This may sound a bit blunt, but if we are going to raise chickens, then we want eggs that we can’t get from the store. Yes, the store sells organic eggs, but they are nothing like farm fresh ones-trust me.
Let me back up a bit to explain where my opinion stems from…
I always knew the US food system was different from other countries, but I didn’t really know how different until we were in Italy this last summer.
- You walk into the market and slabs of meat are hanging around you from the ceiling.
- There are 30 different types of pesto and the fresh pasta is amazing-even the gluten free kind. Everything is made with the freshest ingredients.
- High-fructose corn syrup is not a thing and a Coke is made with REAL sugar. The best tasting Coke I’ve ever had!
- Eggs are not prepacked, but in a basket, for you to select your own. The eggs are unwashed and sold within 2 days of gathering.
- Also, in Italy, it is CHEAPER to eat healthy and junk food is marked up.
- The term “organic” isn’t really used, because it is all pretty much organic.
Ever since learning I have Hashimoto’s 5 years ago, clean eating has taken a big priority in my life and my family’s. It is just too bad that our food system has it backwards here in the US. It made me feel like Italy cares more about what food their people eat then we do and what the heck is up with that?!? In the US it is more common to eat bad, come down with a disease, and be medicated the rest of your life than to nourish your body well and exercise. Now, I am not speaking about everyone, but rather the majority. This is a whole other topic though…
We went to a Farm To Table restaurant in Tuscany for dinner one night and it was incredible. It was a Bed & Breakfast on a farm, which felt like you were in the middle of nowhere. When gazing afar, you could see the twinkling lights of a small town named Cortona (my favorite place) up on a hill. The scenery was beautiful, just like a painting and we were surrounded by the animals they raise. In one field they had 1-2 types of animals such as pigs, a donkey, geese, chickens, a horse, goats, etc. The area was clean and there was no smell. The farm animals live a happy life. This really had me think about how animals are raised and the stressful environments they can be in. Did you know when an animal is stressed, they release hormones that you then later eat? It really made me want to raise our own food or at least know where our food comes from.
One could say I was pretty inspired by our trip.
So, long story short, we feed our chickens organic feed, because it is not grown with chemicals. We want our birds to live a happy healthy life. We are going to eat these eggs and as the saying goes you are what you eat. Therefore, choosing to feed our chickens organic grains comes from multiple experiences and not just an overnight decision. It is about our nutrition beliefs and what we chose to prioritize. Yes, it is more expensive, which is why we ferment the feed. I’ll talk about how to ferment feed in an upcoming post.
I just want to end on this takeaway….support your local farmers. They work hard and what they grow is true fuel for your body. Whenever you get a chance, try out a Farm To Table type of restaurant as well.