid most hens’ lives and living conditions are in today’s mass-production settings. Even ‘organic’ eggs will often come from chickens housed in crowded barns without any outdoor access. My like of eggs compared to the hens’ quality of life is a painful contradiction for my political self. 

Last summer, driving home from the cottage one Sunday, I lamented how close we were to “the land” (driving  through rural Manitoba as we were) and yet how far removed our meals were from local humane food production. “Especially eggs!” I cried. “Where will I ever find happy-chicken eggs?” 

Later that evening, I posted the question to Facebook and got a reply from my friend Jane in Nova Scotia: “Look for ‘pasture raised’ eggs,” she advised. 

That was new to me, and so I kept my eyes open. Long stretches of nothing and then I came  across #FreshRootsFarm operated by Michelle and Troy Schram of Cartwright, Manitoba. They had been raising grass-fed beef and lamb and were now branching out into pasture-raised eggs. Hooray! I immediately signed up for their monthly pickup program; they drive the three hours into Winnipeg from their farm once a month, we meet them and pick up our order.

Before the first pickup in June, I received an update from Michelle saying that the hens were slower to lay to expected capacity than anticipated and that the eggs would be smaller — “pullet sized” — this time round. Fine by me. I was just happy we’d be eating eggs produced by pasture-raised hens that month. I also added some grass-fed beef and raw honey to my order and, on the appointed pickup day at the west-end location, I joined the lineup and received my order directly from the hands of Troy and Michelle. 

Of course, this is not a new phenomenon for anyone who shops at farmer’s markets, but it is a new experience for me to bring eggs, meat and honey into my kitchen direct from the farmers who have produced the items. 

Climate change is the issue of our times, and in my house we will be ramping up the number of vegetarian meals we eat as a way of doing our small part to reduce food-production-related emissions into the atmosphere (animals’ farts and burps release methane gas, as you likely know). And, when we do eat meat, it will, as often as possible, come direct from the farmers who raise it. 

Grass-fed animals. Small-scale production. A young couple building their life on the land. It’s hard work for them, and it’s good practice for me to support them.

Photo credit: Michelle Schram, #FreshRootsFarm