tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-316785102305981205.post6920707233435107435..comments2021-12-03T13:10:14.309-08:00Comments on Suburban Snow White: The Far WallSuburban Snow Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00966152499707808084noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-316785102305981205.post-46507838438823949232012-02-19T14:26:55.082-08:002012-02-19T14:26:55.082-08:00Thanks, Tracy! Yes - I don't think I've ev...Thanks, Tracy! Yes - I don't think I've ever seen you lose it. Ever. Wow. I almost want to see it, for pure entertainment value. :) (Just kidding ... I'd hate to see you upset.) Thanks for all your encouragement, by the way.Suburban Snow Whitehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00966152499707808084noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-316785102305981205.post-4739648859907179832012-02-19T10:33:31.265-08:002012-02-19T10:33:31.265-08:00Great post Katrina! I was thinking about this whil...Great post Katrina! I was thinking about this while cooking breakfast this morning. I made vegan biscuits and gravy and the person who taught me how to make this in the first place is my vegan nemesis - the one who pokes at me and questions me (not in a curious way, but in a combative way)until I lose it, which as you know, is pretty rare for me. It can be tough to remain patient and compassionate toward humans sometimes :) I always love your blog - keep it coming!Tracyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16763394736008444830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-316785102305981205.post-56123607840484408992012-02-19T10:31:26.628-08:002012-02-19T10:31:26.628-08:00Thanks for the kind words, Edward! I'm thrille...Thanks for the kind words, Edward! I'm thrilled to have a new vegan buddy out there! <br /><br />Thank you too Mark! Coming from a published author, that means a lot! :) <br /><br />Nope-- I did not know that farm fresh eggs can keep for that long. I've long lost my taste for eggs and won't be going back, but I get why you so enjoy having the chickens. Before Ry and I went vegan, we'd been thinking of getting our own chickens but then changed our minds when we saw how much money and work it would be to keep them. (Knowing you, you've probably figured out a simple and economic way to house and feed them. I seem to lack that basic know-how, just from lack of experience in building things.) But then I learned about the hatcheries for egg-laying hens and mail-order chicks and how most male chicks are macerated/gassed/bagged and I was done. I'm sure that there exist places that don't do away with the males, but I haven't discovered one yet. Someday, though, I'd love to have rescued hens and turkeys, just to give them a place to live out their lives. If the hens laid eggs, I'd just give the eggs to neighbors. Though I don't know if housing outside birds is doable in a suburban neighborhood like ours. I've never checked the zoning laws.<br /><br />Anyway, I applaud your pulling away from mass produced food. It can be a challenge at times, though clearly not an insurmountable one. Even when I buy my vegetables at the market in the winter, I'm often dismayed to find how far those veggies have traveled to get to Massachusetts. Though emerging winter farmers markets are starting to change that. <br /><br />Regarding the animals and our relationship with them, here's where I see a big difference between our ways of thinking. (And correct me if I've read your views incorrectly.) To most people, animals are viewed as being here to serve humans in some capacity. This has been going on, as you mention, for a very long time. But to my mind, they are not here for us. They are here for them. Many people explain that it is a reciprocal relationship: we take care of the animals and protect them from outside threats, and they benefit from that protection and eventually give their lives to us so we can eat/wear their bodies. But they are forced into that relationship; it's not something they entered into willingly. Just like human animals, they want to live and will fight to stay alive. <br /><br />Going back to the point that man has been benefiting from animals for ages: just because something has been done for a long time doesn't make it right. Enslaving other humans has been going on for thousands of years, but recently we've evolved to the point to see that this is wrong. Women in many cultures have been treated as second class citizens since mankind entered the picture, but we're evolving from that view as well. (And I don't mind comparing human situations to those of animals. We're all animals - a fact we as a species seem to conveniently forget.) I think we need to look ahead to how we can evolve to live kindly and peacefully and not look backward. (I just reread that last sentence and it sounds so hokey and kumbayah, but I can't think of a non-hokey way to say it.)<br /><br />I'm really glad you wrote, because I think this kind of dialog is incredibly important to have. And you (like my brother-in-law Eric, whom you've chatted with on facebook) think more deeply on these issues than so many people, who get upset even thinking about it. (Which is understandable. It is upsetting.)Suburban Snow Whitehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00966152499707808084noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-316785102305981205.post-36118966723456887162012-02-19T08:33:09.953-08:002012-02-19T08:33:09.953-08:00Well written Katrina. We are getting away from mas...Well written Katrina. We are getting away from mass produced everything. I have to say that raising our own chickens has been great for us. The kids love being involved in our own food production, mostly eggs, but a few roosters got to aggressive and are downstairs in the freezer. Their value with keeping insects at bay, particularly ticks can not be understated. Man has a long relationship with these animals. I compare our chickens to staring at a campfire, the relationship is almost as old. My oldest boy rushed the head count a few days ago during a cold snap and we lost 3 hens to a fox. He was very disappointed in himself, but he learned an important, old school lesson about responsibility. I'm not ready to go Vegan, but I share your disdain for the mass production of meat. We are taking an old school approach, to make sure our kids have a firm understanding of where their food comes from. Next up is pigs. We produce so much edible scrap at the store it seems like a logicle next step. Plus their natural habits are wonderful for preparing forest to be field once again. I do appreciate your view. Did you know a farm fresh egg can keep 6 months in a cool dry place?Marknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-316785102305981205.post-12636696057903758032012-02-18T21:21:01.536-08:002012-02-18T21:21:01.536-08:00Thank you for so eloquently putting into words wha...Thank you for so eloquently putting into words what I feel. I, too, have recently made the transition to vegan and am never looking back. I found your blog this morning and have read every word since you started. You are an inspiration.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com