The Christmas Turkey - What Should I Do?

I need your help -- please post a comment! My previous post, Talking Turkey, described the varied types of turkey you can buy and I hope I described the good vs the bad purchases. My husband fully understands all of the varied types of birds, but this morning he broke my heart when he said "I don't care Jill." It started with a discussion on retirement and saving $$ so we can be done work by 2011 and it led into a discussion on the high costs of buying organic (and no Jill, you can't retire if you keeping spending those prices for organic!) and of course the holiday bird we buy each year to feed our families. He simply can't understand and will not pay the price of free range or organic. I'm to the point I don't even want to have Christmas dinner - I don't want a turkey in the house if its coming from a factory farm -- which are exactly where the cheaper birds come from that Rick wants buy - not to mention the chemicals pumped in them. And I don't even eat it! And that's the other point Rick made -- "you don't eat the turkey Jill so what does it matter?" It matters to the animals, and that's my problem - its SO sad to know how they are raised and slaughtered - it just rips my heart out and yes, as I'm typing this there are tears in my eyes. I guess I'm one of those Overzealous environmentalists and need to just suck it up and let Rick be Rick and let my family eat the bird. What do you think?

Talking Turkey

This is a meat story written by part-time vegetarian. I have the good fortune of being surrounded by meat lovers and can't deny my loved ones their food preference. While I annoy them to death with my opinions on this food thing and the environment, they certainly aren't going to stop eating meat for me (I must add they eat mostly local so they do NOT support industrial farming of meat). So I have to accommodate them at Christmas. Yes, I stuff my hand up a dead bird's cold ass and think to myself how much I love my family while I do it. I don't eat the turkey. Last year I did, but this year I'm not. Why? Because last year we had a free range organic bird that cost me $54.00, but that won't be the case this year. Has anyone priced an organic free-range turkey lately? At Natural Acres in Millersburg, $5.69 a pound is the going rate. My dad said, "Did you tell them to "stuff it?" After a little more research on prices of organic birds, I discovered Natural Acres may be ripping people off, although the prices aren't a whole lot lower -- $3.99 is what I'd pay if I would drive about a 100 mile round trip to Eberly poultry to pick it up (same supplier to Natural Acres). Why so much? Why organic or another route folks are going "Heritage?" Read on. Here's a short lesson on turkeys:

• Free-Range Organic - the birds run free in a field and eat organic feed. No antibiotics or other chemicals injected or pumped in their food. Totally natural and humane.


• Free-range natural - the birds run free and eat "natural" feed (grains). No antibiotics or injections -- its not certified organic, thus they can't label them "organic." 2nd best choice.


• "Natural" turkey - you'll see this on the package in the big chain stores on the cheap turkeys. Don't believe them unless they specifically say they use no antiobiotics or injections. The birds were likely factory farmed, raised in a crowded cage and not permitted to move much their entire lives.


• The .89 lb turkeys - Butterball and all others. Factory farmed birds likely raised in a crowded cage and injected with antiobiotics to prevent illnesses from crammed quarters. They are fed a chemically-laced commercial feed grown on industrial farms. Butterball even takes it a step further and injects their birds with extra Butter and "flavorings", thus, Butterball. Avoid these birds at all costs - there's a reason they are cheap that could cost us the environment some day. Is that a price to pay?
• Heritage Turkeys - just like heirloom fruits and vegetables, heritage turkeys are original breeds of turkeys not commonly raised. Thus, they are expensive and usually have to be ordered in the summer - BUT apparently they are very tasty, much more than the normal turkey. Many of the heritage breeds are rare and hard to find.

New York Magazine has a much more in-depth description of the turkey market. Its a good education. Some folks opt to raise their own turkeys which I couldn't do because I couldn't kill it. Its actually the cheapest way to go at a cost of $2.00 a chick, but you have to factor in feed costs and if you need to build a pen for it, etc. Crunchy Chicken has an interesting story on her bird this year -- she opted for a Heritage Turkey ordered in July that set her back $95.00. My dear hubby loves his Butterball, but I believe I can talk him into a Free-range natural bird for $1.89 lb from Koch's Turkey Farm. They are about 30 miles from here (local!) in Tamaqua Pennsylvania, and I while not certified organic or heritage, they are the next best thing - locally raised and they use local feed and grain. And what are YOU having for Thanksgiving and/or Christmas this year?

My 42-year Old Coat

Depletion and Abundance instilled in my brain how affluent Americans are wasteful, wasteful, wasteful - how the chinese get a kick out of the garbage they make and stupid Americans buy it. All we need to do is look at how most of grandparents lived (and survived) after the depression and we can clearly see how wasteful we are today. They certainly weren't buying strands upon strands of christmas lights to waste electricity. It really made me think twice about almost everything I now purchase. I ask 1) do I really need it? (Don't I have one somewhere?) 2) is it something useful or just another dust catcher that serves no purpose, and 3) is it a consumable to sustain life -- I guess that fits the needs category. Nearly every day now that its cold, I grab the same old coat I've been grabbing for the past 20 years to go outside and do yardwork. It really IS 42 years old! It was Rick's hunting coat when he first started to hunt at the age of 12. I hadn't realized that that coat is a sign of genes buried deep inside me that need uncovered -- genes of living more frugally. They are there, but need brought to the surface. I noticed those frugal genes in my soap bottle in the kitchen too -- its 25 years old! It was one of the first plastic bottles of liquid soap on the market and at the time I thought it was simply a cool looking bottle and I've been refilling ever since with dish detergent. And the boxes stacked in the closet with "post-retirement t-shirts and sweatshirts" on them are saying something too. So with a little nurturing, those genes from grandma and grandpa will surface. It'll make Rick happy (less money spent -- more saved for retirement!). Of course, I'm not doing much to help the economy -- maybe that's why the economic is faltering -- others just like you and me are realizing we are wasteful and learning to be more frugal! I think the days of spend, spend, spend are long gone.

Local Vegan Finds

Well, its not totally local, but within 100 miles and the Locavores claim a 100 mile radius is acceptable as "local," while the Eat Local Challenge gives you 150 miles. There's an organic tofu plant near Allentown, PA called Fresh Tofu, Inc. -- 78 miles from my home. I haven't contacted them to find out how to get their tofu, but I certainly intend to. They list a distributor also in Allentown, but it doesn't appear the distributor sells to the general public. So I have some homework, but worthwhile homework. I officially decided to work on the Ornish lifestyle once again. I really like his philosophies and many of the top environmentalists agree with his diet also (mainly 'cause its vegetarian). The part of adapting Ornish locally will take some work in areas such as whole grains. I'm a huge organic supporter, and its really, really hard to find organic whole grains within 150 miles. Hopefully, in two weeks I'll find some more local sources of organic food in Pennsylvania. I signed up for the Pennsylvania Certified Organic (PCO) Annual meeting and bunches of organic folks bring and show their wares at the meeting. I'll certainly share a report on the day. It's December 4 - yup, a workday -- but my boss is letting me go as work related because my work funds organic farms and the PA Dept of Ag will be there talking about the funding program we have for farmers.

Found: The Healthiest Diet (Yes, Its My Opinion)

Just a couple hours after posting my frustration and confusion on what is the healthiest of diets, I pick up my latest read and low and behold I have my answer. Read about it here. Its vegetarian, it can be adapted locally (or at least buy USA products from a local store), and its accepted by insurance companies because it can reverse certain diseases, thus saving millions and millions in insurance costs and hospitalizations. Its Dr. Dean Ornish's proven plan for reversing heart disease.

Trying to Makes Heads or Tails of a Healthy Diet

A post just went on my Healthy Exercise blog on trying to figure out what is the most healthy, good-for-the-environment diet. I'm simply SO confused with all the reading I've been doing lately. Its making me not want to eat at all! Here's the post -- help me figure it out! I think my main goal is local... but from there it gets tricky (i.e., local tofu? tempeh? Lentils? Beans?)

Book Review - Depletion and Abundance

From the New Society Book Publishers on what the book is about:



Depletion and Abundance explains how we are living beyond our means with or without a peak oil/climate change crisis and that, either way, we must learn to place our families and local communities at the center of our thinking once again. The author presents strategies to create stronger homes, better health and a richer family life and to live comfortably with an uncertain energy supply prepare children for a hotter, lower energy, less secure world survive and thrive in an economy in crisis, and maintain a kitchen garden to supply basic food needs. Most importantly, readers will discover that depletion can lead to abundance, and the anxiety of these uncertain times can be turned into a gift of hope and action. An unusual family perspective on he topic, this book will appeal to all those interested in securing a future for their children and grandchildren.

And my review after reading it:

• The author has 4 very young children, one with down syndrome - she relates many parts of the book to her siutation with her family. She dedicates an entire section (6 "Parts" with about 3-4 chapters in each "Part) to population, family values, and kids. Never having children, these parts were not attention-getting for me, but parents will be intrigued by some of her ideas if you are raising your kids green.
• Ever hear of homesteading? That pretty much sums up what the author focuses on the entire book. Things like living off the grid, growing and preserving everything yourself. It goes beyond buying local and gets you to think about making it on your own all by yourself. Supplying your own water without electricity, cook with solar stoves, out door ovens, composting toilets, etc. Even thinking about the house you live in - is it "smart" to stay there. For me, it was a bit overboard -- almost, dare I say, radical. I understand the point she was making - that someday this may be how it will be - but it seemed far-fetched to me. I can't imagine our government would let this happen.
• WHAT I GOT OUT OF IT: We live way, way beyond our needs and are extremely wasteful. The chinese really do get a kick out of making useless products for dumb Americans to buy. It got me thinking about saving some energy (why do we need 2 lights on in this room?), growing a huge garden next year and preserving as much of my own food as possible, letting my hair grow one length so I don't have to spend $$ getting it "trimmed" every 5-6 weeks, stop buying clothes! - what a huge waste. I have enough clothing and shoes to last me a lifetime - especially since I'm done working in two years. Stop driving everywhere and so much... ride bike more! I joke with Rick about the carts we are getting for our bikes to go to the grocery store when we retire (we stop on our way home now -- no extra trips if we can help it). And lastly, and likely most importantly, the value of family. I need to spend more time with them AND my dear husband.

Another Way to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

Did you know if you cut your catalog intake (stopping mail order catalogs) by 100%, we'll avert the same CO2 produced by powering 51 family homes for an entire year? Holy crap - that's huge! Prior to reading this, I had already starting calling the 800 numbers on the catalogs and stopping every catalog I get in the mail because my dear hubby commented one day about how much we'd help reduce a bunch of things by stopping the mail order garbage -- the post man delivering it, me reading them and impulse buying, the company printing it, the waste of trees being cut to print them, the printing process and so on and so on. So every day when I get yet another 4 or 5 in the mail, I spend 10 minutes calling the 800 numbers and asking for my name to be removed from their mail list. Can't say I'm doing much to help the economy by no longer mail ordering, but we're all in for a change anyway, aren't we. I've since found a website with other places you can contact to stop junk mail. Check them out! Since we're all eating and buying local, living a much more simple and frugal life, there's no need for the mail order junk anymore now is there!

A Lesser Known Election Success

While we celebrate (or not) the new president-elect and other candidates, there was a referendum on the ballot in California that's going to set the precedent for the rest of the nation, in my opinion. Californians just passed a law requiring larger living quarters for confined animals raised for meat production. To me, this was a HUGE success and win for animals. One of the reasons I try not to eat meat is because of how the animals are raised in confinement. (I'll eat organic, free-range meat). What a step forward. Thank you Califnornians!

When Its OK to Run Up the Electric Meter

Rick and I have been trying to cut back on electricity in preparation for the higher electric bills in February. Its amazing how much energy you use unneccessarily when you pay attention to what you're doing. But habits can be broken, and that's what we're doing. But the past few days made me realize there's one area that energy consumption can't be denied, lessened, or in any way, shape, or form, eliminated. The Health Care industry -- or more specifically, hospitals. My mother had emergency open heart surgery on Friday and it occurred to me while we waited (and waited, and waited) how vital energy is, and how far we've really come in saving lives. We talk about eating local and consuming goods like our grandparents, yet our grandparents would have likely died after a heart attack 60 years ago without the technology of today. This is thought provoking...modern medicine, research, technological advances, medical instruments, sterilization, plastic -- all critical in safe, infection-free hospital care. I'm guessing the bottom line is avoid the hospital! Exercise and eat right and stay out of there so there's no need to rely on plastic tubes running from every orifice of your body, huh? My mother is insulin dependent for 40 years -- the syringes are plastic. What did they do 60 years ago? Very thought provoking.