Thursday
Jul292010
Are you the chicken people?
Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 5:48AM
"Are you the chicken people?"
Do you know how many times conversations in our life take this turn now? It seems just about everywhere Kelli and I go, someone, somehow knows about our vegetable CSA and pasture raised chickens... and the rest of the conversation leaves politics, world events, science, whatever... and moves swiftly into chicken talk. It seems that the crowd often gathers at this moment of conversation divergence and then the flurry of questions beginning with "why", "how" and "what" begin. Thankfully - we love sharing our philosophies, learning's and experiences all the while hoping to learn something more in the exchange.
Not too long ago Kelli and I were off to an event that had us dressed up in "city folk clothes" we joked. Not too fancy but far more than dirty shorts and barn boots. On the car ride to whatever it was, Kelli made the comment "I hope we don't get into chicken talk tonight. I just want to be off the farm for a little while."
"But I thought you liked being on the farm and doing the chores." I responded.
"I do, but I just need a little break tonight."
I understood that as it had been a particularly busy few days and a night away did have a certain appeal. So - as we passed by suburban strip malls and crowded 4 lanes, we ventured towards some illustrious event to get away from the farm for the evening. We were going be regular people for a change!
I think it was about 30 minutes after we arrived as we stood in a buffet line to grab some food, actively looking ahead to make sure we didn't eat any of the obviously factory raised chicken and wondering how far away some of the out of season veggies traveled to get on the buffet, it happened. Someone came up to the two of us and asked the question - "Are you the chicken people?". That was it. A 5 word question. The course of our conversations for the remainder of the evening was changed.
The amazing thing about these experiences is how they almost always they follow the same pattern. One brave soul who has indirectly heard about our small farm gathers enough courage to approach these younger, clean cut, seemingly mouth full of teeth farmers and ask the question. You can almost always see the apprehension in their eyes as they expect the Hollywood version of a farmer with a long drawl to start sputtering on and on. Yet as the information flows and they realize we are friendly, interested in sharing and not nutty as a fruit cake the conversation grows - and much like our farming model - the community participating in the conversation also grows. We find that what starts as that one person joining us to eat becomes 2. Those 2 have friends / spouses / partners / neighbors / whatever... then there's 4... but they know people too and before you know it it's the two Chicken Thistle Farmers and a table full of active and engaged conversationalists asking questions and fundamentally trying to take the first steps in reconnecting with their food.
Sure - there are groans and moans. Some of the questions asked by the newly indoctrinated often inadvertently lead right towards parts of the farming process that are not best shared over dinner tables... but we have gotten good at softening that part of the delivery (but only when there's food on peoples plates because understaing all the trade-offs to supermarket convince is important). The truth is - we do get to talk politics, world events and science - because more and more people ask us if we saw "Food, Inc.". They ask us about the books by Barbara Kingsolver, Michael Pollan and Joel Salatin (just to name a few). They ask us about questions it's clear they have never pondered about the origins of their food until this very moment. What about imported food, feed lots, antibiotics, certifications, organic vs local, the list is as diverse as the group asking the questions. They ask us a lot!
With all those questions - we do our very best to really listen. Listen to the genuine interest and fascination. We do our very best to answer what we can and have no problem escaping to the "I don't know - that's a great question" safe zone. And through these exchanges we are rewarded. We see new ideas planted and begin to sprout. We see people reconnecting with their food - recognizing that there IS a price to cheap meat and endless fruits in the middle of winter from who knows what far away land. We see the cracks in self-imposed walls - maybe local food where I can look a farmer in the eye and shake his hand is more important that an "Organic" certification with ingredients from 3 different continents. And for us, we also are forced to reexamine OUR purpose and OUR convictions with every discussion. Talk about healthy!
The event was a good one and it was time to head back to the farm and close up the chickens for the night. It was a physical escape from the farm for an evening. Since we were rather talked out it became a rather quiet ride home. After a bit Kelli said, "We didn't escape the chicken talk tonight you know."
"Yeah, I know. There were a ton of people and questions tonight", I responded somewhere between excited and exhausted. " Lots of interest and I think we have a few more customers now too."
"I think so. I had a lot of fun. Great conversations. People learned a ton, I think. It was really fun."
"Yes, it was. Sorry, though, you didn't get to escape the farm tonight."
"That's OK I had a lot of fun answering all those questions. I guess I'm OK with us always being the chicken people."
Do you know how many times conversations in our life take this turn now? It seems just about everywhere Kelli and I go, someone, somehow knows about our vegetable CSA and pasture raised chickens... and the rest of the conversation leaves politics, world events, science, whatever... and moves swiftly into chicken talk. It seems that the crowd often gathers at this moment of conversation divergence and then the flurry of questions beginning with "why", "how" and "what" begin. Thankfully - we love sharing our philosophies, learning's and experiences all the while hoping to learn something more in the exchange.
Not too long ago Kelli and I were off to an event that had us dressed up in "city folk clothes" we joked. Not too fancy but far more than dirty shorts and barn boots. On the car ride to whatever it was, Kelli made the comment "I hope we don't get into chicken talk tonight. I just want to be off the farm for a little while."
"But I thought you liked being on the farm and doing the chores." I responded.
"I do, but I just need a little break tonight."
I understood that as it had been a particularly busy few days and a night away did have a certain appeal. So - as we passed by suburban strip malls and crowded 4 lanes, we ventured towards some illustrious event to get away from the farm for the evening. We were going be regular people for a change!
I think it was about 30 minutes after we arrived as we stood in a buffet line to grab some food, actively looking ahead to make sure we didn't eat any of the obviously factory raised chicken and wondering how far away some of the out of season veggies traveled to get on the buffet, it happened. Someone came up to the two of us and asked the question - "Are you the chicken people?". That was it. A 5 word question. The course of our conversations for the remainder of the evening was changed.
The amazing thing about these experiences is how they almost always they follow the same pattern. One brave soul who has indirectly heard about our small farm gathers enough courage to approach these younger, clean cut, seemingly mouth full of teeth farmers and ask the question. You can almost always see the apprehension in their eyes as they expect the Hollywood version of a farmer with a long drawl to start sputtering on and on. Yet as the information flows and they realize we are friendly, interested in sharing and not nutty as a fruit cake the conversation grows - and much like our farming model - the community participating in the conversation also grows. We find that what starts as that one person joining us to eat becomes 2. Those 2 have friends / spouses / partners / neighbors / whatever... then there's 4... but they know people too and before you know it it's the two Chicken Thistle Farmers and a table full of active and engaged conversationalists asking questions and fundamentally trying to take the first steps in reconnecting with their food.
Sure - there are groans and moans. Some of the questions asked by the newly indoctrinated often inadvertently lead right towards parts of the farming process that are not best shared over dinner tables... but we have gotten good at softening that part of the delivery (but only when there's food on peoples plates because understaing all the trade-offs to supermarket convince is important). The truth is - we do get to talk politics, world events and science - because more and more people ask us if we saw "Food, Inc.". They ask us about the books by Barbara Kingsolver, Michael Pollan and Joel Salatin (just to name a few). They ask us about questions it's clear they have never pondered about the origins of their food until this very moment. What about imported food, feed lots, antibiotics, certifications, organic vs local, the list is as diverse as the group asking the questions. They ask us a lot!
With all those questions - we do our very best to really listen. Listen to the genuine interest and fascination. We do our very best to answer what we can and have no problem escaping to the "I don't know - that's a great question" safe zone. And through these exchanges we are rewarded. We see new ideas planted and begin to sprout. We see people reconnecting with their food - recognizing that there IS a price to cheap meat and endless fruits in the middle of winter from who knows what far away land. We see the cracks in self-imposed walls - maybe local food where I can look a farmer in the eye and shake his hand is more important that an "Organic" certification with ingredients from 3 different continents. And for us, we also are forced to reexamine OUR purpose and OUR convictions with every discussion. Talk about healthy!
The event was a good one and it was time to head back to the farm and close up the chickens for the night. It was a physical escape from the farm for an evening. Since we were rather talked out it became a rather quiet ride home. After a bit Kelli said, "We didn't escape the chicken talk tonight you know."
"Yeah, I know. There were a ton of people and questions tonight", I responded somewhere between excited and exhausted. " Lots of interest and I think we have a few more customers now too."
"I think so. I had a lot of fun. Great conversations. People learned a ton, I think. It was really fun."
"Yes, it was. Sorry, though, you didn't get to escape the farm tonight."
"That's OK I had a lot of fun answering all those questions. I guess I'm OK with us always being the chicken people."
tagged chickens, local food, sustainability in Farm Life, Politics or Other Rants
chickens, local food, sustainability in Farm Life, Politics or Other Rants
Reader Comments (2)
What a great tale. Made me sniffle. If I had any left I'd blame hormones, but I think it was the writing and how proud I am to be cousins with you two!
Thanks!