Why Chickens May Soon Roam our Garden...

No chickens pecking in the dirt of my veggie garden. Not yet anyway. Food safety is on my mind, with the Environmental Working Group coming out in favor of the proposed food safety bill. Finding nutritious food will become more and more of a challenge as AgBusiness flexes its muscle and Congress makes choices based on corporate greed, rather than consumer health. How I wish this were not the case, but it is, so Sven and I may consider adding a couple chickens to the landscape here at Chez Sven ...

The other day we had a guest exclaim, “Look at how yellow these scrambled eggs are! Where did you get the eggs?” She had a three-month old baby and was nursing, so this question was uttered with the vehemence of a young mother, determined to give her child only the best. “I want to take some back to the city with me,” the guest added. (In the photo above, my favorite egg on the left, and an organic egg on the right.)

I replied that what she was eating for breakfast were the most nutritious eggs I had been able to find in our area, that she was fortunate because I could not always find those superior eggs, raised on the Outer Cape, and that the shop where I made the purchase tended to run out in a couple hours. The yolks are bright yellow. (Note, I am not giving away the address. Sorry! Some things are sacred.)

I have already blogged about milk, soy, and fish. Today blogger Frugal Kiwi adds chicken and meat to our menu. Lots of good links here for your reading pleasure. I had been meaning to write about this fabulous blog from New Zealand for a couple weeks but for a totally different reason. The cool autumn wind will soon begin to blow. Frugal, also known as Felted Kiwi, makes the most amazing felted wool products and art. Check out the soap above and this scarf.

Now back to chickens and eggs: I also read a local blog called Starving Off the Land, which often features chickens and learning to care for them. Watch the brand new video below from Slow Food USA and sign the petition to demand better control and more accountability from our food industry.

We had a number of special guests this summer. Among them, my cousin Sally’s daughter, Sarah, who came to the Cape for a wedding with her boyfriend, the literary agent. Yesterday I learned they are getting married (!). Anyway, prior to his current job, the boyfriend was an innkeeper and raised … yes, chickens! He told me what fun the chickens had been and urged me to consider acquiring a couple. I haven’t yet looked into my crystal ball to see whether chickens are in our future, but who knows? If that’s what it takes to eat nutritious eggs, the next time Sarah returns with her husband, perhaps he will have the pleasure of seeing a chicken or two strut up the path here at Chez Sven?

Do you worry about nutrition? Where do you buy your eggs? Have you kept chickens? Do you know the best way to learn the basics of creating your own chicken coop and raising healthy chickens?