Turkey

At the school I attended last year, I saw turkeys get slaughtered for our Thanksgiving festival. Seeing the slaughter was an experience like no other, because it made me think a lot about food. When most people sit down to dinner on Thanksgiving, they have only seen the turkey wrapped in platic, or on the plate.
If everyone who celebrates Thanksgiving were to witness a turkey slaughter, people would think more about what they are putting into their bodies. The meal wouldn't just be thought of as calories. The turkey would be thought of as an animal that was once alive and breathing.

I don't think people fully appreciate the fact that an animal died to be on their plate.
Whenever I eat meat, I am fully aware that animals gave up their lives, for me to eat.

Thanksgiving

As Thanksgiving dawns upon us, I am thinking about the food that is eaten.
This thanksgiving will be just like every one prior.
It will be another meal at which the diners will be blissfully unaware of where their food is from.
It will be another meal at which people are unaware of the horrors of factory farming.
I will most likely be the only one who cares about where food comes from.
I am always the only one, in that regard.

Farm to Table.

I was looking at the blog of Sterling College, in Vermont, and I read about a summer program being offered, which is the Farm to Table Program.
The program will cover production, food writing, food entrepreneurism,a Field Study in Vermont Food Systems, and Whole Farm Thinking. I am not sure whether these programs are only for college students, but I would be very interested in this program.

I am thinking about starting a rooftop garden, on our rooftop deck. I am thinking about just growing a few vegetables. Because our deck is not massive, I wouldn't be able to produce very much, but it would be a good experience to grow some produce.

Selling my ceramics

Over the past few years, I have done ceramics.
I have sold in three stores in California.
I have decided that I will start to sell my ceramics through my blog.
If you are interested in purchasing some of my ceramics, email me @ drouault.ceramics@yahoo.com

Living the urban life

Sorry for the lag in posting. I've been trying to keep my head above water in the urban public school. I am trying to adjust to living in such a crowded place, but it is challenging.
I came from a place where life wasn't so rushed.
I came from a place where people enjoy learning.
I came from a place where people aren't afraid to get dirty.
Many natives of Southern California seem afraid of getting their hands dirty. If someone steps in a minuscule puddle of rainwater, they are on the verge of tears. Where I'm from, a large puddle of mud is nothing to fret about, because you just walk through it.
If people weren't so precious, they would be better off. When talking about attending a school with an agricultural component, I am looked at as if I am crazy. I recieve looks, and feel like I'm of a different species. My desktop background on my laptop is a Holstein calf. When anyone at school looks at my desktop, I hear a snicker.
My alleged peers read Vogue, while I read Hoards.

Oh well, what can you do?

Why Farm?

At a recent dinner, I was with my grandparents. I was asked if I knew what my future profession might be. I responded that I was interested in agricuture. My grandmother said that people still need food, and was encouraging. My grandfather, however, said that "times have changed." When saying that times have changed, he meant that we now have supermarkets, and that growing food isn't a necessity nowadays. I didn't want to create animosity at the table, so I just nodded my head.

Yes, times have changed, but people still need to eat. If we didn't have farmers, there would be no food.
I am going to be a farmer, because I believe that people need to eat, and someone needs to grow the food.

Cultural Stigma Against Farming.

Joel Salatin, from Polyface Farm in Virginia, was interviewed by USA Today about farming, and he brought up something that is quite disheartening. He said that there is a stigma against farming, and it's viewed as a profession for the students with bad grades, and that most farmers are viewed uncouth and declassé. The assumption that farmers are stupid is so narrow minded, and so arrogant. The professions that are looked highly upon are the ones where you don't get your hands dirty, except from the ink on the New York Times.
There are people who think that they are too "good" to be a farmer. When I hear such an attitude, I am repulsed by the hubris. If you aren't too "good" to eat dinner, then you aren't too "good" to farm.

This is the pie that I made this evening.

Pie

It's saturday afternoon, and I baked one pie, and the second is in the oven.
It feels good to work with my hands, and produce something.
I started with one bag of apples per pie (I would rather be growing my own apples, mais c'est la vie. I sautéed the apples in about one tablespoon of butter. Once the apples were softening, I added a few dashes of cinammon and nutmeg. Once the apples were cooked, I let them cool

For the crust,
I combined two cups of flour and 2/3 cup of butter. I didn't know where our mixer was, so I crumbled the butter into the flour by hand. I added a small amount of water, just enough to make the dough come together. I then rolled the dough into a ball, and put it into the fridge for 45 minutes. After that time had elapsed, I put the doughball on a floured surface, and rolled it out, to a thickness of about 1/2 inch or less. I put the crust into a pie dish, and added the apple mixture.

The first one turned out fabulously, and I think the second one will as well
Just an FYI, for the first pie, I formed the top from the excess dough on the outsides of the piepan. For the second one, however, I made some more dough, but omitted the setting up phase. To compensate for the rushing of the dough, I mixed in some more flour.

The formulation of a plan.

To get the farm started, and to purchase the farm. I will get a group of 5 or 6 like minded people together. We will each pay a part of the cost to purchase the farm. Also, we will each work on the farm, either with crops, or livestock. Crop selection, and other decisions will be made as a group.
It will take a few years to get started, but once established, we will be fully sustainable, and I am thinking about having a farm stand to sell my products.
In terms of livestock, I am thinking about cows, for dairy and beef, pigs, and sheep. I will have many different types of crops, because my goal is for all food eaten on the farm to be produced within.

Colleges

Why do people choose to go to such huge colleges?
I have no idea.
UCLA has over 26,000 students in the undergraduate program. Yale has approximately 6,000 students. I frankly don't see anything appealing about being in such a large environment. Currently, I am at a public high school with 3,000 students, 9th-12th, and I feel lost in the crowds. Some of my classes have almost 40 students in them. My goal is to go to a college where I won't be in a massive crowd. Being in a tight-knit community is something that matters a lot to me.

Another thing that bothers me greatly is that there are many students who don't want to be at school. I often see these kids sleeping on their desks. Also, many students don't turn in homework, even in Honors classes. When I see students with a lack of motivation, it can be demoralizing to be in the same class.

I want to be surrounded by people who enjoy working, both academically, and physically. I am fed up with the apathy that I see at my school.
So, while some kids are planning to drop out, and others are planning to go to a huge school, I am going to work towards attending a small school with a focus on agriculture.

Little Boxes

Many people have preconceived notions about education.
Most people believe that the quality of a university is based on how many billions of dollars are in the endowment, or on the number of well-known alumni.
Decisions on college should be based on the program, and its compatibility to the beliefs of the students. Not all people fit into molds. I don't.
I have many interests. I am interested in politics, ceramics and agriculture.
Because of my varied interests, I can't be labeled, or put into a box.
Frequently, students apply to certain colleges, based on name recognition value, or based on the age of an institution.
If people based their college choices on their passions, people would be happier.

You can find a school that fits your interests, even if your passions don't fit into the arbitrary definition of academic interests. Very few colleges have agricultural programs, but some do. Because of this, I will focus on the colleges that have a farming curriculum when I start applying.

Materialism

It's been a while since I last posted, and nothing much has happened. I am still dissatisfied with urban life, and still want to be out on a farm somewhere. Even though I am just a student in High School, I am starting to look at rural real estate sites, and frankly, I am surprised. For the price of a farm in upstate NY, you can't get a place to live in LA. You can only get an expensive car. People pay ridiculous amounts to live in certain locales.

In Los Angeles, there are people who pretend to be concerned about the food they eat, and they pretend to care. They think that shopping at the farmer's market makes them good people, and connected to their food.

My belief is that if you want to feel a connection to your food, grow it yourself. It's that simple. It will take more effort, but it will be healthier. Some people use farmer's markets at a symbol of status, which is equally repugnant. They believe that people will think of them as superior, due to where they shop.
That's where materialism begins to show. Caring about where things are from, not due to a personal preference, but due to a desire to be acknowledged because of the object.
Are people that shallow??
Malheureusement, oui.